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PAGE 16 POPULATIONii DESCRIPTION Faith-based leaders Individuals or groups that are part of faith-based organizations which can include but are not limited to churches, mosques, and temples. Female heads of households Female members of family units who are the primary source of income in the household. First responders Police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, nurses, etc. Indigenous communities Member of an indigenous community or tribal nation. Individuals who are unhoused Individuals who have experienced being unhoused currently or in the past. Individuals with disabilities Individuals who identify as a person with disabilities, including physical, intellectual, and/or developmental. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community Individuals or groups that identify as part of the LGBTQ community. Livermore agricultural workers Agricultural workers including those who worked in winery fields, typically immigrants or refugees. Non-English speakers Includes individuals who do not speak English or feel comfortable participating in a focus group or interview in English. Languages most commonly spoken in the Tri-Valley include Spanish, Pashto, Farsi, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Dari. Seniors/older adults Individuals ages 65 years and older. Those who work, but do not live in the Tri-Valley People who cannot afford to live in the Tri-Valley due to the high cost of living. This often includes essential workers, such as teachers or first responders. Youth Individuals between the ages of 14 and 25. Table 3. Priority populations for the EACHSNA ii Presented in alphabetical order Within these priority population categories is an acknowledgment of the complexity of identity, and an honoring of the heterogeneity, or differences in experiences, within any one category. It is also recognized that identity is intersectional; that is, individuals within these prioritized groups may identify with more than one category. Those tasked with completing this needs assessment sought to understand and articulate the complexity of individual lived experiences. We acknowledge that it is reductive to presume that an individual has a particular lived experience based on a singular or even intersectional identity categorization. However, given the systemic and sociopolitical factors, these individuals may distinctly experience social and structural determinants of health. Deeply understanding individuals’ lived experiences and the extent to which certain identity characteristics affected them was therefore a key consideration in the method selection. ENGAGING DIFFERENT LANGUAGE GROUPS The Steering Committee and city staff prioritized Spanish, Pashto, Farsi, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Dari for the EACHSNA because of the large population of individuals in the Tri-Valley who speak them. However, as data collection progressed, a number of barriers to engaging speakers of these languages, particularly Pashto, Farsi, and Dari. While recruitment materials were translated into these languages, there was insufficient infrastructure to reach community leaders and build trust within this project’s timeframe and scope. Moving forward, deliberate strategies must be identified and implemented to build relationships and engage community members meaningfully beyond the data collection period. This could include inviting non-English or multilingual speakers onto the project team, publishing project materials (e.g., the project website) in all relevant languages, and going directly to communities to disseminate the findings. Trust, instrumental to EASTERN ALAMEDA COUNTY HUMAN SERVICES NEEDS ASSESSMENTSS Page 74 of 554