Contact

Jim McCauley, Legislative Director
jmccauley@orcities.org

Share Your City's Resources

Does your city have example homeless resources to share with other cities? Email us and we'll add them to the list!

Email us

Communications & Public Engagement

As partners working to respond to the needs of people experiencing homelessness, communicating clearly and realistically with the broader community about the scope of need, plans and strategies to respond, hoped for outcomes, and how the public can help, can shift public dialogue from reactive towards having a greater understanding of and empathy for people experiencing homelessness.

Tips for Productive Community Conversations

Community conversations about homelessness can feel challenging when community members may already have strongly held opinions about the topic. They can be productive and engaging with a few basics:

  • Provide effective facilitation;
  • Establish ground rules about respect and speaking times;
  • Lead with facts and humanize all parties;
  • Consider having a panel of presenters describe programs followed by Q & A;
  • Clearly communicate what the city can and cannot do;
  • Use examples of successes from other communities;
  • Take the discussion to established forums; and
  • Keep commitments to report updates and progress, and post on your city website!

 

Sample Resources

Coming Soon

  • Communication Plan Template
  • Sample Declaration 
  • Best Practices for Communication 

Talking About Homelessness

Refer to our Understanding Homelessness page as you plan your community engagement strategy.  There you'll find definitions, common terms and help for humanizing the conversation.

Understanding Homelessness