Community Asset Mapping
Pollywog’s Community Asset Mapping Project
The Early Learning Hub of Linn, Benton & Lincoln is proud to support the families in our region wit and information about early childhood learning development. We believe that by working toge as a collective of agencies and service provide can increase family stability, improve kindergar readiness, and ensure service coordination that equitable, and culturally and linguistically compe
A crucial component of our work is collecting d about the families in our region and the social d of health, i.e. the conditions in which we are bo and age, that affect their lives. Quantitative co is useful for understanding the context of social population of a town or the median household how social determinants of health factor into th we must ask community members, and we mus
With this directive in mind, Pollywog and the EL Mapping Project in 16 rural Linn/Benton/Lincoln innovative tool for community-based participato y esearc , and s p oject we seek to engage and center the voices and experiences of families raising young children in rural communities
Rural communities, in particular, face deep disparities in the resources that families need to raise happy and healthy children, and this inequity isn’t always related to geography. With each Asset Mapping session, we ask direct questions about families’ experiences in accessing resources and services in their community and beyond. Their answers show where families encounter gaps in needed support and will translate into data that will inform program funding plans across our region
The selected communities were chosen because they are similar in size (under 20,000 residents) and have two of these existing assets - a grocery store that sells fresh meats and produce, a library, and a health care clinic.
The selected communities are: Brownsville, Halsey, Harrisburg, Lebanon, Mill City/Lyons, Scio, and Sweet Home (Linn County); Alsea, Monroe, and Philomath (Benton County); Depoe Bay, Lincoln City, Newport, Siletz, Toledo, and Waldport (Lincoln County).
What is Asset Mapping?
Asset Mapping, or the process of creating a map of community assets, is a handson experience that centers the participants’ experiences and opinions. Over-sized aerial maps of a community are the canvas for community members to share their perspectives on their community and its resources. We hope to learn more about the community that we can’t learn from just looking at a map ourselves.
Asset mapping is unique and valuable because it is strength-focused. We want to know about the places in a community that are valuable to families. To collect this information, we provide stickers with icons of various types of assets and participants are asked to place the stickers on the map to note the physical location. We also ask participants to write the name of the asset and any comments they have, positive or negative or neutral. If an asset doesn’t exist in their town, we ask for stickers to be placed on the edge of the map, indicating that families must go outside their town for that asset
After placing their stickers on the map, each participant is given a one-page survey that asks about other aspects of their community, like internet access, banking availability, and laundry facilities. We also ask what makes their community unique, what concerns they have, and what they love about their community. The survey questions are open and have space for answers in their own words.
Pollywog’s Asset Mapping Project is funded through Oregon Health Authority’s Public Health Equity Grant Program, which seeks to eliminate health inequities by 2030. Our work is funded by the Acute and Communicable Disease division, where we hope our gathered data can contribute to greater access to health care in rural communities To that end, we have been tasked with collecting information about these additional community assets: Annual Exam Providers, Emergency Health Care, Sexual Health & Testing, and Vaccine Providers.
Philomath, Oregon
Philomath, located in Benton County, is a community of 5,429 (as of 2022) The town’s unusual name combines two Greek words to mean love of learning and was first given to Philomath College in 1865 by settlers to the area. Prior to settlers arriving in the 1840s, the area was home to the Chepenefa who were the Marys River band of the Kalapuya.
Philomath is situated in the mid-Willamette Valley at the foot of Marys Peak, which is the highest point in the Oregon Coast Range and was called Tcha Teemanwi (Place of Spirits) by the Chepenefa. This location provides a moderate climate and convenient access to the coast as well as Oregon State University in Corvallis and I-5.
(Information from Philomath’s website: https://www ci philomath or us/)
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
State of Oregon
Strengthening Rural Families
Philomath’s Clemens Primary School was the site for our first asset mapping session, in partnership with Strengthening Rural Families, a community-based organization that provides parenting and health programs in rural communities in Linn and Benton Counties. We are very grateful for the Strengthening Rural Families staff and their support of this project
Thank you to the 27 families who participated in the Philomath Asset Mapping Session and shared valuable insights about their community. Finally, thank you to Timber Towne Coffee in Philomath for supplying snacks and drinks for the participants.
Philomath
Community Strengths
What do you love about Philomath? What makes Philomath unique?
Community Concerns
What concerns do you have about Philomath?
Philomath’s Strengths and Concerns
The close-knit community of Philomath is described as a welcoming and family-oriented town. Families in Philomath value friendly neighbors, local parks and recreation areas, the school district, and the local library. They also love to attend local events like parades and the annual rodeo. Due to the layout and size of Philomath, resources and events are within walking distance for many residents.
But the lack of a full-service grocery store, limited medical and dental services, and few child care providers topped the list of concerns that Philomath residents have for their community.
The local parks and recreation areas are assets that Philomath families use regularly. Philomath has 10 city parks including Marys River Park and the Philomath City Park, totaling approximately 43 acres. The community pool and baseball fields are also valued community assets
However, there are concerns about aging park equipment in the local parks and a need for more indoor recreation spaces. In addition, participants also voiced concern regarding the safety of street crossings near schools and parks. Philomath recently began implementing recommendations from the 2023 Philomath School Circulation and Safety Report (available for download from the City of Philomath website) which focuses on four problematic locations near local schools.
The lack of a grocery store is one of the biggest concerns for many families in Philomath. The closest full-service grocery store is approximately 3 miles from town. There are several convenience stores and a Dollar General, which recently started selling more fresh food items like produce and dairy. Even so, for Philomath families who have limited or no transportation this is a significant hardship.
Child care and preschool availability and affordability are also concerns for families in Philomath. They experience long wait-lists and difficulty finding child care that will accept funding like ERDC (Employment Related Day Care).
Opportunities for Learning in Philomath
Education and a love of learning are ingrained in the daily life of Philomath residents and go back to the community’s founding. Philomath’s founders bought land along the Marys River to start Philomath College in 1865 and the town grew around the school.
In the Philomath asset mapping session, many participants named the Philomath School District and its schools as important to their family and valuable to their community for the learning opportunities they provide Seven schools offer education options for ages pre-kindergarten to high school.
There are also several options for preschool, including a Head Start site and a preschool at the high school that is part of the Child Development curriculum. In addition, Strengthening Rural Families (SRF), a local community-based organization, offers parent-child classes, kindergarten readiness classes, and parenting education workshops. SRF was frequently noted as a place of importance by mapping participants, as well as a unique and loved part of Philomath.
Another location of importance to Philomath families is the local public library which offers story times and a multitude of events for children of all ages and adults. However, some families expressed a desire for more weekend library events that would be more accessible for families who work during the weekdays.
Despite a wealth of resources for learning in Philomath for school-age children and up, mapping participants noted their difficulty finding child care for younger children. The preschools can have long wait-lists, as do local child care providers. The lack of child care options is a larger state-wide problem and is being addressed from many angles, but that is little assurance to families seeking child care and early childhood education resources right now.
“Ican’tfindanylocalchild care...onmultiplewait-lists butnoonehasavailability.”
--PhilomathAssetMapping participant
Health and Wellness in Philomath
Philomath has very few options for health and wellness care in town, but is fortunate to be located within 10 miles of the region’s largest hospital, Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis. A Samaritan Urgent Care facility is located 3 3 miles away Both of these locations accept our region’s coordinated care plan, InterCommunity Health Network (IHN-CCO), which is coverage via the Oregon Health Plan, Oregon’s Medicaid coverage.
The Corvallis Clinic operates a clinic in Philomath but only accepts IHN-CCO for patients who are minors and not adults. Approximately 20% of participants noted the Corvallis Clinic in Philomath as their health care provider, and the remainder go outside Philomath for medical care.
Families face similar barriers when seeking dental care in Philomath. The majority of participants go outside of their community for dental care, and this is again primarily because local dentists are not covered by IHN-CCO’s dental plan.
Other Health Care Needs
The percentages shown below demonstrate the services that residents seek outside of Philomath (Note: Not all participants used every sticker category; these results are based on mapped assets.)
Survey Questions
Do you have reliable internet service that supports video? If your home doesn’t have cell coverage, do you have a landline?
100% have reliable Internet service, most have cell coverage at home, two have landline phone service.
Do you use a bank/credit union, a check cashing service, or both?
10% use a check cashing service, all others use a bank and/or credit union.
If you use government services (Social Security, DHS, DMV, etc.) how and where do you access them?
66% access services in person in Corvallis, 33% access services online.
O v e r v i e w o f C o m m u n i t y A s s e t s i n P h i l o m a t h M a n y c o m m u n i t y r e s o u r c e s a r e w i t h i n a r a n g e o f 1 . 5 m i l e s d u e P h i l o m a t h ’ s s i z e a n d
g e o g r a p h i c l a y o u t . I n a d d i t i o n , a m u l t iu s e p a t h e x t e n d s e a s t f r o m P h i l o m a t h , c o n n e c t i n g P h i l o m a t h w i t h d o w n t o w n C o r v a l l i s .
Community Data
All data are from the 2017-2022 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates, except for data about Philomath’s school district, which is from the Oregon Department of Education
Pollywog was developed in 2017 to align health care, parenting education, and early childhood services for children and their families in Oregon’s Linn, Benton, and Lincoln counties.
As a program of the Early Learning Hub of Linn, Benton & Lincoln Counties, families trust Pollywog to connect them with the resources and services they need, including communitybased organizations, medical services, and early childhood education and care. We also work closely with the Parenting Success Network, our local parenting education collaborative.
/PollywogFamily
/thePollywogFamily
@PollywogFamily
Pollywog is located at Linn-Benton Comm. College 6500 Pacific Blvd. SW LM-132
Albany, OR 97321
541-917-4884
pollywog@linnbenton.edu
Thisprojectismadepossiblewithsupportfrom EarlyLearningHubstaff.Inaddition,the followingHubstaffcontributedtothisreport: ConnieAdams--DesignandText JinguangLin--DataAnalysisandDataVisuals CarmenSantacruz--SpanishTranslation
AssetMappingProjectUpdates
Followtheprogressofourprojectasweholdassetmappingsessions throughouttheLinn/Benton/Lincolnregion.Weinviteyoutojoinan assetmappingsessioninyourtowntoshareyouropinionsand experiencesasaparticipant.Youcanfindupcomingsessionlocations anddates,reportsfrompastsessions,andpicturesofmapsandsessions onthePollywogwebsiteandtheELHubwebsite.