How can we speak differently in order to affect policy, public opinion and public will about the importance of affordable, quality homes? This introduction to strategic communication will equip you to have transformative conversations about housing needs in your community. You’ll leave with a new set of tools and a fresh way of thinking about your communications.

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Effective Housing Communications
Neighborhood Partnerships RE: Conference
October 29, 2014
Patrick Bresette – pbresette@publicworks.org
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Public Works is dedicated
to building public will for
the common good.
We equip community leaders,
advocates and public servants
with the skills and knowledge
they need to be articulate and
vigorous supporters of the role of
government in a functioning
society.

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Communicating to Build Public Will
Questions we need to answer
(quickly):
• What is the problem?
• Why does it matter?
• Who is responsible?
• What should be done?
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Whenever we engage in public
debates we may think of ourselves as
conduits of information. However,
our audiences think about those same
policies, issues, and programs in terms
of the background story —the master
narrative— that lies beneath our
bullet-points, facts, statistics, and
legal citations.

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The Benevolent
Community
The Triumphant
Individual
“Self-Made Man” – Irene Ritter Dave Kolpack / AP
Independence Interdependence
Individual Problem
Personal Solutions
Collective Problem
Structural Solutions

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Which story are we reinforcing?
Use Values
to Make Your Case

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Speaking to Values Directs Thinking
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• We reason first from
deeply held values.
• Values help answer: “Why
does this matter to
me/us?”
• We need to start with
Values, not with the
policy and program
details.
Why does this matter?
“Every child should have access
to immunizations but too many
families in our community are
not bringing their children in to
our clinics. This is why we are
proposing a new agency rule
requiring more clinic hours . . .”

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Speak to Values First
“The health of the whole community is
protected when we ensure that our
children are immunized. One of the
ways we do this is through our public
health agencies that provide free and
low cost immunizations for all children.
We need extended clinic hours to keep
up with growing demands. ”
A Message Box to Organize Your
Communications
Vision
Problem Solution
Values

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Your vision for the community, state,
society. A sense of the purpose and
goal that drives you to seek the
change you are working for. Your
aspiration and inspiration.
Vision
A clear statement
of the problem you
are trying to
address in a way
that everyone can
see their stake in
addressing the
issue.
The solution you
are proposing
and the
principles or
outcomes it is
designed to
achieve.
Problem Solution
Values
The Level One Values that underpin the
challenge and your proposed solution.
The answer to the “why does it matter”
question.
We want communities that are safe
and secure and offer opportunities
for all people to live and work
together peaceably.
Vision
Our criminal justice
system focuses most of
it energy and resources
on locking up those
who commit crimes and
too little on helping
them become
productive citizens
again and prepare them
for returning to our
communities.
Investing in re-entry
services and
supports is proven to
actually make our
communities safer.
It costs less than
locking people up
and helps those who
have committed
crimes in the past to
become productive
members of our
communities
again.
Problem Solution
Values
Justice, redemption,
security, opportunity
Justice means the fair and moral treatment of all
people – both those who have been wronged by
crimes and those who have paid their dues to society
and seek the opportunity to return to community life.

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Be Careful
of Crisis
Stories
Aspiration
Chicken Little
Desperation

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Families without housing face a staggering number
of obstacles. Children can suffer from poor academic
performance, have higher rates of asthma, ear
infections, stomach problems, and speech problems,
and are at higher risk of mental and physical trauma.
Parents struggling with housing security find it
difficult to get and keep a job, pursue educational
goals, and provide adequate care and attention to
their families. By creating opportunities for families
to build economic and housing security, families can
build better lives and our communities will be
stronger.
What’s Wrong
Why it Matters
What Can be Done

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We know that communities are stronger and
healthier when at-risk families get the help they
need to find and stay in safe, affordable housing.
As a result, families improve their children’s
education, find stable employment, and have a
deeper sense of belonging in their
neighborhood. It is for this reason that the
public sector should work with nonprofit
organizations and private funders to give every
family the opportunity to have a safe and stable
home.
What Can be Done
Why it
Matters
What’s
Wrong

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Ripple Effects
How do your programs impact community well-being?
Mus ic
Teacher
Family
receives
EITC refund
Family
remains
stable in
housing
Kids get
involved in
afterschool
activities
Mom able to
go to work
consistently
with reliable
transportation
Mom’s stress
decreases,
health
improves
Family able to
save $ for
emergencies
Employer
Doctor,
Nurse
Tax
Preparer
Landlord

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Don’t “Otherize” . . .
• Avoid talking about “the poor” (or
participants in your programs) in ways that
sets them apart as “not like the rest of us”
• Avoid the three P’s—poverty as poison,
plague, or paradox—and similar distancing
language
• Avoid language that suggests “the poor” are
categorically distinct from groups like the
“working class” or “middle class”
Adapted from remarks by Shawn Fremstad
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Are we talking about “Us” or “Them”
• vulnerable
children
• struggling families
• poor
neighborhoods
• disadvantaged
populations

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Do not cue up stereotypes in an
effort to refute them . . . .
“People assume that women in TANF are
stupid, lazy, inarticulate and passive—and
that couldn’t be further from the truth,” says
Chilton. “These ladies may not think of
themselves as entrepreneurs, but they are,
and they can make a huge difference in their
own lives and communities if the
environment were right. TANF is not setting
up the right environment.”
http://www.thenation.com/blog/167381/week-poverty-will-pennsylvania-rip-another-hole-safety-
net
“. . . A talent for speaking
differently, rather than for
arguing well, is the chief
instrument of cultural
change . . .”
- Richard Rorty