West Yellowstone Planning Feedback

Thank you for providing valuable feedback to our strategic planning process! Please help us prioritize potential action items and solutions generated through our community conversation series to address the needs of each of our communities. We ask that you rank the listed ideas and provide additional qualitative feedback on what you believe we should be focusing on for each individual need identified in West Yellowstone.

For a deeper dive into the needs identified in West Yellowstone, please see our 2019 Community Needs Assessment.

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* 1. What is your connection to HRDC?

I am a customer.

I am a staff member at HRDC.

I am a stakeholder/partner.

I am a volunteer.

Other (please specify)

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* 2. Please build on the above list and provide additional feedback. What other policy, promoting, partnerships, and programs should we be considering to have a positive impact in the arena of housing in West Yellowstone?

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* 3. Healthcare surfaced as the #2 need in West Yellowstone in our Community Needs Assessment Survey with 67% of survey takers indicating so. Over 75% of survey takers feel that West Yellowstone does not offer readily accessible, high quality healthcare. From an individual and family level, general physical care was identified as the most frequently answered health related service that residents perceive as lacking. With the growing population of spanish speakers in West Yellowstone there is also a continued need for expanded translation services in the community. CHPs Promotora program, which was initiated in 2015 hires individuals to help with spanish translation in healthcare settings.

Below is a list of potential action items to address the need of healthcare in West Yellowstone, please rank them.

Service navigation, connecting community members to available healthcare resources and providers

N/A

Help promote policy that aids in access and affordability

N/A

Continuing to expand our partnerships with local healthcare providers

N/A

Leveraging our existing supportive housing programs

N/A

Promote and partner with programs priotizing translation services for residents, Promotora program or similar

N/A

Prioritize offering transit for seniors to healthcare destinations locally and to other (larger) communities

N/A

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* 4. Housing surfaced as the #1 need for West Yellowstone in our Community Needs Assessment Survey with 89%of survey takers indicating so. There is a lack of home ownership and rental opportunities for families and individuals in West Yellowstone. With more commercial than residential real estate, there are limitations to affordable development. An additional issue is the growing number of Airbnb/VRBO rental properties.

Below is a list of potential action items to address the need of housing in West Yellowstone, please rank them.

Preservation of existing housing

N/A

Developing affordable housing - for those with fixed incomes and those in workforce

N/A

Affordable home ownership

N/A

Affordable rentals

N/A

Continue to inform local policy (i.e. zoning ) to address affordability

N/A

Promoting awareness of housing crisis and shortage to community and leaders

N/A

Working with and empowering local partners to prioritize the housing needs in West Yellowstone

N/A

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* 5. Please build on the above list and provide additional feedback. What other policy, promoting, partnerships, and programs should we be considering to have a positive impact in the arena of healthcare in West Yellowstone?

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* 6. Mental Healthcare surfaced as the #3 need in Bozeman in our Community Needs Assessment Survey, with 56%of survey takers indicating so. 88% of respondents feel the community lacks resources for the mental health needs of youth. Similarly, 78% feel that the community lacks resources for the mental health needs of adults. Continued feedback tells us there is a feeling of stigma associated with seeking mental heatlhcare services which hinders many individuals and families from doing so.

Below is a list of potential action items to address the need of mental healthcare in West Yellowstone, please rank them.

Help inform local and state policy to address access and affordability of mental healthcare resources

N/A

Leverage our existing programs through the financial opportunity center to reduce stresses to income and finances that may impact mental health

N/A

Promote our existing programs to help reduce stresses to housing that may impact mental health

N/A

Promote and prioritize programs that offer translation services for mental health care providers

N/A

Support campaigns aimed at reducing mental health stigma in rural communities

N/A

Promote community awareness of mental healthcare gaps

N/A

Promote the use of telehealth for mental health care appointments

N/A

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* 7. Please build on the above list and provide additional feedback. What other policy, promoting, partnerships, and programs should we be considering to have a positive impact in the arena of mental healthcare in West Yellowstone?

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* 8. Youth needs surfaced as the #4 need in West Yellowstone in our Community Needs Assessment Survey, with 22% of survey takers indicating so. This is a commonly reported need in many rural communities, with many feeling these communities lack resources and enrichment opportunities for people of all ages. There is a growing number of spanish speaking youth in West Yellowstone, roughly 30% of enrolled students for fall 2020.

Below is a list of potential action items to address the need of childcare in West Yellowstone, please rank them.

Partner with local translation services that can assist with youth activities and programs

N/A

Support local internship oportunities for youth

N/A

Expanding our existing youth programs

N/A

Increasing access to existing after school activities and resources

N/A

Continue to inform local policy to address resource funding for youth

N/A

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* 9. Please build on the above list and provide additional feedback. What other policy, promoting, partnerships, and programs should we be considering to have a positive impact in the arena of youth services in West Yellowstone?

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* 10. There was a tie in our Community Needs Assessment Survey for the #5 need in West Yellowstone across food and nutrition, workforce development, and senior needs with 11% of survey respondents indicating so. 13% of respondents indicated that they feel the community lacks adequate resources for indviduals who need access to food, clothing, and technology. 66% of respondents feel the community lacks affordable places to buy healthy food. With a lengthy drive to a major grocery store, transportation also imposes an additional barrier to accessing food and nutrition resources.

Below is a list of potential action items to address the need of food and nutrition in West Yellowstone, please rank them.

Promote existing local programs that may offer food and nutrition assistance

N/A

Extend our food bank offerings to West Yellowstone

N/A

Advocate for policy that prioritizes equal access to high quality food and nutrition that is affordable to all income levels

N/A

Increase transit options to out of community grocery stores and food and nutrition resources

N/A

Help community members access food and nutrition assistance

N/A

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* 11. Please build on the above list and provide additional feedback. What other policy, promoting, partnerships, and programs should we be considering to have a positive impact in the arena of food and nutrition in West Yellowstone?

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* 12. There was a tie in our Community Needs Assessment survey for the #5 need in West Yellowstone across food and nutrition, workforce development, and senior needs with 11% of survey respondents indicating so. 22% of respondents feel that West Yellowstone lacks the resources to help with employment including resume building, interview preparation, employment application assitance, and up to date job boards. Because West Yellowstone is a tourism centric community, there is a niche job market. While there are many seasonal employment opportunities, there are few options for year round employment. Compounding this issue is the lack of accessible and affordable housing for the workforce. There is also a language barrier for employment navigation.

Below is a potential list of action items to address the need of workforce development in West Yellowstone, please rank them.

Promote local programs that connect community members to employment opportunities

N/A

Expand our employment program services to West Yellowstone

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Partner with local translation serivces programs to help with employment navigation

N/A

Partner with local agencies responsible for job boards and workforce training to make sure they are up to date on current openings, etc.

N/A

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* 13. Please build on the above list and provide additional feedback. What other policy, promoting, partnerships, and programs should we be considering to have a positive impact in the arena of workforce development in West Yellowstone?

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* 14. There was a tie in our Community Needs Assessment Survey for the #5 need in West Yellowstone across food and nutrition, workforce development, and senior services with 11% of respondents indicating so. 33% of survey takers feel that the community lacks adequate care and resources for individuals 65 and older. Community feedback indicates that seniors experience isolation in this more remote community and feel there is a lack of resources available to them. Some of these reported gaps include lack of transportation to services as well as community events.

Below is a list of potential action items to address the need of senior needs in West Yellowstone, please rank them.

Partner with local agencies who specialize in connecting seniors to local services

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Connect seniors to available local transportation services

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Extend HRDC's senior services to West Yellowstone - Shop4ASenior, Senior Groceries, etc.

N/A

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* 15. Please build on the above list and provide additional feedback. What other policy, promoting, partnerships, and programs should we be considering to have a positive impact in the arena of senior needs in West Yellowstone?