the McMASTER STUDENTS UNION SERVICES REVEIW STUDENT WALK HOME ATTENDANT TEAM S ta

Transcription

1 the McMASTER STUDENTS UNION SERVICES REVEIW RA nding Commi tte S ta e - -S STUDENT WALK HOME ATTENDANT TEAM - Ser ces vi

2 SWHAT INTERNAL REVIEW: SUMMARY OF RESULTS OPENING REMARKS On November 14 to 21, 2014 an internal review was conducted by the Services Committee in collaboration with the SWHAT Part-time Manager, Cherryl Doria. The review entailed a survey open to all SWHAT executives and volunteers who were encouraged by the service coordinator to provide their feedback. A total of 26 responses were received. The goal of this survey was to learn about why volunteers enjoy being a part of this service, why they may choose to volunteer with it specifically, whether or not they have enjoyed their role, and positive and negative experiences they have had as a part of the service. It asks to reflect on many areas of the service such as volunteer experience, operations, promotions, and logistics. They also had an opportunity to suggest ideas for how the service can improve on a long term basis. METHODS This survey was made available to all SWHAT volunteers for one week by way of a Google Form. The questions were made up of multiple choice and comment boxes, multiple selection questions, and more open-ended yes/no questions that involved a mandatory comment box. Volunteers were encouraged to elaborate on their answers and provide greater details by way of the comment boxes that accompanied most questions. SURVEY RESULTS 1. How did you first become invovled with SWHAT? USING THE SERVICE [3.8] SERVICE VOLUNTEER [92.3] OTHER (SWHAT SOCIAL) [3.8] 92.3 McMASTER STUDENTS UNION McMaster University 1280 Main Street West MUSC 201 Hamilton ON L8S 4S4 P: ext F:

3 2. How did you first hear about SWHAT? FACEBOOK [19.2] 11.5 MSU WEBSITE [11.5] FROM A FRIEND [53.8] FROM A SWHAT VOLUNTEER [50] 53.8 OTHER (LEARNLINK, WELCOME WEEK, CLUBSFEST) [19.2] 3. How many years have you volunteered with SWHAT for? If you are continuing at McMaster next year, are you considering returning/applying to be involved with SWHAT again?

4 SWHAT INTERNAL REVIEW: SUMMARY OF RESULTS 5. Do you feel that SWHAT volunteers have a strong sense of community? Many of those said that a sense of community grows as the year goes on. Makes being a part of this service a fun experience even when work conditions aren t great ex. in the winter, rainy days. 6. As a SWHAT volunteer, do you feel that you have a strong sense of purpose? Comments mentioning that there are clear objectives of the service: providing someone with a comfortable, safe, and fun walk home. This leads to a distinct sense of purpose. They also feel like they knew exactly what they were getting into when applying for this position. McMASTER STUDENTS UNION McMaster University 1280 Main Street West MUSC 201 Hamilton ON L8S 4S4 P: ext F:

5 7. Do you think SWHAT is respected on campus? As a SWHAT volunteer, do you feel comfortable working with other volunteers and executives? Do you think that more students should be utilizing SWHAT?

6 SWHAT INTERNAL REVIEW: SUMMARY OF RESULTS COMMENTARY: I know a lot of my friends that wouldn t utilize SWHAT if I wasn t on shift. Some people feel ashamed to be using SWHAT and I think this thought about the organization should be addressed. I think many people who are nervous about walking alone at night walk alone because of the stigma around using SWHAT. We get a lot of females needing a walk home. When males need to walk home by themselves their first though isn t to call swhat. It would be nice if we can allow them to feel comfortable in also utilizing this service more if they need it! I think that there is some misinformation about SWHAT (i.e. wether or not it s open on weekends) that, if clarified, would probably result in more people using the service. 10. Do you think the SWHAT office is accessible? What do you think is the most important initiative that SWHAT offers (select all that apply)? CHARITY WALK-A-THON [14.5] SAFE WALKS HOME ON A DAILY BASIS [36.2] VOLUNTEERS THAT ARE ADEQUATELY TRAINED [15.9] VOLUNTEERS THAT ARE KIND AND APPROACHABLE [31.9] SENSE OF COMMUNITY FOR VOLUNTEERS [1.4] McMASTER STUDENTS UNION McMaster University 1280 Main Street West MUSC 201 Hamilton ON L8S 4S4 P: ext F:

7 12. What could be done to improve the SWHAT office (select all that apply)? ROOM SET UP/LAYOUT [16.7] OPEN DOOR POLICY [6.3] MORE VISIBLE LOCATION [12.5] LARGER SPACE [35.4] MORE IDENTIFIABLE OFFICE [25.0] WRITING ON WINDOWS [4.2] 13. How can more students find out about SWHAT (select all that apply)? VOLUNTEERS AT MORE EVENTS [10.9] 10.9 LIBRARY STATIONS [20.3] 20.3 SWHAT NUMBER ADDED TO MAROON/RES LIFE POUCH [31.3] NIGHT CLASS VISITS [12.5] SWHAT PROMO ON CAMPUS SCREENS DURING LATE HOURS [23.4] OTHER (ADVERTISING USING THE MUSST APP) [1.6] 14. Comment box: Describe a situation where you had to reject a walk. I haven t had to reject a walk. I did take a walk where I went into the walk understanding the individual was drunk. The exec member double checked that my partner and I were comfortable taking the walk. He was pleasant and I didn t feel endangered, but after a walk that should have taken 15 minutes took close to an hour, I was frustrated that SWHAT was utilized in this way. We are a safe walk home service, but using SWHAT as a drunk way home isn t a fair or productive utilization of resources. Calling a cab would have been a more appropriate way to get home in hindsight. 7

8 SWHAT INTERNAL REVIEW: SUMMARY OF RESULTS 15. Comment box: What type of volunteer recognition is happening? What type of volunteer recognition would you like to see? People who go above and beyond have their names put on an appreciation board in the office. I would like to see possible incentives for successive semesters of service from the volunteers (i.e. a SWHAT mug after 1 semester of volunteering, a SWHAT sweater after 2, etc.) 16. Comment box: What s the best thing about your experience with SWHAT? Sense of community. Knowing that you are helping someone feel safe and comfortable. Meeting new people, either other SWHAT volunteers or clients. 17. Comment box: What s your least favourite part? The only thing that can be improved is advertising SWHAT to more students, so that we get more walks every night. 18. Comment box: How does scheduling work? Do you find it accommodating? All comments said they found the scheduling system accommodating and the executive in charge easy to work with and organized. Admit that it can be difficult to fit into their schedule but that it s a worthwhile experience. 19. Comment box: Is volunteer training conducive to your role? Most felt that training was helpful. Someone mentioned they didn t find positive space training helpful. There s also learning while on the job. Most are comfortable asking questions if they re ever unsure. 20. Comment box: Do you think having some sort of SWHAT swag or identifiable materials would be helpful to identify walkers? No. I think having the first name of the person we are going to walk is sufficient. I think looking like just another student protects the privacy of people that use walkers. For example males may have the sigma that they shouldnt need help walking home. With SWHAT gear, this may further discourage them from using our service. Many females also appreciate that we have minimal identifiable materials. Yes. Possibly a jacket/sweater for walkers with reflective stripes (something like EFERT). Just so the walkers don t look like 2 random students with a huge flashlight and walkie talkie McMASTER STUDENTS UNION McMaster University 1280 Main Street West MUSC 201 Hamilton ON L8S 4S4 P: ext F:

9 Carrying the walkie talkies and flash light usually makes use stick out as SWHAT but something else that says SWHAT on it might help. In the past, there were sweaters/jackets but they are not required to wear. I like just wearing name tags/flashlight/radio when we are walking. It provides more discretion for walks who might feel embarrassed using the service. I think SWHAT swag ex. hoodies, etc.. to wear on a personal basis could be an effective way of advertising and injecting the service into different environments. 21. Comment box: What do you think is a reasonable amount of time to reach a student waiting for a walk? Anywhere between 5 and 15 minutes depending on pickup location. RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendations from the committee are as follows 1. The service may want to consider giving walkers something distinct, like a SWHAT armband, to help students identify walkers that may be approaching them. 2. SWHAT volunteers mentioned they are interested in some sort of group swag. Considering many of them volunteer for more than one year with the service, it was suggested that there be different items depending on number of years with the service. It was also suggested to have something that all members could purchase and wear if interested, like a sweater or windbreaker. 3. Consider putting together a promo video including different student groups on campus. This could be an opportunity to appeal to particular student groups on campus that are currently less likely to use SWHAT but may still find it helpful. CLOSING REMARKS The results clearly demonstrated that SWHAT volunteers are happy and excited to be a part of this service. They have a good understanding of their role and what is expected of them, and although they encounter few challenges in these roles, those that they do encounter are recurring. Training seems to be adequate in preparing them for these roles, but adjustments could be made to better address a few concerns brought up in this survey, like how to reject a walk when someone is too inebriated. This service is well utilized and a great resource to students on campus. It is the committee s hope that these results shed light on the cohesive and dedicated volunteer community of SWHAT and help provide insight on ways in which the service can improve within their internal structure. 9

10 the McMASTER STUDENTS UNION SERVICES COMMITTEE - SRA Standing Committee - - Ser vices -