SANE has a new look! Learn more and give your feedback here

Hi @Spoonie I am a bit confused here ...you stated that "With an agency, we conducted a brand review: consulting the SANE community, conducting surveys with service users including Forums members" then further on "...we understand the frustration from the community regarding being consulted on these changes".

I have several questions -

1. why was the community of over 32,000 members (now over 33,000) not consulted,

2. what was the actual sample number of those supposedly consulted,

3. how were they selected

4. what questions were asked

Furthermore ...and this is a question for our Community Manager @Former-Member - why was the Community Guide team not included here and therefore able to bring this process into the forums for others to have their say. This would seem to be just the occasion where CGs could advocate on behalf (and with) the wider forums membership.

It is further disappointing that stating being diverse and inclusive were important yet the process itself was NOT inclusive. The contradiction here is further exacerbated by the consistent defining of SANE as for people with 'complex mental health issues'. This is also not inclusive and does not equate to the new tag line 'We are people like you'.

There seems to be a lot of incongruity in what SANE 'wants' to be and what SANE actually is. I fully understand the difficulties in standing out and needing to appease a multitude of stake holders but having the courage to include those in such decisions that actually use the service I would see as the first (and major) step. This is not the first time that members of our community have asked to be consulted/included/informed, yet those requests seem to be ignored. I do hope that this is foremost in the Teams mind next time any changes are envisaged and/or changes to the service model are worked on. Transparency in both the processes and changes of the layout/design/service delivery, with the majority of those that use the service, is actually inclusion ...not just the mention of the word.

Disappointing in a space created for members to "...share your thoughts and ask any questions" as stated in the original post that those questions are not answered.

@Former-Member @Spoonie

@Wanderer

Hi @Zoe7 ,

Thank you for taking the time to post your questions and concerns.

Rest assured, your feedback has been received. Sometimes, it takes a little longer to respond as we want to ensure you get the most accurate information. Movement and change takes time.

We are continually looking at ways to improve. This means, your feedback is valued.

Holdinghope5

Yeah I dont get it either @Gwynn pages take longer to load now seems, end up just pushing buttons and not getting expected response. Ok its my bad internet. I cant afford broadband or 1000 dollar signal boosters..

Thanks for the feedback @Gwynn , we are certainly hearing you and your feedback has been received. We are definitely looking at ways to increase the accessibility of our forums.

Thank you.

Thanks @tyme, it’s just frustrating when we have been raising issues with the new design since June, and web accessibility should have been built into the new design as a matter of course.

This most definitely informs our next steps @Gwynn , particularly as the service grows, we are seeking feedback during initial and along-the-way consultations to ensure such things do not happen in the future.

Once again, thank you for your feedback.

tyme

Absolutely agree @Gwynn It is so frustrating having that 'banner' drop down when you are typing - it takes up so much of the page and makes it difficult to navigate around. I have logged off many times after getting frustrated with that 'banner' - just not worth the frustration 😠 It is also frustrating that the very large community here were not consulted in all these changes - it is a very big part of the disillusionment that I currently feel with the forums as a whole. Hopefully in the future this will change - and I am seeing small changes in this regard - but it does not take away from the exclusion I feel we have been treated with as a community in this new design. As with you, I also have not seen any changes nor replies to questions I have asked elsewhere and that further leads to a feeling of being ignored when we have been asked to comment on such changes.