South Oakland Shelter

Who are the people you serve with your mission?

Individuals and families experiencing homelessness, food insecurity, and financial instability residing in Southeast Michigan.

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

SMS text surveys, Electronic surveys (by email, tablet, etc.), Paper surveys, Focus groups or interviews (by phone or in person), Case management notes, Community meetings/Town halls,

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?

The agency’s telephone system was redesigned so that clients now dial one telephone number in order to be connected with any of the agency’s resources or supportive services. Before, clients or potential clients would have to call specific departments, each with their own unique telephone number, to gain assistance. Clients stated this process, when they were already in crisis, left them feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. In response, a centralized telephone system was created and now clients dial one telephone number and can respond to either phone prompts or speak to a live individual for assistance with any of our services.

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?

It’s improved relationships between service providers and clients and positively impacted program development and resources to be more reflective of clients’ needs.

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?

It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback,