New research conducted by leading homelessness charity St Mungo’s shows that 93% of the people it supports were happy with the service they received.
The data, from the organisation’s Client Feedback Survey shows that more than nine out of 10 clients surveyed were ‘satisfied with the support they received from St Mungo’s overall’ with 94% of clients agreeing that ‘staff are caring, compassionate and respectful’.
The survey asked clients a range of open ended and multiple choice questions and included responses from all the areas where the charity provides services.
Survey results also show that:
- 91% of clients agreed that St Mungo’s has helped them make positive choices in their life
- 89% of people who responded said St Mungo’s staff encourage them to achieve their hopes and ambitions, and
- Almost 9/10 clients (88%) said they felt safe in their home or service
Many of the questions within the survey allowed the respondents to give detailed, personal answers.
These are some of these responses:
“From my experience, I would be in no man’s land and I class myself very lucky to be in the right hands, with the right support worker. I am truthfully thankful to all members of staff.”
“You guys are very welcoming, friendly, [and] professional. You’ve made me feel very welcomed, cared for, and given me a great opportunity to get back on my feet. Thank you so much.”
“[The] service was well run and organised, staff were excellent with support and encouragement; it’s like a five star organisation.”
“[St Mungo’s] made me feel like I’m a person… encouraged me to think and be positive about myself and look forward to happier times.”
St Mungo’s Interim Chief Executive Rebecca Sycamore said: “It is reassuring that so many of our clients feel so positively about the support they’ve received. And we are grateful that so many took the time to complete the survey.
“St Mungo’s specialist teams are highly skilled and experts in service provision and as such we know how important it is to regularly seek and respond to the opinions and experiences of the people who matter most – our clients.
“For me, one of the things that this research clearly highlights is the importance of the relationship between our clients and their key workers. And the role that plays in helping people feel empowered and supported as they move on with their lives.
“It is great to see such positive responses, however we know there is always more for us to learn, ways for us to develop and improvements which can be made to our services so we can continue to provide the best support possible to people as they recover from homelessness.”
Areas identified where improvements can be made include the provision of more staff and resources, better IT provision and maintenance of accommodation.
The data from the survey will be used by St Mungo’s to assess its provision and identify opportunities for development.
St Mungo’s services which were included in the survey were residential (hostels and semi-independent housing); ‘floating support’ services such as Housing First and Tenancy Sustainment Teams – which support clients to live independently; temporary short-term accommodation such a No Second Night Out, and the street outreach teams.
The survey is conducted every two years. The last survey was conducted in 2018/19. It did not take place in 2020/21 because of the pandemic. This year 660 clients took part.