"The 2025 Greenwich United Way Needs Assessment is our blueprint to uncover the human services needs that we will address in the next few years,” said David Rabin, CEO of Greenwich United Way. “Our mission is to uncover unmet health, education, and self-sufficiency needs, raise awareness and support, and together with community partners, deliver lasting results. A thorough, diverse Needs Assessment is integral to honing our focus and successfully addressing the town’s most critical needs.”
Greenwich United Way began its first collaboration with Fairfield University's Center for Social Impact in 2020, collecting input from more residents than ever before across all Greenwich neighborhoods, which resulted in its most comprehensive Needs Assessment to date.
Findings from the previous 2020 Needs Assessment led to tangible results, including the initiation of Greenwich United Way’s work on the Greenwich Hospital Adolescent Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), which opened in the fall and began taking teen patients in January. It also led to the development of a scholarship program which grants financial assistance for preschool to more than 125 families annually and increased awareness of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, resulting in more than 150 additional families accessing food assistance.
“The mission of the Center for Social Impact is to connect the University’s knowledge and creativity with the expertise and vision of our community partners to address pressing local priorities,” said Melissa Quan, EdD, director of the Center for Social Impact. “Through these partnerships, faculty bring their scholarship to bear on real-world challenges and students gain meaningful opportunities to apply their learning while deepening their understanding of civic responsibility and lifelong engagement. This work is truly reciprocal, and we are honored that the Greenwich United Way has entrusted us with this important project."
By collaborating with Fairfield University, the Greenwich United Way is able analyze the Needs Assessment results in greater detail and focus on data specific to individual neighborhoods, rather than being limited to generalized, town-wide metrics. The ability to analyze data at the neighborhood level is particularly important in Greenwich, where areas with the highest and lowest average incomes often border each other.
Members of Fairfield’s research team working on the project include Reinaldo Gonzalez, assistant director for community-engaged research; Mehmet Cansoy, PhD, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology; Tanika Eaves-Simpson, PhD, associate professor of social work; Joseph DeLuca, PhD, assistant professor of psychology; and Julie Berrett-Abebe, PhD, LICSW, assistant professor of social work; and students Katherin Garcia Flores ’FB25 and Kevin Hanson ’27.
All Greenwich households will receive an email invitation to complete the seven-minute survey, which will remain open for three to four weeks. Residents are asked to identify which human services should be prioritized and evaluate how well current efforts are addressing those needs.
