When you run a domestic violence shelter, you realize early on that the traditional rules of "customer feedback" don’t apply. In a standard business, if a customer is unhappy, they leave or they complain. In a shelter, the stakes are life and death. This creates what we at Pulse for Good call the "Power Paradox."
Think about it from the survivor's perspective: the agency is providing their bed, their food, and their physical safety. When your entire world depends on a provider, you are incredibly unlikely to "rock the boat." The more a resident needs you, the less likely they are to be honest with you. They are in a state of hyper-vigilance, constantly scanning for anything that might jeopardize their current stability. If they feel a staff member was dismissive or a rule was unfair, their brain calculates the risk: Is speaking up worth losing my housing? Is the comfort of complaining worth the risk of being seen as a "difficult" resident?
Angela, the Chief Program Officer at SafeNest, saw this clearly. She realized that when an agency asks for feedback directly—whether through a staff-led interview or a branded digital link—the answers are inherently compromised by the resident's need to stay in "good standing." Even with the best intentions, the "brand" of the shelter carries a weight that can stifle the truth. People who have been traumatized by people in power are naturally wary of those in power, even the ones trying to help.
"I love the fact that Pulse is unable to be manipulated," Angela explains. "We’re not the ones collecting the data. I think that things could be skewed if the agency putting out the survey is also the one disseminating the information... there’s too much room for error. Like, 'oh, we’re not going to use this one. Oh, we’re not going to use this one.' Right? Whereas Pulse is real raw data and it has nothing to do with SafeNest. It’s a third party collecting the information."
To truly advocate for survivors, we have to remove the "provider" from the middle of the feedback loop. By using a third-party platform, you aren't just collecting data you’re removing the fear of retaliation. You’re giving survivors a way to be honest without risking the roof over their heads. When you remove the power dynamic, you finally start getting the "raw data" that actually saves lives. You move from a culture of "polite compliance" to a culture of honesty.