SEMPER FI COMMUNITY TASK FORCE

Who are the people you serve with your mission?

Following our annual Heroes' Week events (flying in injured veterans and their caregivers, for a weeks worth of activities {fishing, boating, flying, touring, participating in a parade, being treated like a hero} at no cost to the veterans, or tax payers, we contract each of them and request feedback on their experiences. The best feedback came from the doctors and nurses at Bethesda and Walter Reed hospitals on how excited their patients were to complete rehabilitation and move to the Huntsville, AL area. Many were reluctant to complete rehab before Heroes' Week, but after they had a renewed outlook on life. Knowing there were fellow veterans with disabilities working and living happy lives, cheered them up. Since 2009, we have encouraged our guests to bring their caregivers.

How is your organization collecting feedback from the people you serve?

SMS text surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Community meetings/Town halls, Constituent (client or resident, etc.) advisory committees, Suggestion box/email,

How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?

To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals,

What significant change resulted from feedback?

With the feed back from our guests during Heroes' Week, we have allocated more and longer breaks between activities to give our guests more time to relax. We have included more options for indoor activities for those not wanting to go fishing, hunting or sight seeing. All activities are handicap accessible /compliant. We cover more incidental expenses during their visits.

With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

The people we serve, Our board, Our community partners, donors,

How has asking for feedback from the people you serve changed your relationship?

We know that visiting a new state/city can bring on some anxieties, so we strive to make their visits low stress events. We give alternatives to most activities. If they don't want to go fishing, we offer tours of the local space center or museums. If they have any food allergies, we work with vendors to meet their dietary needs. We encourage them to enjoy the upscale hotel (be it the nice beds, pool, spa or room service).

Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?

We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded,

What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?

We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback,