South Central Valley Community Needs Assessment: Labor, The Environment, and Civic Action

Camila Chavez presenting the South Central Valley Needs Assessment report at an event on Oct. 14

For more than 20 years, the Dolores Huerta Foundation (DHF), led by Executive Director Camila Chavez, has been a pillar of empowerment in California’s Central Valley. Our mission is to turn everyday people into advocates for their own neighborhoods and schools.

From Initial Insights to a Historic Assessment

The DHF’s journey with data began in 2009 with a community needs assessment focused on Arvin, Lamont, and Weedpatch, conducted in partnership with Cal State Bakersfield. This foundational report provided the crucial data that guided our early victories. Fifteen years later, following the profound impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, we recognized the urgent need for updated information on communities already struggling. This led to a new partnership with the UC Merced Community and Labor Center. The collaboration resulted in the South Valley Community Needs Assessment, a historic survey designed to answer critical questions: How did residents experience the pandemic, how are they recovering, what are their top issues, where do they want public investments allocated, and how are they willing to engage in policy advocacy?

Methodology and Key Findings

The DHF team interviewed just under 4,000 residents across Kern, Tulare, Fresno, and Kings Counties. This massive, on-the-ground effort, refined by the expertise of Ana Padilla, executive director of the UC Merced Community Labor Center, and her team of researchers, ensured the data was collected and analyzed rigorously to produce a comprehensive bilingual report.

The assessment provides government and community leaders with the vital information necessary to advocate for policy decisions that expand, not dismantle, the social and economic safety net.

The Path Forward: Organizing and Uplifting

The South Valley Community Needs Assessment is more than a report; it’s a roadmap for future action. DHF and our partners are committed to using this data to continue to organize and uplift these communities. The findings will directly inform policy advocacy aimed at creating healthier environments and expanding opportunities for the region’s hardest-hit residents. By sharing the full report, we invite all community and government leaders to deeply understand the challenges facing their neighbors and to join their efforts.

The collaboration between the DHF and the UC Merced Community and Labor Center exemplifies how data, expertise, and grassroots organizing can work together to turn information into meaningful, systemic change.