Rebuilding Together Kent County (RTKC) is conducting a housing survey of Kent County residents with the assistance of Washington College’s sociology department faculty and students. The survey data will help RTKC more effectively apply for grants and donations to improve the County’s residential environment. 

The survey asks residents about the physical conditions of their homes, their satisfaction with their homes, and other questions designed to better understand the local housing landscape.

“RTKC’s ultimate goal is to someday end substandard housing in our community, and this survey is critical to understanding the challenge ahead,” said RTKC Executive Director Genevieve Croker. “To help everyone, we first must determine our neighbors’ current lived experience and which of their needs are most pressing. A newer, more accurate housing survey is paramount and will aid us in demonstrating to local and national partners what is needed for our communities to thrive.” 

“To help everyone, we first must determine our neighbors’ current lived experience”

Genevieve Croker

“It's been wild to see this survey come to fruition over the past year,” said Caryl Townsend ’24, who has been working with RTKC on the survey. “Through each stage of the project, as both an intern and a worker here at RTKC, I've felt I'm a part of something that truly could create change in
this community.” 

Sponsored by the Kent County Health Department, the Upper Shore Regional Council and the Chestertown Rotary Club, along with support and active student engagement from the Washington College Holstein Program in Ethics and the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, the survey is being conducted online, in-person at the Chestertown Farmers’ Market, and through door-to-door interviews. Residents’ personal information will be kept confidential, and addresses will not be stored by RTKC or shared with others; the findings will be reported in aggregate. The resulting report will be publicly available to individuals, agencies, and organizations.