Survey of Experiences with Service Agencies in Durham Region

Instructions

This is a survey of your experiences with various service agencies in the Durham Region. We think you will find the survey interesting. Hopefully, the results will be used to improve the quality of these services. We would like to remind you that your answers will be kept strictly confidential. No one will know that you have answered this survey, and there is no way for anyone to identify you. It is important that your answers are accurate. Please read the instructions for each section carefully and answer each question as honestly as you can.
Section One

Background Information

First, we would like to know a little bit about you.

1.	Are you male or female?

	Male
	Female

2.	What is your age?

3.	What is your highest level of education?

	Did not go to school
	Some primary school
	Primary school
	Some high school
	Completed high school
	Some college or university
	Completed college or university
	Post-graduate degree (e.g. Master's or PhD degree)

4.	What is your current marital status?

	Married
	Divorced
	Single
	Separated
	Widowed
	Living with a common law partner

5.	Are you currently employed or unemployed?

	Employed, full-time
	Employed, part-time
	Unemployed, seeking employment
	Unemployed, not looking for employment

6.	Which range best describes the total combined income of all members of your household before taxes?

	Less than $10,000
	$10,000 to $19,999
	$20,000 to $29,999
	$30,000 to $39,999
	$40,000 to $49,999
	$50,000 to $59,999
	$60,000 to $69,999
	$70,000 to $79,999
	$80,000 to $89,999
	$90,000 to $99,999
	Over $100,000

7.	What is the primary source of your household income?

	Employment
	Employment insurance benefits
	Disability payments (e.g. ODSP)
	Social assistance (e.g. Ontario Works)
	Other, specify:

8.	In which country were you born?

9.	What is your status in Canada?

	Canadian citizen
	Permanent resident (landed immigrant)
	Refugee
	Visa resident (student/employment)
	Other, specify:

10.	What year did you arrive in Canada?

11.	What is your religious background?

	None
	Christian
	Muslim
	Jewish
	Hindu
	Buddhist
	Other, specify:

12.	What is your primary spoken language (i.e. your mother tongue)?

	English (Skip to Q. 14)
	French
	Spanish
	Urdu
	Persian (Farsi/Dari)
	Arabic
	Mandarin
	Other, specify:

13.	If English is not your primary spoken language, how well do you speak English?

	Very well
	Well
	Fairly well
	Not well
	Not well at all

14.	What other language do you speak (i.e. second language)?

	(Select all that apply.)
	None
	English
	French
	Other, secify:

15.	In what part of Durham do you currently live?

	Pickering
	Ajax
	Whitby
	Oshawa
	Clarington (e.g. Courtice, Bowmanville, Newcastle)
	Scugog (e.g. Port Perry)
	Brock
	Uxbridge

Use of Health and Social Services 1

Now, we would like to ask you some questions about your feelings, thoughts and experiences with service agencies in Durham Region. By service agencies, we mean services that might help you or your family with things like housing, your health, adjustment to Canada, immigration, employment or other needs you might have.

Please indicate if you have used the specified service in Durham Region. For each service you did use, please also tell us how helpful these services were.

16.	Have you ever used the services of the Criminal Justice System in Durham (e.g. police, courts, child protection services, legal aid, or other legal services)?

	Yes
	No (Skip to Q. 18)

17.	How helpful were these services?

	Not helpful at all
	Somewhat helpful
	Very helpful

18.	Have you ever called a hotline and/or helpline for assistance in Durham?

	Yes
	No (Skip to Q. 20)

19.	How helpful were these services?

	Not helpful at all
	Somewhat helpful
	Very helpful

20.	Have you ever visited a social worker or counselor in Durham?

	Yes
	No (Skip to Q. 22)

21.	How helpful were these services?

	Not helpful at all
	Somewhat helpful
	Very helpful

22.	Have you ever used a shelter and/or emergency housing in Durham (e.g. a women's shelter or homeless shelter)?

	Yes
	No (Skip to Q. 24)

23.	How helpful were these services?

	Not helpful at all
	Somewhat helpful
	Very helpful

24.	Have you ever used immigration and/or settlement services in Durham (e.g. ISAP, NSP, Host Program, or LINC)?

	Yes
	No (Skip to Q. 26)

25.	How helpful were these services?

	Not helpful at all
	Somewhat helpful
	Very helpful

26.	Have you ever used employment assistance services in Durham (e.g. job banks, resume help, employment counseling)?

	Yes
	No (Skip to Q. 28)

27.	How helpful were these services?

	Not helpful at all
	Somewhat helpful
	Very helpful

28.	Have you ever used social assistance or welfare services in Durham (e.g. Ontario Works)?

	Yes
	No (Skip to Q. 30)

29.	How helpful were these services?

	Not helpful at all
	Somewhat helpful
	Very helpful

30.	Have you ever used medical services, other than your family physician, in Durham (e.g. community health centres, clinics, emergency rooms)?

	Yes
	No (Skip to Q. 32)

31.	How helpful were these services?

	Not helpful at all
	Somewhat helpful
	Very helpful

32.	Have you ever used a food bank or other emergency food programs in Durham?

	Yes
	No (Skip to Q. 34)

33.	How helpful were these services?

	Not helpful at all
	Somewhat helpful
	Very helpful

34.	Have you ever used mental health services in Durham?

	Yes
	No (Skip to Q. 36)

35.	How helpful were these services?

	Not helpful at all
	Somewhat helpful
	Very helpful

36.	Have you ever used day care or child minding services in Durham?

	Yes
	No (Skip to Q. 38)

37.	How helpful were these services?

	Not helpful at all
	Somewhat helpful
	Very helpful

38.	Have you ever used educational services in Durham (e.g. ESL/LINC)?

	Yes
	No (Skip to Q. 40)

39.	How helpful were these services?

	Not helpful at all
	Somewhat helpful
	Very helpful

40.	Have you ever used housing support services in Durham (e.g. social housing, transitional housing, Rent Bank, Winter Warmth Fund)?

	Yes
	No (Skip to Q. 42)

41.	How helpful were these services?

	Not helpful at all
	Somewhat helpful
	Very helpful

42.	Have you ever used any other health or social services in Durham?

	Yes, specify:
	No (Skip to Q. 44)

43.	How helpful were these services?

	Not helpful at all
	Somewhat helpful
	Very helpful

Use of Health and Social Services 2

In this section we would like you to think about your experiences with various service agencies you have used in Durham Region. Again, by service agencies, we mean services that might help you or your family with things like housing, your health, adjustment to Canada, immigration, employment or other needs you might have.

44.	Which of the following types of services have you used THE MOST OFTEN since moving to Durham?

	Criminal justice/legal services
	Social worker/counseling services
	Shelter/emergency housing services (e.g. women's shelter, homeless shelter)
	Medical/health services (other than your family doctor)
	Mental health services
	Employment services (e.g. job bank, resume assistance)
	Immigration/Settlement services
	Educational services
	Social assistance/welfare services (e.g. Ontario Works, ODSP)
	Food bank/emergency food services
	Day care/child minding services
	Housing support services (e.g. rent bank, winter warmth, social housing)
	Other, specify:

Information About the Service Agency Used Most Often 1

Please consider the agency at which you received these services when answering the questions in this section.

Yes

I don't know

45.	The service agency was easy to get to from my home.

46.	The waiting room of this service agency had brochures or handouts telling me about the services that I could get there.

47.	These brochures and other handouts were available in other languages as well as English and French.

48.	There were staff from multiple ethnic/racial backgrounds at the agency.

49.	There were staff and/or volunteers who spoke languages other than English available at this service agency.

50.	There were staff and/or volunteers that spoke my primary language (mother tongue) available to help me.

Information About the Service Agency Used Most Often 2

Please consider the agency at which you received these services when answering the questions in this section. Indicate whether you strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the following statements.

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

51.	When I first called or came to the service agency the staff made me comfortable and they were easy to talk to.

52.	The staff and/or volunteers at the service agency listened to me and/or my family when we spoke with them.

53.	The staff at the service agency treated me with respect.

54.	The staff at the service agency was respectful of my religious or spiritual beliefs.

55.	The staff at the service agency was respectful of my ethnic or cultural background.

56.	If I had a compliant, I feel that the staff at the service agency would have helped me resolve the issue.

57.	The staff at the service agency seemed to understand that I may feel more comfortable working with someone that is the same sex as me.

58.	I felt that I could trust the staff at the service agency who worked with me.

59.	The staff at the service agency did all that they could to help me resolve the issue that I came to them with.

60.	I would return to this service agency for assistance if I needed it in the future.

General Opinions about Services in Durham

You have almost completed the survey. Before we end, we would like you to think about some of the problems and/or barriers that you may have experienced while trying to access health and social services in Durham. Indicate whether you strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the following statements.

Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

61.	I feel that the waiting lists to access services are too long.

62.	I feel that programs and services are not respectful of my cultural background.

63.	I feel that the staff and volunteers at services agencies do not understand my culture or religion.

64.	The procedures to access services are too complicated and confusing.

65.	The hours of service agencies are not convenient to me.

66.	I am not fully aware of what services are available in my community.

67.	Transportation for me to get to the services is too inconvenient or not available.

68.	The services that I need are too expensive.

69.	I do not feel comfortable asking for help from service agencies.

70.	I feel that the available services are not helpful to me.

71.	I am worried about what others in my community may think if I access these services.

72.	I am worried that the services that I may receive would not be confidential.

Final Thoughts

73.	Are there any other problems or barriers that you face while trying to access health and social services in Durham (please write your answer below)?

74.	If there was one thing that you would suggest to improve ether service or services that you have received in the past, what would it be (please write your answer below)?

75.

Thank you for completing this survey. We would like to remind you that everything you have told us will remain STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL. We have asked you about many different things related to the services that you have accessed in Durham, but we may have skipped something that is important to you. If you would like to make further comments about something, please fell free to do so below.