CUED

Minority Male Survey of the Near West Side of Chicago

In June and July 1995, a total of 186 males living on the near west side of Chicago were interviewed about their health, their access to health services, and their education, employment, and training experiences and desires. The needs assessment was a major activity of the Coalition to Increase Minority Male Services (CIMMS) project, which was in its second year; the first year had involved establishing a coalition of health, social service, and other organizations to discuss and address issues affecting minority males in Community Area 28, the Near West Side of Chicago. The purpose of the second year was to conduct a needs assessment of minority males between the ages of 15 and 45 and to pilot innovative outreach methodologies to this often-neglected group.

The needs assessment was conducted under the auspices of West Side Future, a social and health services network begun in 1985, based at the Duncan YMCA, with a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health. The CIMMS project director and outreach workers administered the needs assessment. It was designed to collect information about the needs and concerns of minority males so that CIMMS and other west side organizations will be able to develop programming to address these issues. In particular, it asked about about the men's health, living situation, education and employment status, and training and support services needs and desires. Prior to and concurrent with the surveying, CIMMS workers conducted "focus forums" that began exploring some of these issues with the men in a group setting.

The major findings of the needs assessment were:

Health and Medical Services:

Most men (61.2%) reported that their general health was "good"; however, two out of five (39.2%) reported having a medical condition. The most prevalent medical problems were asthma (38.4%), high blood pressure (31.5%) and sexually-transmitted diseases (28.8%).

Over half of the men (51.9%) reported having health insurance, with the most popular types of insurance from public sources: P-3 Interim Assistance (22.9%), Medicaid (19.8%) and Supplemental Security Income (18.8%).

Over one-third of the men (38.4%) generally obtain their medical care at a hospital clinic; however, a very high percentage (30.3%) rely on the emergency room as their primary location for medical services. Only 37.1% of the men usually make appointments for medical services.

Over three-fourths of the men (75.7%) currently smoke; of those, 41.5% smoke at least a pack per day. Almost two-thirds of the men (65.1%) drink alcohol, with three out of five drinkers (60.3%) having more than two drinks per day. More than one-third of men (38.4%) are current drug users and one-third of these (36.6%) use drugs five or more times per week.

The health services that the men would find most useful were they available are dental, chosen by 85.7% of respondents, eye services (78.9%) and substance abuse services (41.7%).

Living Situation:

Over three-fourths of the men have never been married yet over three-fourths (75.3%) have

fathered children. Less than one-third (31.5%) of the men have children who live with them.

Almost two-thirds of the men (64%) live with friends, relatives or in a shelter while less than one in five (18.8%) live with a spouse or partner. More than half of the men (51.9%) consider their living situation temporary.

Employment

More than four of five men interviewed (80.1%) are currently unemployed. Of the unemployed men, three out of five (60.4%) have applied for work in the past year. Almost all (93.5%) men who are currently unemployed have done work for which they received a paycheck in the past. More than half, 53.8%, have done work in the past eighteen months. Of the men who have worked in the past, one in five (19.3%) have only worked for minimum wage, one in three (35.1%) have had wages above minimum wage, and almost half (45.6%) have worked for both. Common occupations include construction trades (32), maintenance work (28) and food services (14).

Lack of transportation --that is, lack of money for transportation -- is the largest barrier for men seeking employment, cited by almost half of respondents (47.7%). Lack of GED or high school diploma was next (40.2%), followed by drug or alcohol problem (31.1%) and low wages of available jobs (28.0%). One in four (24.2%) cited disability as affecting their job search.

The top career choices for the men include building trades (40.2%), janitor/ minor building repairman (29.9%), postal worker (27.2%), computer programmer (22.8%) and food service worker (21.7%).

School and Training

Less than half of the respondents (44.1%) had attained a high school diploma and of those who dropped out of school, only 18.5% went on to secure a GED. A large percentage of the men (34.9%) dropped out of school after finishing Grade 11.

A majority of the men (59.1%) have attended school or job training following high school. The employment rate for those who had attended training was somewhat higher (20.9%) than for those who had not (12.7%).

The most desired class or program was a GED class (58.9%), followed closely by job training (56.2%). Basic studies classes were desired by 44.9% of the respondents. Two in five (39.5%) would like a program on how to deal with their emotions and one in three (33.0%) would like a job search support group.

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UIC-Center for Urban Economic Development