© 2014 Laureate Education, Inc. Page 1 of 1 Health Education and Communication Strategies Guidelines for Writing Advocacy Letters 1. State clearly, what you would like your reader to do. 2. Explain briefly why you think that he/she should do this. Help your reader understand the need for action on his/her part, but avoid giving so much detail that you bore or annoy him/her. 3. If the action you are requesting would require the reader to contact you, provide your telephone number, fax number, and/or e-mail address. The following additional guidelines will be helpful when drafting your letter: • Locate Your Policy Maker’s Name and Addresses Most local telephone books have a section dedicated to the office addresses and telephone numbers of local elected officials. They may be listed by district numbers. Internet websites can display this information based upon your zip code. • Use Formal Business Letter Style The date should be at the top of the page. The policymaker name and address should be just below, on the left margin, above the salutation. Close with a handwritten signature and your typed address, e-mail, and phone number. • Introduce Yourself Begin your letter with a brief introduction including your name, city of residence, and indicating your credentials. It is helpful to state that you reside in the area to which the policy maker is assigned. • Provide an Overview of your Issue or Topic. Using data and statistics can really help make your case. Make sure these are reliable and accurate. • State the “Ask” Within the first paragraph, be clear on what you are asking the policy maker to do. Are you asking to develop a policy, earmark funding, or create a program? • Make it Personal Policy makers are most influenced when they can see how something affects constituents directly. Tell a story about why this important or why you have a passion for this topic. • Wrap-Up Restate your “ask.” Offer to provide additional information. Always thank them and provide your contact information. 2 Running head: SECTION 8 HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAM IN RELATIONSHIP TO ENDING HOMELESSNESS Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program in Relationship to Ending Homelessness Abstract The section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program was established in 1974 and is now the largest federal low-income housing assistance program in the United States. This program is overseen by the Department of Housing Urban Development (HUD) and administered by state or local public housing agencies (PHAs), the program helps families afford decent, safe and sanitary housing and currently assists more than two million households. The PHAs provide vouchers to eligible low-income families with children, the elderly, veterans and disabled people. Who in turn use them to rent housing in the private market they might otherwise not be able to afford. The voucher recipients generally pay t.

1. © 2014 Laureate Education, Inc. Page 1 of 1
Health Education and Communication Strategies
Guidelines for Writing Advocacy Letters
1. State clearly, what you would like your reader to do.
2. Explain briefly why you think that he/she should do this.
Help your reader
understand the need for action on his/her part, but avoid giving
so much detail that
you bore or annoy him/her.
3. If the action you are requesting would require the reader to
contact you, provide your
telephone number, fax number, and/or e-mail address.
The following additional guidelines will be helpful when
drafting your letter:
• Locate Your Policy Maker’s Name and Addresses
Most local telephone books have a section dedicated to the
office addresses and
telephone numbers of local elected officials. They may be listed
by district
numbers. Internet websites can display this information based
upon your zip
code.

2. • Use Formal Business Letter Style
The date should be at the top of the page. The policymaker
name and address
should be just below, on the left margin, above the salutation.
Close with a
handwritten signature and your typed address, e-mail, and phone
number.
• Introduce Yourself
Begin your letter with a brief introduction including your name,
city of residence,
and indicating your credentials. It is helpful to state that you
reside in the area to
which the policy maker is assigned.
• Provide an Overview of your Issue or Topic.
Using data and statistics can really help make your case. Make
sure these are
reliable and accurate.
• State the “Ask”
Within the first paragraph, be clear on what you are asking the
policy maker to
do. Are you asking to develop a policy, earmark funding, or
create a program?
• Make it Personal
Policy makers are most influenced when they can see how
something affects
constituents directly. Tell a story about why this important or

3. why you have a
passion for this topic.
• Wrap-Up
Restate your “ask.” Offer to provide additional information.
Always thank them
and provide your contact information.
2
Running head: SECTION 8 HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER
PROGRAM IN RELATIONSHIP TO ENDING
HOMELESSNESS
Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program in Relationship to
Ending Homelessness

4. Abstract
The section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program was established
in 1974 and is now the largest federal low-income housing
assistance program in the United States. This program is
overseen by the Department of Housing Urban Development
(HUD) and administered by state or local public housing
agencies (PHAs), the program helps families afford decent, safe
and sanitary housing and currently assists more than two million
households. The PHAs provide vouchers to eligible low-income
families with children, the elderly, veterans and disabled
people. Who in turn use them to rent housing in the private
market they might otherwise not be able to afford. The voucher
recipients generally pay thirty percent of their monthly income
toward the rent and the voucher subsidizes the remainder. In the
housing voucher program there is a system which determined
fair market rent (FMR). This Fair Market Rent is determined by
the existing rental prices within community, the size of unite
and finial the actual rent paid to the landlord.
Keywords: low-income housing, long wait list, location choice,
discrimination

5. The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HVC) is one of the
primary vehicles designed to provide affordable housing for
low-income families with children, the elderly, veterans and
disabled people throughout the United States. The stated
objective of the program is to make housing more affordable,
thereby enabling these participants to improve the quality of
their housing, ending homelessness, relocate into better
neighborhoods, and enhance their job opportunities. The
program is supposed to directly impact participant as well as
affect social and economic externalities such as the prices of
nearby homes, (Carlson, Haveman, Kaplan & Wolfe, 2012).
The HCV began in 1974 and quickly grew to became one of the
dominate programed of subsidized housing in the United States
(Galvez, 2010). Its operated by the United Sates Department of
Housing and Urban Development and administered by over
three thousand local public housing authorities. The Housing
Choice Program is now the federal government’s largest
housing assistance program providing rental subsidies to over
two million households across the country, (Sard & Coven,
2006). The program which is operated by Department of
Housing and Urban Development in conjunction with over three
thousand local public housing authorities serving more than two
million households and over one million minor children.
The HCV program is structured to target extremely low-income
households were thirty percent of the area median income are
below and roughly eighty percent of the voucher holders are
below this income level. Meaning that assistance goes to the
neediest such as people living on disability benefits, low-
income families with children, elderly and veterans.
HVC provides a monthly subsidy to cover the difference
between the cost of the housing and what the participant can
afford to pay up to a locally defined Fair Market Rent payment
standard. And FMR is defined as the dollar amount below which

6. forty percent of the standard
quality rental housing units are rented in an area. Participants
typically pay approximately thirty percent of their income for
rent and utilities with the program paying the balance, (Green,
2011).
The Housing Choice Voucher program eligibilities begins with
a submission of an application to a housing authority. After
submission applicants are assigned to a waiting list then when
the applicants name arises to the top of the waiting list the
household meets with the housing authority staff to learn the
rules and requirements of the program. After obtaining a choice
voucher the applicant searches for the rental housing in the
private rental housing market and also selecting housing that is
of higher quality and better neighborhood than their pervious
housing. Once this process occur the receipt of a voucher
location does change and the meetings with housing authority
staff during the application process is likely to result in an
increase in the public benefits also. For example, a recipient of
choice voucher may become better positioned to secure
subsidized child care services given the potential change in
neighborhood and also the distribution of child care center,
(Carlson, Haveman, Kaplan &Wolfe, 2012) found that these
increased benefits and services. Which also increase the well-
being of participants and enhance the well-being of society as a
whole. Also for the participants and society, this gain can be
conceived of as the recipient value of the additional services
plus the consumer surplus associated with the increased receipt
of in kind benefits.
In addition, the housing choice voucher program can also lift
families out of homelessness and prevent families from
becoming homeless in the first place. And that is why vouchers
are the primary Federal Housing assistance that targets
extremely low-income families with children, elderly, veterans
and disabled people. And with the federal government
involvement the amount of money allocated in the vouchers has
increased due to Congress decisions on how to structure the

7. program. Congress has also authorized to issue the Housing and
Urban Development more vouchers to help deal with the long
and growing waiting lists for voucher assistance around the
country.
Overall the Housing Choice Voucher program has shown both
genuine successes and also some significant shortcoming.
Ludwig et al (2012) studies have consistently shown that the
program has helped improve the quality of housing for people
and has resulted in some measureable improvements in their
well-being. The researchers have also found that once a family
receive a voucher they are not likely to become homeless again.
However, there are many major shortcomings to the Housing
Choice Voucher program. For example, the waiting lists are
long in many communities, recent funding cuts, the program
changes and its abilities to help many families to get out of
homelessness. Although the demand for vouchers far exceeds
their supply as evidenced by long wait lists about one third of
recipient return them unused, (Finkel & Buron, 2001).
Also the shortages of affordable housing along with some
landlord’s reluctance to accept vouchers has meant that not
every family is able to use its voucher. And the reason behind
the story is that landlord usually expects a prospective tenant to
bring documentation of assets including their credit score,
(Marr,2005) found that credit problems were common and
participants did not know how to correct them or present them
in a more positive light. All because only a portion of the
monthly rent is subsidized and the voucher holding tenant must
pay thirty percent of his or her income to the landlord. This
raises a concerned to the landlord due to the fact that the
portion of the rent to be paid by the renter is still too much of a
risk for them to assume according to the landlord’s standard
criteria. In addition, the housing units of landlord who lease to
the voucher holder are subjected to a secondary inspection to
determine if the unit meets HCV guidelines for the unit quality
and safety. And in the process the landlord bears a cost for the
process in terms of lost time on the market and expenditures if

8. improvements are required. The program does not compensate
landlords for lost income associated with waiting for the
housing unit to be inspected and certified, (Varady, Wang,
Murphy & Stahlke, 2013) recounted one landlord perspective,
“The fact that their tenant and their program cost us a lot of
money they don’t care” (para. 2) this point out the frustration of
landlord’s relation to the costs associated with delays whiles
waiting for certification.
Although HCV are cost effective way to serve low-income
families with children, elderly, veterans and disabled people in
need. It’s cheaper to fund a voucher than it is to put a family in
a shelter and provide them with expensive social services. Also
HCV assure that families are in a stable housing rather than on
our streets and costing money in the form of other state and
federal government sponsored programs. For example, without
HCV many children of homeless parent would be placed in
foster care. HCV also prevent the separation of families which
in many places the program is far less expensive than putting a
child in foster care, (Walker, 2014).
HCV enable people to also move closer to better job
opportunities, support networks and better schools to by giving
this population the best chance to escape poverty. Because HCV
can prevent a family from becoming homeless it saves money on
expensive systems of care. And since children who experience
homelessness are more likely to develop health and
psychological problems which requires a lifetime of care, HCV
save dollars and prevent most of these issue. The HCV program
can and should help deconcentrate the massive poverty in united
states in order to improve the life prospect for the low-income
families with children, elderly, veteran and disabled people
which is why the voucher policy is necessary.
References
Carlson, D., Haveman, R., Kaplan, T., & Wolfe, B. (2012).
Long-term earnings and employment effects of housing voucher

9. receipt. Journal of Urban Economics,71, 128-150.
Finkel, M., & Kennedy, S. (1994). Section 8 rental voucher and
rental certificate utilization study: Final report. Washington,
DC: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
Office of Policy Development and Research.
Galvez, M. M. (2010). What do we know about housing choice
voucher program location outcomes? A review of recent
literature. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Green, R. K. (2011). Thoughts on rental housing and rental
housing assistance. Cityscape, 13,39
Ludwig, J., Duncan, G. J., Gennetian, L. A., Kessler, R. C.,
Kling, J, R., & Sanbonmatsu, L. (2012). Neighborhood effects
on the long-term well-being of low-income adults. Science, 337,
1505-1510. Doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1224648.
Marr, M. D. (2005). Mitigating apprehension about section 8
voucher: The positive role of housing specialists in search and
placement. Housing Policy Debate, 16,85-111.
Sard, B., & Averez-Sanchez, T. (2011). Large majority of
housing voucher recipients work, are elderly, or have
disabilities. Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Section 8 & Media. Retrieved form http://www.hud.gov
Varady, D. P., Wang, X., Murphy, D., & Stahlke, A. (2013).
How housing professionals perceive effects of the Housing
Choice Voucher Program on suburban communities. Cityscape,
15, 105-129.
Walker, L. A. (2014). Resident responses to section 8 relocation
outcomes: “if you’re Gonna move, you want to move up”.
Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 11, 97-113.

10. Advocacy Written Letter Template
(Your full name)
(Your mailing address)
(Your phone number)
(To the State Senate)
The Honorable (Full Name)
State House, (Room Number)
Kansas Senate

11. Topeka, KS 66612
(To the State House of Representatives)
The Honorable (Full Name)
State House, (Room Number)
Kansas House of Representatives
Topeka, KS 66612
Dear Legislator/Senator (Full Name),
Paragraph 1 – In less than four sentences detail what action(s)
you want your elected official to address. Be specific.
Paragraph 2 – Describe the “problem” or action in detail, how it
affects you, your library, and your community. Local examples
concerning the impact of this legislative action can be very
powerful.
Paragraph 3 – State the problem or action once again and what
you want your elected official to address. Restate how this
action will benefit your library and community. End with a
strong statement or specific example and ask for a response.
Sincerely yours,
(Your signature)
(Your printed name)
© 2014 Laureate Education, Inc.
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