Back to IntroductionFrom Measures and Milestones 2002
p. 14-15, published 2002
Without a sense of community, where we live is merely a place, rather than a home to cherish. A strong, vital community is characterized by formal and informal networks of support, institutions that care for its citizens and enable them to live full, rich lives, and friends and neighbors who rely upon one another. Neighborly Kentuckians, not surprisingly, rank this as the most important goal for our future, and nearly half believe we are making progress.
Table 1: Where Citizens Think We Stand
Perhaps the most elemental way to gauge the strength of community is to determine how safe individuals believe they are. Three surveys conducted in the spring of 1996, 1998, and 2000 help us track this measure of the health of Kentucky communities. Kentuckians, in general, feel safe in their communities. This could be due, to an extent, to our predominantly rural heritage, rich in social capital. Over the period analyzed, only about 6 percent, on average, reported seldom or never feeling safe.
Figure 1: Do you feel safe in your community?
The crime index is useful in measuring the overall amount of serious crime reported to law enforcement. In 1999, 118,194 serious crimes were reported in Kentucky, a rate of one serious crime every 4 minutes, 27 seconds. While Kentucky’s rate is well below the national rate, the Commonwealth’s index declined by about 11 percent between 1992 and 2000, compared to a national decline of about 27 percent.
Figure 2: Crime Index, Kentucky and the U.S.
The strength of our networks of support or the level of neighborliness is another important measure of community health. The proportion of respondents who report having no one, 5 or more, and 10 or more people other than family to rely upon in times of need averages around 8 percent, 70 percent, and 48 percent, respectively, for all three surveys conducted in 1996, 1998, and 2000. Older Kentuckians, those who would likely be most concerned about assistance in times of need, are no better or worse off than those under age 65. The most recent 2000 survey shows that proportionately more older people report having 50 or more people to rely on in times of need, an indication of the wealth of social capital available to meet the needs of Kentucky’s elders.
Figure 3: How many people can you rely upon in times of need, excluding your family?
Equal employment opportunities enable individuals to build productive, fulfilling lives. An important part of our identities, work allows us the ability to express our talents and interests, while building financial independence and contributing to society as a whole. Employment rates for Kentuckians with a disability have fallen below the national average for most of the last 20 years. In addition, for the years 1994-1998, Kentucky’s relative employment rate of men who are disabled to men who are not was estimated at 29 percent compared to 38 percent nationally. For women, the relative rates were 32 percent and 41 percent, respectively.
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