Social Services
Homeless Shelter Uses Feedback to Help Its Clients Regain Independence
In Little Rock, Arkansas, Our House provides shelter and support for homeless families and individuals. The nonprofit, led by Executive Director Ben Goodwin, encourages its clients to provide daily feedback to help them regain their independence and improve Our House’s services.
Program participants take surveys and some, such as Sharonica Lee, join the organization’s community council. The group interprets survey results, makes recommendations based upon them, tells respondents how their feedback shaped Our House, and assesses the benefits of change. Our House also has installed “happy or not” voting terminals that pose a daily question related to participants’ experiences.
The openness to feedback helps Our House participants to feel safe discussing their needs. Lindsey Fizer said she was quiet and “closed off” when she first came to the organization, but she eventually opened up. “The staff would sit with you, and they would ask you, 'How is everything going? What are your goals? What are your plans?' And that made a world of difference because it motivated me.”
This video is part of a multimedia series that was produced for Stanford Social Innovation Review by Milway Media with the support of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
In this multimedia series, sponsored by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, voices from the social sector will offer tactics, tools, and advice gleaned from the grassroots to encourage nonprofits and foundations to make listening to their constituents—and acting on what they hear—a smart norm for any organization committed to improvement.
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