At Saranam we believe in continual improvement which means that assessment and evaluation are part of our regular process. Over the past five years we have worked with UNM’s Evaluation Lab (graduate student researchers) on projects that have been built on each other so that we are able to complete a rigorous, two-year mixed methods study (qualitative and quantitative) to validate Saranam’s outcomes. In other words, are we doing what we say we are doing and having the results that we report?
Goals of the Study
In our fifth year with the UNM Evaluation Lab (academic year 2024-2025), we began with the qualitative portion of our mixed methods study.
The goal of this qualitative study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of our program and to identify key factors that support successful replication in new communities. By engaging alumni focus groups and staff within a community-based participatory research approach, we identified themes across the families and the program that emerge before, during, and after their stay, all of which contribute to equipping the families to achieve stability. Link HERE to see the report.
The larger goal is to validate with evidence-based research that Saranam’s families are empowered to end their homelessness and poverty for themselves and future generations.
Our mission statement — To empower families to end their homelessness and poverty through housing, education and supportive community — plays a big role how we look at our program in sections.
In this qualitative study, alumni families and staff were guided through activities and asked specific questions that led them to identify their own success, challenges, turning points, and learnings while at Saranam. From these findings, themes and major concepts emerged. Let’s look at an example.
How is Stability Defined?
When asking the question, “What equips families to achieve stability?” based on participants’ responses, stability is defined as: “Being characterized by a thriving and clear daily routine that is grounded in individually defined core values, autonomous decision making, a sense of peace and wellbeing with multiple pathways to personal success all while situated in the comfort of a safe and resourced environment.” These things were consistent across participants’ responses.
A Safe Home Opens Doors and Windows
The safety that home represented while in the program gave families “improvements in self-esteem, a sense of control, and the ability to focus on long-term goals.” With the consistency and supportive resources during their stay at Saranam, they could “move out of survival mode and into a growth mindset.” This is a big push for families because they could shift their energy and focus. After getting over a hump (or humps), to being able to see further down the road, potentially creating space for bigger ideas and dreams for themselves. The theme that the researchers concluded in this area was rootedness. Solidarity and support were also concluded by the researchers from the participants’ stories and data.
Education is Key to a Stable Future
Alumni participants in this study said that after leaving the program they pursued higher education, increased their earning potential, achieved stable employment, and some were preparing to start a new business. Adults took on a new sense of pride from achieving a stable income and financial independence.
The themes that the researchers synthesized in this area were liberation, discipline, and empowerment. Some participants now have the “capacity to develop hobbies, no longer focusing simply on surviving but on their personal interests.” Research supported that components like, financial education, asset-building, and career assessment help a Saranam adult “shift focus from crisis management to personal growth through structured programming.”
Community is Fundamental
The growth, as well as solidarity, balance, and support, that the participants experience at Saranam was immense. After leaving the program, families reported stronger relationships with their own family members, staying connected to fellow alumni, and maintaining boundaries with themselves and new people in their community. Some could support others with their new skills and knowledge. One adult shared, “my son has returned so I can help him with learning adult life skills.”
Families lived in community for up to two years. They were neighbors, they volunteered in the greater community as a cohort, and the shared experiences created a strong community. It was an experience and an example of how to create community and what to look for after they left the program.
Opportunity to Share
In May 2025, UNM Evaluation Lab and Saranam presented at the virtual NM Public Health Association Conference. During a learning session, the teams presented results of a study entitled “Cohort Design: A Two-Year Mixed Methods Evaluation of Program Efficacy & Replicability”. The session was viewed by 35 conference attendees including representatives from NM Department of Health, NMSU, Roosevelt County Health Council, Rescue Agency, City of Gallup Behavioral Health, Walden University, and more.
“Presenting our evaluation work as a public health topic at the NMPHA this year was an excellent opportunity to show how Saranam is effective at its mission of ending homelessness and poverty in New Mexico families. Families experiencing homelessness is a critical public health issue in New Mexico. Families experience greater health risks and pregnancy complications, challenges to healthcare access, and decreased access to safe and affordable housing. Children’s education is also impacted,” shared Saranam’s Director of Continuous Improvement, Ellen Shepherd, who participated on the panel.
Saranam believes in evaluation and learning from the families who have come through our program. It is important for us to know what they think has been most helpful in the process of them becoming stable. This is important work!
Now, as we begin the second year of this two-year study, we look forward to learning more about our program. Stay tuned for future findings in our quantitative study and our evaluation process.