In 2023, RBAC’s engagement workers collected 378 surveys on the streets of Rainier Beach. These survey results are a great indication of neighborhood opinion, and help us measure the impact of our work – and we’re clearly making an impact! Here’s some of what we learned: 

 

  • 73% of respondents said there’s positive activities for youth in the neighborhood. 
  • 61% believe the neighborhood is clean and well-maintained. 
  • 59% of respondents said the places they walk are well-lit at night
  • 78% agreed there’s community events that bring people together, and 
  • 82% said there’s people and groups working hard to make Rainier Beach a safer place

 

Why do these results matter? Because there’s plenty of evidence out there demonstrating that connecting neighbors to one another, maintaining the environment and building collective efficacy (a community’s willingness to manage its own challenges) increase community safety. 

 

Did you know that we’ve documented the success of these community-based strategies in Rainier Beach? In addition to collecting community surveys to measure community opinion, we’ve worked with research partners (including George Mason University and Seattle University) who’ve monitored SPD’s actual crime data since 2012. Check out this crime data from SPD – you can clearly see the decline in youth-related offenses against people, property and society in the areas we’re doing street outreach. Be encouraged! 

-Stew

Wanna get involved? We’re always looking for community members to join out outreach efforts to Rainier Beach. Email us at info@rbactioncoalition.org

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