| Vision 2014 |
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| The Capitol Hill community cares for the needs of all its residents and provides a public environment that helps everyone feel welcome and safe in the neighborhood. Residents with special needs are well-served by local human service providers, which are respected community organizations. The needs of homeless people and street youth are met in ways that maintain the viability of commercial areas. Options to street life are readily available for those in need. Places for seniors to socialize are provided in the neighborhood. |
| Community Objectives |
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| Highest Priorities: • Support a diverse community. • Engender a sense of community. • Foster a safe, tolerant community. • Provide human services for people in need. |
| Other Objectives: • Provide services for seniors. • Provide housing for populations with special needs. |
Support a diverse community. Capitol Hill is a vibrant, largely young, mostly Caucasian community. The fact that Capitol Hill is typically regarded as a diverse community is perhaps due to the neighborhood's substantial gay and lesbian community. However, in terms of age, ethnicity, and other indicators, Capitol Hill's population is not actually that diverse. While community members value the diversity of the neighborhood's gay and lesbian community, they would also like to engender other types of population diversity.
Census figures from 1990 indicate that the population of the Capitol Hill Urban Center Village is 16,344 people, of which 53% are men and 47% are women. Nearly three-quarters of Capitol Hill's population is between the ages of 18 and 44. Children and youth (under the age of eighteen) make up only 3.7% of the neighborhood's population. In terms of educational level, Capitol Hill's citizens are well-educated, with over 50% having attained an associate, bachelor, graduate, or professional degree. The ethnic makeup of Capitol Hill is not nearly as diverse as the rest of the city. Caucasians make up 84% of the population, which is 9% higher than in the city as a whole. Eighty-nine percent of Capitol Hill residents speak English exclusively; only 1.5% are unable to speak English "well at all." Capitol Hill residents lag slightly behind the rest of the city in terms of their income. The median household income in Capitol Hill is $20,040 (based on 1989 data). About 20% of Capitol Hill's citizens live below the poverty line, including nearly one-quarter of its children.
Engender a sense of community. The importance of maintaining and strengthening a sense of community was perhaps the common theme among all outreach responses. Building a sense of connectedness among community members is seen as a fundamental basis for community health. One observer noted that having diversity per se may not engender a sense of community, but drawing diverse groups together in an active and supportive way is what truly makes a community. Numerous outreach comments indicated concerns about feelings of isolation among residents and a strong desire to feel more connected to neighbors and the community at large. Ideas for building a sense of community included creating more community gathering places and providing more activities that bring people together, such as service-oriented projects, public art projects, environmental projects, block parties, and community picnics. See also: "Expand and enhance public gathering places" p45 .
Foster a safe, tolerant community. Capitol Hill residents appreciate the generally positive and accepting attitude of the community. Interestingly, no single safety issue predominated outreach responses. Community members seem to agree that an important aspect of a successful, safe community is that all groups feel that they are part of it, as generally seems to be the case now. Crime is of some concern to community members; graffiti is a particular problem. Panhandling challenges people's sense of personal safety. In addition, people associate street youth with criminal activity, such as drug use, intimidation, and vandalism. Provide human services for people in need. A broad range of human services is required now and will be required in the future to meet the needs of Capitol Hill's varied population. Community members seem to accept this range of needs and social services as a natural part of Capitol Hill's diversity. Disabled people, homeless people, street youth, seniors, and mentally ill people all have particular needs that require the support of the community at large. If services are not provided to support these groups, they may disappear from the community or become disconnected from it.
Although the presence of human service providers is itself seen as a problem in some neighborhoods, numerous Capitol Hill providers have had a long tenure and have established positive reputations as integral parts of the community. Community members indicated a need for a more coordinated delivery of social services. Since human needs and human services would benefit from being evaluated in the context of the broader community, analysis and planning of future services might best be undertaken as an urban center-wide effort. Current human service needs include a centralized provider of medical aid, dental aid, and other services for street youth and homeless people. Although a number of services for gays and lesbians already exist in the neighborhood, community members indicated a particular need for alcohol and addiction recovery services for the gay community. Other requests included a P-patch program for homeless people and street youth to learn gardening skills and a community skills exchange bank. See also: "Provide amenities and services for youth," p. 49.
Provide amenities and services for seniors. Community members indicated that seniors on Capitol Hill are too insulated in their own homes and need places to get out and socialize. Development of parks, open space, and recreational facilities needs to address the needs of seniors. Currently, there is a small senior center at Lowell School, and residents supported the idea of expanding this senior center or creating a new one at another location. The ability of Capitol Hill to serve the needs of its older residents, many of whom are on fixed incomes, is important to the long-term stability and health of the community. See also: "Increase open space on Capitol Hill," p. 45, and "Provide a range of recreational opportunities," p. 46.
Provide housing for populations with special needs. Community members realize that providing affordable housing that meets the special needs of some population groups actually benefits the community as a whole by supporting and embracing a diverse population. There is a particular need for transitional housing in the neighborhood for mentally ill people. See also: "Retain and increase affordable housing, " p. 22, and "Provide a range of housing options," p. 25.