Frequently Asked Questions About HARC’s 2025 Coachella Valley Community Health Survey
Who is HARC?
HARC (Health Assessment and Research for Communities) is a non-profit organization located in Palm Desert, California. HARC provides research and evaluation services that support healthy communities. HARC is dedicated to providing objective, reliable research, analysis, and technical services to communities in order to facilitate better decision-making regarding health and quality of life. HARC has been in business in the Coachella Valley since 2006, and we now have six full-time staff members.
What is this survey?
Every three years, HARC conducts a survey in which we gather data from Coachella Valley residents on health and well-being. HARC analyzes this data and gives it back to the community free of charge. HARC has conducted this survey six times in the past: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2022. HARC is currently collecting data for the seventh survey, known as the 2025 Coachella Valley Community Health Survey.
In previous years, the survey was done via telephone. This year, we’ll be collecting data by mailing a flyer to a random sample of 25,000 households across the Coachella Valley encouraging people to take the survey online.
Why is the survey important?
This survey provides data that helps to describe our local community and the health needs here. By collecting the data every three years, HARC is able to track health changes over time.
Many local organizations rely on HARC’s data, including nonprofits, hospitals, clinics, the nine Cities, the County, our three school districts, universities, and more. The data is used to prioritize health needs and to design programs and services to meet health needs in the Valley. For example, Desert Regional Medical Center uses HARC’s data on the prevalence of major diseases to help recruit specialty physicians to the Valley, so that we have sufficient providers to treat our Valley’s needs relating to diabetes, arthritis, cancer, asthma, and many other illnesses.
HARC’s data is often used by nonprofits to support their requests for funding. Having reliable data available makes their asks much more competitive and allows local nonprofits to successfully secure funding for much-needed programs. HARC’s data has helped dozens of nonprofits bring in millions of dollars for Coachella Valley services over the years. For example:
- DAP Health (formerly known as Desert AIDS Project) used HARC’s data on HIV testing help inform their “Get Tested Coachella Valley” public health campaign, a three-year effort to increase HIV testing and connect those who test positive to care. Using HARC’s data in their funding requests helped to make their proposals strong; as a result, they received funds that allow them to provide free HIV testing to everyone.
- Local senior centers, including Mizell and Joslyn Center, use HARC’s data on food insecurity in seniors to help strengthen their requests for funding. HARC’s data has helped them to document the need, and therefore bring in money to support their home-delivered meals for house-bound, low-income seniors, many of whom would otherwise go hungry.
- Jewish Family Service of the Desert used HARC’s data on mental health to obtain funds for their counseling programs. With these funds, they are able to provide mental health counseling on a sliding scale for people of all ages, regardless of their insurance status.
Here is a short list of some of the nonprofits who rely on HARC’s data in their fundraising efforts. HARC’s data helps them to provide important services in the Coachella Valley.
- Angel View
- Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Springs
- Boys & Girls Clubs of Coachella Valley
- Cathedral City Senior Center
- Coachella Valley Free Clinic
- Coachella Valley Volunteers in Medicine (CVVIM)
- COFEM
- DAP Health
- Desert Recreation District
- Desert Sands Educational Foundation
- FIND Food Bank
- Friends of the Desert Mountains
- Guide Dogs of the Desert
- Hope Through Housing Foundation
- Innercare
- Jewish Family Service of the Desert
- Mama’s House Ministries
- Mizell Center
- Olive Crest
- OneFuture Coachella Valley
- Pueblo Unido CDC
- Raices Cultura
- Senior Advocates of the Desert
- Shay’s Warriors – Life After Cancer
- The LGBT Community Center of the Desert
- Tools for Tomorrow
- We Are One United Way
What is currently happening?
HARC has mailed flyers to a random sample of residential households across the Coachella Valley. If you’ve received a flyer in the mail, congratulations! You’ve been randomly selected to help shape the future of health in our community. Just scan the QR code or follow the link to complete the survey – it’s confidential and comes with a thank-you gift!
When will this happen?
Flyers will be mailed out between February and March 2025.
Who is eligible to participate?
If you live in the Coachella Valley for at least 30 days a year, you’re eligible! That includes seasonal residents like snowbirds and farmworkers—your voice matters, and we encourage you to participate!
How will HARC protect my data?
Your privacy is our priority. HARC follows strict confidentiality practices to protect your information. We never ask for information like your name, social security number, or credit card number.
All your information that is collected will be completely confidential. That means that no one will be able to connect your answers on the survey back to you. Even the researchers who analyze the data will not have your name. All of your answers will be reported in bulk with others—your answers will never be reported alone. Everything will be held on password protected computers, and only utilized by professional researchers who are trained in ethics and how to protect survey participants to the absolute maximum.
Will my individual responses be shared with any governmental agency?
No. No one will see your answers and be able to tie it back to you. The data will not be shared with any law enforcement agency or governmental agency, so you can be completely confident that your privacy is protected.
Why is it important that I participate?
This survey is designed to get an accurate picture of the health of the entire community. Your participation as a member of this community is crucial to making sure the data is truly representative of our Valley. This data will help other organizations to create programs and services to address the identified problems. In order to attain accurate information, it is important that we have a diverse group of participants who represent different cities, ages, ethnicities, and more. Make your voice heard—share your story!
Who funds this survey?
This survey is made possible by funding from the following generous agencies (presented in alphabetical order), as well as several generous individual donors:
- City of La Quinta
- City of Palm Springs
- Desert Care Network
- Desert Healthcare District and Foundation
- Desert Oasis Healthcare
- First 5 Riverside County
- Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP)
- Molina Healthcare
- Regional Access Project (RAP) Foundation
- Riverside County 4th District Supervisor’s Office
What if I haven’t received a survey, but I still want to participate?
In order to provide a truly representative picture of the health in our entire community, the survey has to be random. That means anyone with an address in the Coachella Valley has an equal chance of getting the call. It also means that if you do not get a survey in the mail, unfortunately we can’t have you call in to share your information. You can help in other ways, though, by making others aware that the survey is happening, how it helps the Valley, and encouraging others to participate.
When will results be available?
HARC will release the results in an Executive Summary in February 2026. Limited data “sneak peeks” may be available before then at HARC’s discretion. Click here to sign up for our mailing list, which will keep you up-to-date on the data release.
What if I still have questions?
If you have any other questions about HARC’s 2025 Coachella Valley Community Health Survey, please contact the HARC offices by phone (760-404-1945), email (staff@HARCdata.org) or mail (41550 Eclectic Street, Palm Desert, CA, 92260).