180 Degrees, Inc.

Who are the people you serve with your mission?

180 Degrees serves youth, families, and adults experiencing homelessness, sex trafficking, mass incarceration, and justice-system involvement. Our clients live in urban, suburban, and rural communities across Minnesota. They have experienced systemtic barriers including inequities in housing, education, employment, and healthcare. Despite these barriers, our clients bring unique strengths. They are resilient and hopeful despite their circumstances. 75% of our services target youth. 75% of our clients identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color. In our youth shelters, at least half of our clients identify as LGBTQIA.

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

Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Case management notes, 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?

Historically, youth have not been allowed to have cell phones while in residence at our shelters. Cell phones have been viewed as a distraction while working on goal setting and development. They also pose a safey risk, especially for youth who have been trafficked by predatory adults. However, during Covid, when all programming was cancelled, youth expressed a strong need to connect with family and friends while in our shelters. They were strong advocates for changing our policy. 180 Degrees now allows cell phone use for youth while in shelter. We recognize this can be a positive -- and that cell phones are ubiquitous. Our program addresses safety issues around cell phones while empowering youth to make positive choice

With whom is the organization sharing feedback?

The people we serve, Our staff, Our board, Our funders, Our community partners,

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

Our clients feel more empowered when they guide day to day operations in our residentail facilities. We also allowed residents at Clifton Place, our residence for men released from prison, to use their cell phones for a longer period until bed time. Listening to them, responding with a change in policy reinforces that they are worthy human beings, to be treated with respect and dignity. A recent client, who had been in the program before and later returned commented that the program is much better --because of these types of changes. He is a positive force in the program and other clients look up to him. So, listening and responding to our clients makes for a better program.

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

We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, 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 demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), 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?

The people we serve tell us they find data collection burdensome, It is difficult to find the ongoing funding to support feedback collection, Staff find it hard to prioritize feedback collection and review due to lack of time,