03 Methods
Part 1: Comprehensive Survey
The second round of data collection began with a comprehensive survey from mid-January to mid-February 2021. The survey was designed to understand how organizations have adjusted over the duration of the on-going COVID-19 pandemic since May 2020.
An online survey was developed using QuestionPro, a web-based survey platform. The survey consisted of a series of Likert scale questions and open-ended questions about changes made during the pandemic, overall concern, importance of specific resources, and future challenges. Likert scale questions allowed for a greater degree of nuance and for easier comparison, while open-ended questions provided additional detail not easily discernible from the Likert scale questions.
The first section of the survey collected contact information from respondents. The second section began by asking respondents to rate their level of concern on several items such as “Staff furloughs” and “Loss of income” at the beginning and at the time of taking the survey. The Likert scale allowed for us to make significant comparisons between the two time frames to better understand overall changes in concern. In addition, we also asked about the degree to which operational changes made in response to COVID-19 occurred.
The third section of the survey was focused on service delivery. We asked respondents to rate the importance of organizational resources, such as “Personal protective equipment (PPE) and related health precautions” and “Supportive services for employees (e.g. mental health assistance),” to mitigate the continued impacts of COVID-19. Disruption of core services and the ability to meet client needs were also topic areas covered by this section. Furthermore, specific open-ended questions focused on gaining feedback about the Virginia Rent and Mortgage Relief Program (RMRP), homeless service provider ability to transition individuals to long-term housing, and programs developed in direct response to COVID-19.
The fourth section asked respondents to rate the importance of COVID-19 financial relief sources such as CARES Act funding or philanthropic support, then followed by asking how sources of funding were utilized within their organization. This section ends by having respondents rate the degree of change among private funding sources since the beginning of the pandemic.
The final section of the survey was focused on organizational health. Respondents were asked to rate the physical, mental, and emotional health of both their clients and staff. Then respondents were asked to disclose whether any staff members had contracted COVID-19 and to describe how positive cases were handled. The survey closed by allowing for respondents to comment on any additional COVID-9 impacts not addressed already within the survey.
The survey was delivered to 22 Richmond housing nonprofit executive directors and CEOs via e-mail. Individuals were sent reminder emails or contacted via phone to be reminded to take the survey. Out of the 22 potential respondents, HousingForward/VHA received 17 completed survey responses for a 71% response rate.
Part 2: Follow-up Interviews
In order to explore further the answers provided by respondents, HousingForward/VHA felt that it was imperative to conduct follow-up interviews. These interviews were conducted by phone from late January 2021 to early March 2021. The questions asked were based on the specific answers of each respondent, but were largely focused on having respondents provide greater detail about COVID-19’s impact and the future challenges that individuals foresaw in 2021 and beyond. HFV/VHA were particularly interested in major shifts in concern over time, as well as operational changes.
Out of the 17 respondents to the survey, HousingForward/VHA were able to conduct phone interviews with 15 executive directors and CEOs.