Client storytelling is a staple of the nonprofit business model, ever present in advocacy, clinic tours, fundraising—and news articles like the one you are reading right now.
02.07.17
In November and December of last year, Health Care for the Homeless set out to better understand our clients’ experiences with our services. With an independent administrator surveying more than 350 clients of varying backgrounds and medical histories, this was one of our most comprehensive surveys we’ve conducted to date. More importantly, it will position us to better gauge how we’re doing in our clients’ eyes from this point forward.
Now, the numbers are in and we’re happy to share them with you right here. Take a look below to see what we’re doing well, what needs work and how we can leverage these results to continue improving the care and services we deliver to our clients day in and day out.
Plenty of good news to share
Reviewing the results is reassuring. Across the board, most of our clients were very happy with our services. Here are three important takeaways:
With such high marks where it counts the most, we should all feel very good about the work we do. Way to go, team!
Where we can improve
The survey shows us what we’re doing well—and it points up those areas where we can do better. Once we move past bathroom cleanliness (a never-ending challenge, we know!) , two key themes emerge in the where-we-can-do-better department.
What’s next
With this data and feedback in hand, we will continue to reflect on and strive to improve our practices. And we’ll explore ways to engage our clients around the results in meaningful ways—for them, and for our work.
Finally, this survey and its results will help us set a new baseline for gauging how we’re doing in our clients’ eyes. We will conduct a second survey this spring, and then again, twice a year. And these first two sets of results will provide the benchmark against which we can continue to assess our performance over time.
Client storytelling is a staple of the nonprofit business model, ever present in advocacy, clinic tours, fundraising—and news articles like the one you are reading right now.
The Trans Rights Advocacy Coalition (TRAC) has been the driving force in championing trans rights policy changes in Maryland. Due to stigma and structural discrimination, transgender people—particularly transgender people of color—experience high rates of homelessness. Following the implementation of the Trans Health Equity Act in January, we talked with TRAC leadership about their work and community.
Since starting in January 2022, REI Health Specialist Arie Hayre-Somuah, LMSW, MPH has worked with our clinical teams to identify health disparities and move us closer to health equity. This year, she is turning her focus to the topic of health literacy.
We are delighted to announce the promotion of Hanna Mast from Senior Communications Manager to Director of Communications. Get to know more about her work in the Q&A below!