Article Short description
Summarize this content to 100 words
The city spent $8.8 million from taxpayers to create and distribute mental health questionnaires. Inside the questionnaire, $5 bills were inserted as an incentive to complete. Many of them probably ended up in the trash because the envelopes looked like unwanted advertisements thrown at New Yorkers. The details were published by the New York Post.
The Health Department, in partnership with the City University of New York (CUNY), sent surveys to 210,462 families in early May. The goal was to get 50,000 responses, but by June 27, only 12,759 (or 6%) of respondents had submitted responses.
“They will be lucky if at least 10% of people open these envelopes. This is madness! said Jennifer Crocker, a 37-year-old woman who accidentally opened her envelope. “The city is throwing away our money.”
The woman is sure that most of the letters with questionnaires and money ended up in a landfill. This is because the envelopes in which they were sent looked like outright spam.
Plain white envelopes with the Department of Health logo were sent to citizens on May 11. The information on the envelope spoke of the possibility of earning $20. Inside the envelope were money ($5), a 60-question form, and a letter from Deputy Chief Medical Officer Ashwin Vashan. The Department of Health believes that personal information from survey responses could help the City identify “useful resources.”
“Over the past few years, we have experienced significant changes in our lives,” the letter reads, inviting respondents “to take part in a 15-minute voluntary survey.”
“We have attached $5 to this email to thank you in advance for participating in the survey,” it adds. Additionally, the letter promises a reward of $20 for each person who completes the survey.
Research firm Ipsos received $7.5 million to conduct the survey, said Monique Williams, project manager at the Institute for Public Health Science at the City University of New York.
On the subject: Graduates of New York schools will be automatically enrolled in SUNY and CUNY colleges: details
Critics say giving the money unconditionally was a dubious decision, especially given that a Comptroller’s report released last month showed the city expects a budget deficit of $4.2 billion by 2025.
“With all the cases of mail theft and a bunch of ads, I can’t help but wonder if people threw away the questionnaire and that five dollars? Or maybe the thieves just got richer?” said City Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens).
“There are better ways to get public opinion without monetary incentives, which can also end up in the trash or be stolen. A city on a financial chasm needs to spend taxpayer money wisely, and this poll was stupid,” he added.
Rachel Wick, spokesperson for the Department of Health, said getting feedback from New Yorkers about their health and well-being is worth the money.
“Because of the high value the city places on people’s feedback, we used a modest incentive to participate in the survey,” Vick said.
(function (d, s, id) {
var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];
if (d.getElementById(id)) return;
js = d.createElement(s);
js.id = id;
js.src = “//connect.facebook.net/ru_RU/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.7”;
fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);
}(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’));
New York City may have sent you money, but you probably threw the envelope in the trash
The city spent $8.8 million from taxpayers to create and distribute mental health questionnaires. Inside the questionnaire, $5 bills were inserted as an incentive to complete. Many of them probably ended up in the trash because the envelopes looked like unwanted advertisements thrown at New Yorkers. The details were published by the New York Post.
The Health Department, in partnership with the City University of New York (CUNY), sent surveys to 210,462 families in early May. The goal was to get 50,000 responses, but by June 27, only 12,759 (or 6%) of respondents had submitted responses.
“They will be lucky if at least 10% of people open these envelopes. This is madness! said Jennifer Crocker, a 37-year-old woman who accidentally opened her envelope. “The city is throwing away our money.”
The woman is sure that most of the letters with questionnaires and money ended up in a landfill. This is because the envelopes in which they were sent looked like outright spam.
Plain white envelopes with the Department of Health logo were sent to citizens on May 11. The information on the envelope spoke of the possibility of earning $20. Inside the envelope were money ($5), a 60-question form, and a letter from Deputy Chief Medical Officer Ashwin Vashan. The Department of Health believes that personal information from survey responses could help the City identify “useful resources.”
“Over the past few years, we have experienced significant changes in our lives,” the letter reads, inviting respondents “to take part in a 15-minute voluntary survey.”
“We have attached $5 to this email to thank you in advance for participating in the survey,” it adds. Additionally, the letter promises a reward of $20 for each person who completes the survey.
Research firm Ipsos received $7.5 million to conduct the survey, said Monique Williams, project manager at the Institute for Public Health Science at the City University of New York.
On the subject: Graduates of New York schools will be automatically enrolled in SUNY and CUNY colleges: details
Critics say giving the money unconditionally was a dubious decision, especially given that a Comptroller’s report released last month showed the city expects a budget deficit of $4.2 billion by 2025.
“With all the cases of mail theft and a bunch of ads, I can’t help but wonder if people threw away the questionnaire and that five dollars? Or maybe the thieves just got richer?” said City Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens).
“There are better ways to get public opinion without monetary incentives, which can also end up in the trash or be stolen. A city on a financial chasm needs to spend taxpayer money wisely, and this poll was stupid,” he added.
Rachel Wick, spokesperson for the Department of Health, said getting feedback from New Yorkers about their health and well-being is worth the money.
“Because of the high value the city places on people’s feedback, we used a modest incentive to participate in the survey,” Vick said.
Read more NY daily news online on our portal.
