How to Take Action: An Advocacy Toolkit A Call to Action One in every 45 children in the U.S. is homeless each year. Half of these children are under age six. With poverty levels the highest in a decade, families have become the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population. Poverty, lack of affordable housing, and lack of economic mobility all contribute to this growing problem. And, it is young children who are most effected. The stress and trauma of homelessness is emotionally and cognitively damaging to them and costly to their communities. Homeless children are two times more likely to have learning disabilities and eight times more likely to be asked to repeat a grade. Every dollar we spend on early education for homeless children saves approximately $10 dollars later. As individuals, we can impact the lives of homeless children. Together, we can advocate for policies that break the cycle of homelessness. Together, we can create change. You can make a difference. We have assembled this toolkit as a resource to help you make an impact in your community. Thank you for taking the first step and helping homeless children across Massachusetts. e Yo ur Vo ic Makes a Difference How To Take Action: An Advocacy Toolkit Page 1 About Us Horizons for Homeless Children is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of young homeless children in Massachusetts by ensuring that they are prepared for school success. We provide high-quality early education, opportunities for play, and comprehensive family support services. We serve 3,000 homeless children each week through our early education centers, our shelter-based Playspaces, and our Family Partnership Program. We are the only organization in Massachusetts focused exclusively on the Table of Contents Getting Started............................................................3 Learn about the Issue Take Action Online How To Talk to Legislators.......................................4 Write or Call Your Legislators Visit Your Legislators Attend a Town Hall Meeting....................................5 How to Make News....................................................6 Write a Letter to the Editor Write an OpEd How to Involve Others...............................................7 Host a House Party Report Your Advocacy: Contact Horizons ..........8 Advocacy Resources..................................................9 How To Take Action: An Advocacy Toolkit Page 2 Getting Started Learn About the Issue Go to horizonschildren.org to learn about family homelessness and watch stories about how high-quality early education and family support services are making a difference in the lives of homeless children and their families. Take Action Online Sign Up for Our Online Community By joining our online community, you will receive newsletters and email alerts. Go to horizonschildren.org and sign up at the top of the page. Send an Online Message to Legislators Sending an Online Message to Legislators is a quick way to take action. In less than three minutes, you can send a pre-written message to state and federal legislators about a variety of issues and proposed policies that impact children and families experiencing homelessness. Go to horizonschildren.org/takeaction Click on any of the Action Alerts displayed. This will lead you to a message that you can personalize and send to your legislator with just a few clicks. Join our Social Network Follow us on Twitter at: @HHCTweets. Or, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/horizonsforhomelesschildren for homelesschildren.org. How To Take Action: An Advocacy Toolkit Page 3 How to Talk to your Legislators Write or Call Your Legislators Visit Your Legislators Sometimes it really does just take one letter, or call to gain a legislator’s support. We have seen state legislators sign on to co-sponsor legislation after one volunteer from their district shared their personal perspective. There is also power in numbers. By educating community members about issues and encouraging them to reach out, you can move policy. Your legislators and their staff count on you to find out what’s important in your district. Your State Senator and State Representative each have a district office in your community. They also have offices at the State House in Boston. Bringing a small group of individuals committed to an issue to a legislator’s office can be very powerful. You can call their office directly to set up a time or reach out to Horizons for help scheduling a meeting. 1. Choose a method. Write a letter or call. 2. Identify your legislators. Go to wheredoivotema.com. Type in your home address and you’ll be directed to contact info for your State Representative, State Senator, U.S. Congressman and U.S. Senators as well as other elected officials. 3. Make contact. We have a draft letter and phone script in the Resources Section (pages 9 and 10) of this Toolkit that you can use as a starting point. Feel free to make them personal! Your U.S. Senator and Congressman also have offices in Massachusetts. Horizons would be happy to help facilitate these meetings if a group is interested. Legislators will want to hear stories about children experiencing homelessness, understand what the programs in your home district look like, and hear how they can help (specific legislation they can support, specific programs they can fund). Let us know about your visit and how we can help with follow-up! Email [email protected] and tell us you took action! (details on pg. 8) If you call, the person on the phone in the legislator’s office will be accustomed to taking notes about what you say to pass along to the legislator. Mention specific actions; Legislators want to know how to help. What bill should they sign onto? What policy is ineffectively serving homeless children? horizonschildren.org/takeaction provides timely content you can use in a call like this. How To Take Action: An Advocacy Toolkit Page 4 Attend a Town Hall Meeting Attend a Town Hall Meeting Every city and town in Massachusetts hosts regular public meetings. Whether they’re called town meetings, town halls, city council meetings, or public forums, they are all a great place for you to pose a thoughtful question and put child homelessness on the radar of local decision makers. 1. Check out our online listing of ‘Public Forums & Town Hall Meetings’ at horizonschildren.org/townhall. We’ve compiled a list of what these meetings are called and when they take place. 2. A ttend! Sometimes there will be a sign in list for community members who want to make comments. If there’s a staff member off to the side, ask about a public comment period. 3. T ake the mic! When the allotted time comes, introduce yourself and ask a thoughtful question. Here is a sample: My name is Jane Smith and I live in [My Town]. I’m very concerned about the growing issue of child homelessness in our community and across Massachusetts. What is our town (or this council) doing to address the issue? Are we working with our elected officials at the State House to share our city/town’s perspective about the issue? • 1 in 45 children in the U.S. will experience homelessness each year • F amilies make up 40% of the homeless population and are the fastest growing segment • In Massachusetts, child homelessness can be virtually invisible, many children are living doubled up with relatives or living in shelter. • E very school system in the state of Massachusetts reports that there are homeless children in their district (and the numbers are growing) 5. B e sure to thank the group for the opportunity to speak and ask about how you can follow up. Who’s the best contact from the Council/ group to speak to going forward about the issue? Email [email protected] and tell us you took action! (Details on pg. 8) 4. T he council/group may have an answer, may be unfamiliar with the issue, or may want more background. If they’re looking for context/stats, here are a few that you can provide. How To Take Action: An Advocacy Toolkit Page 5 How to Make News Write a Letter to the Editor Write an OpEd Your local newspaper can be a great way to generate dialog and awareness in your community. When you share your views, you are educating thousands of people about child homelessness. Like the Letter to the Editor, the OpEd appears on the opinion page. The OpEd is an article that expresses an individual’s point of view. The opinion page is a widely read page in every paper. Letters to the Editor allow you to express your opinion publically. Here are some guidelines for writing and submitting letters to your local paper: 1. Understand the letter submission guidelines of your specific paper. They can generally be found online or on the opinion page. 2. Be timely. Letters that comment on recent articles are more likely to be published. 3. Be brief, organized, and factual. Generally, letters should be no more than 200 words. Every letter should address the issue, include a clear statement of position, present a personal insight, suggest the number of those that support the issues, and include a clear call to action. Try to keep the letter positive and be sure that you have checked your facts. 1. U nderstand the letter submission guidelines of your specific paper. They can generally be found online or on the opinion page. 2. B e brief, organized, and factual. Generally, OpEds are 700-750 words and follow a clear structure. a. The problem b. The solution c. The call to action Use simple declarative statements and be sure to fact check your article. 3. C all to follow up. After you submit your OpEd, be sure to call and follow up. You want to make sure your OpEd was received and ask if it will be published. Email [email protected] and tell us you took action! (details on pg. 8) 4. C all to follow up. After you submit your letter, be sure to call and follow up. You want to make sure your letter was received and ask when it will be published. How To Take Action: An Advocacy Toolkit Page 6 How to Involve Others Host a House Party Policy change starts with awareness and awareness starts with conversation. One of the most vital actions we can take to better serve homeless children is to increase awareness about the barriers they face. As awareness in our own communities increases, so does awareness across the Commonwealth. 1. A ssemble a small group of friends, neighbors, colleagues, or family and invite them to your home or a common space. 2. Set expectations for the evening: ‘We’re all members of this community, child homelessness is an issue that I’ve learned about (if you’ve volunteered in a shelter or in the Horizons’ Playspace Program you might want to mention that) and I think it’s really important so I really appreciate the chance to talk about it with all of you. We don’t all have to be on the same page, I know we’ll all see the issue from different angles, I’m just hoping that tonight will start the conversation and we can start thinking about how we can have an impact.’ 3. Show our short video to introduce the issue of child homelessness. Please visit horizonsforhomelesschildren.org/newsevents/stories/. How To Take Action: An Advocacy Toolkit 4. P ose a few questions to the group to guide the discussion. Here are a few suggestions: a. F amily homelessness can be a really invisible issue, have you seen signs of it in our community? b. B efore today, were you aware that child homelessness was such a large issue in Massachusetts? c. W hat do we know about supporting young children who need our help? What do you think are some of the greatest barriers homeless children face? Or, use a few facts to generate discussion. A list of current facts on family homelessness can be found at horizonschildren.org/stats. 5. A s a group, decide on an action plan. Having each person write a letter to their legislator is often a good way to end a house party. Our Horizons’ staff would love to hear about your house party and provide additional resources (like the ones found here) to help you create awareness about the issue in your local community. Email [email protected] and tell us you took action! (details on pg. 8) Page 7 Report Your Advocacy: Contact Horizons We know you’re doing amazing work across the state on behalf of homeless children – but we don’t know the details! Keep us in the loop so we can better support you, share ideas, and learn from your feedback! Each time you take an ACTION (either one described in the packet or one you came up with yourself) send us a quick email with the following info: • Short description of the action • Date • City/Town • Who was involved? • Any next steps? • A ny additional resources we can provide to support actions like this? Email [email protected] and tell us you took action! Or, if you prefer, give us a call at 617-553-5430, we’d be happy to chat! How To Take Action: An Advocacy Toolkit Page 8 Advocacy Resources A phone call is an effective way to contact your elected officials about a particular bill, law, or upcoming vote. Our online advocacy center and linked action alerts are a great place to start for content: horizonschildren.org/takeaction. Those alerts highlight timely, specific issues. You can also review our ‘Legislative Priorities List’ to familiarize yourself with pending legislation that will better serve young children experiencing homelessness across Massachusetts and across the U.S. The most effective phone calls are those that focus on one specific issue and underscore what you want the legislator to do: co-sponsor, support, vote in favor of, or vote against. Phone Script Hi my name is _______. I live in the [Senator/ Representative/Congressman’s] district. I’m calling to express my support for [bill number or other specific ask]. Staff member may ask for the spelling of your name or your address. This bill will help children in our district who need our support. I am a [volunteer/coach/ parent/ teacher/etc.] and I know how critical it is to ensure that families have access to [childcare/education/workforce support/other service]. Staff member will usually affirm that he or she is taking notes to pass along to the elected official. What’s the [Senator/Representative/ Congressman’s] position on this bill/issue? Staff member may provide a firm answer or let you know that the elected official is still gathering information and working to make a decision. Thanks for your time. Please tell the [Senator/ Representative/Congressman] that we really need her/his support and our district is counting on her/him to take the lead on this issue! How To Take Action: An Advocacy Toolkit Page 9 Advocacy Resources A letter is an effective way to contact your elected offi- cials about a particular bill, law, or upcoming vote. The most effective letters are those that focus on one specific issue and underscore what you want the legislator to do: co-sponsor, support, vote in favor of, or vote against. Letter/Email Template Dear [Congressman/Senator/Representative], Thank you for your continued commitment to ending child and family homelessness. [Personalize your message] I currently volunteer through Horizons for Homeless Children’s Playspace Program. In this capacity, I spend 2 hours each week working with children living in shelter… [Mention a specific piece of policy, bill, area of interest, etc.] I cannot stress enough that we need support from across government agencies to break the cycle of family homelessness. I urge you to support and fund childcare and early education programs that support low income and homeless children. While putting families in stable housing is critically important, homelessness is not just about housing. The workforce support that child care provides is a necessary component in a homeless family’s path to stabilization. Furthermore, children experiencing homelessness need quality early education to help them keep pace with their housed peers and enter the public school system ready to learn. Thank you for your work. Please continue to support children and families experiencing homelessness. Sincerely, [Your Name] [Your Address] [City, State ZIP] How To Take Action: An Advocacy Toolkit Page 10