Surveying safety in Watsonville
The Watsonville Youth City Council wants to know how other kids in the community feel about safety. They’ve just released a survey for other teens to anonymously fill out.
Since it was released on Monday, there have been over 400 responses. One came from Watsonville High School sophomore Maria Renteria, who decided to withdraw her anonymity. She thinks Watsonville can get pretty wild.
“At times it’s safe, but not all the time,” Renteria said. “Especially at night because yeah, it’s crazy out there now.”
In fact, she says she avoids certain parks after dark. It’s insight like this the Youth City Council wants to know. That’s why they’re trying to reach as many teens as possible to fill out the survey either online or at their school.
“The intentions of the survey are to get a sense of how youth feel here in Watsonville,” Felicia Davidson, a Watsonville teen city council member said. “Instead of having adults and other people just kind of guess about what’s really going on, we’ll go out and ask them.”
The survey is not just about safety but also teens’ social life. What are they doing? Who are they really hanging out with? Responses to the survey are anonymous, meaning there’s a better chance for honest answers.
“Sometime, students don’t feel safe coming forward to adults, regarding certain instances,” Joann Borbolla, a counselor at Watsonville High School said. “Because a lot of times, children are fearful of retaliation if they do come forward with information.”
The information will then be used to create action plans for organizations, like Watsonville Police and the Police Activities League. They’ll use that data to find ways to boost safety, create new after-school programs and more.
The survey deadline is on April 17. The results of the survey will be made public at a city council meeting in May. Two years ago, the Youth City Council got 1,400 responses when they did a similar survey. This year, they’re hoping for 1,800.
Students wanting to participate in the survey can click here.
