School of Social Ecology, Orange County United Way present 2023 UCI-OC Poll findings

EVENT: Researchers, policymakers and community leaders will discuss Orange County’s homelessness and housing issues as they unveil the findings of the 2023 UCI-OC Poll. The poll provides insights regarding residents’ views on the most pressing issues facing Orange County.

WHEN/WHERE: 3-5 p.m. Thursday, Aug.17, at the Cove at UCI, 5270 California Ave., Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92617 (bldg. K, grid I4 on this campus map: https://parking.uci.edu/maps/documents/UCI-MainCampusMap-REV012320-23.pdf)

INFORMATION: This event is by invitation only. Free parking is available in adjacent lots. Media planning to attend should contact Cara Capuano at 949-501-9192 or ccapuano@uci.edu or Mimi Ko Cruz at 949-824-1278 or mkcruz@uci.edu.

BACKGROUND: Orange County United Way is presenting this discussion as an opportunity for leaders and decisionmakers to collaborate and shape the priorities of United to End Homelessness, a United Way initiative to empower community solutions to address homelessness.

“To solve an issue like homelessness in Orange County, it’s vital that we listen to the different segments of our community and give space for the types of connections that spark innovative collaboration,” said Becks Heyhoe, executive director of United to End Homelessness, Orange County United Way. “The results of this poll continue a conversation about how to best address the needs of some of our most vulnerable residents, and it’s encouraging to see that the wider community sees this as a need – often because of a personal connection to homelessness – and is supportive of a dynamic response.”

In the 1980s, UCI’s School of Social Ecology sponsored the Orange County Annual Survey. A telephone poll of adult residents, the survey provided descriptive data on O.C. residents and tracked social, economic and political issues over time. After a decadeslong hiatus, the school has brought it back as the UCI-OC Poll.

“Orange County needs reliable widespread survey data on the issues confronting residents, even as the challenges facing the county multiply. As Orange County’s hometown research university, we are dedicated to meeting this need and to helping to bring together business leaders with elected officials and community members to discuss workable responses to these problems,” said Jon Gould, dean of the School of Social Ecology. “Whether the issues concern housing, education, business climate, sustainability, transportation, crime or many other challenges, area leaders will be better equipped to navigate the local environment and respond if they have reliable, timely data on the attitudes, priorities and opinions of O.C. residents and a neutral place and convener to consider them.”

More info on the UCI-OC Poll can be found at https://sites.uci.edu/ocpoll.

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