Advocacy and Media Kit*

Introduction

Advocacy is taking action to support a cause or ideal. As you know, it is impossible to work for a nonprofit organization or service provider without engaging in some degree of advocacy. Whether you are a fundraiser, a volunteer, a social worker or manager, your passion for the issue of homelessness will inevitably be communicated to others. This is advocacy, even if you are simply telling someone in line behind you at the grocery store about the work you do.

The best advocacy has a clear audience, focused messages, and a specific goal, such as asking legislators to put more money into a housing trust fund or asking a reporter to write a story about the need for mental health services for homeless children. If you know what you want, it is more likely you will obtain it. Many times, advocacy is easy: telling key audiences about the work you do so they are informed.

In releasing America’s Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness, The National Center on Family Homelessness is hoping that community and state organizations involved in homelessness will use it to advocate for solutions to the problems they face. To make that easier, we are providing this Advocacy and Media Kit to guide you through the process. We have included the following information:

• Tips about how to tailor the information for your key audiences;
• Information about reaching out to policy-makers;
• A guide to working with the media;
• Fact sheets about America’s Youngest Outcasts and the Campaign to End Child Homelessness; and
• A sample press release with language you can use to write letters to elected officials, letters-to-the-editor and Op-Eds.

The National Center’s over-riding goal is to ensure that homeless children are made a priority at both the national and state levels. As you determine how to be involved in this effort, we encourage you to report your activities, successes, and challenges to us at www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org. You will also find helpful information at this website. Thank you for your hard work in advancing the cause of the most vulnerable among us – children without homes.

Targeting Your Audience(s)

In order to create messages that will truly resonate with people who can influence your issue, it is critical to define and prioritize your audiences (e.g. local reporters, funders, state legislators, the Governor, U.S. Senators and Representatives, etc.). It is important to make sure that the audience is narrowly-focused and homogenous enough that you reach them with one set of messages. Groups such as “voters” or “the general public” are too broad and diverse to consider an audience. If you broke them down into “all Republican women ages 40-50 living within the city limits,” that could be a realistic audience. Remember, sometimes an audience consists of just one person, such as a policymaker or a funder.

When you prioritize your audiences, think about which group or individual you need to influence in order to achieve your goals related to child homelessness. Once you have prioritized your audiences, you need to decide what your “ask” is for each one. You may simply want some audiences to have a clearer understanding of the scope of the problem. For others, you may want to ask for money, legislation, or volunteers. Remember that before you ask an audience to take action, you need to ensure that they understand and support your cause.

Some questions to ask yourself before refining your messages for each audience include:

• Which audiences are most important to the success of your goals and programs?
• What are three values that are really important to each audience?
• What does this audience know about your issues? How do they feel about your issues?
• What values and goals do you share with this audience?

Policymakers as an Audience

When working on reducing or eliminating child homelessness in your state, it is likely that policymakers will be a key audience. Many laws originate in your state legislature, so state legislators and Governors could be a logical place to start. Federal legislators are responsible for a great deal of the funding for programs for homeless children and families, so they could also be a logical place to start. Before you begin, learn as much as you can about both the individual legislators and about laws and perceptions pertaining to homelessness. This is critical to both educating the lawmakers and to figuring out the best ways to approach them.

Use the fact sheets we have provided at the end of this document about the Report Card and the Campaign to End Child Homelessness and tailor them to fit the needs of your state and/or community. Be specific: How many children are homeless in your state? How did your state rank in the Report Card and what were the factors that influenced that rank? What could be changed or improved to increase your rank?

Even if no immediate action is taken on your issues, you can become the “go-to” organization for your legislators and Governor. Keep in touch with them and their staff on a regular basis to update them on homelessness issues in your community, on how foreclosures and lay-offs are affecting children in your state, and on developing national trends that could affect you locally.

If you are a grassroots or membership organization or a service provider with many clients, don’t be afraid to unleash the power of the many. Organize a letter-writing campaign or a phone-banking operation among your constituents. Legislators and Governors are as influenced by public opinion as anyone else. Keep up a drumbeat. As much as possible, try to keep your constituents on message so it will resonate with lawmakers.

Stay aware of what issues or bills your legislators and Governors are working on. If there is a debate on education or health care, see if you can find a natural entry point for discussing the issue in relation to homeless children and families. Educating legislators and Governors and keeping them aware of the many ways homelessness impacts children is a vital part of effecting change in your community.

Some websites to obtain contact information for your state and federal elected officials are:

• http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/officials
• http://www.nga.org
• http://www.ncsl.org/public/leglinks.cfm

A quick note on non-profit advocacy**: "Advocacy" encompasses any activity that a person or organization undertakes to influence policies. There is great latitude in this definition, and some people consider advocacy to be all activities that are not specifically lobbying, such as public demonstrations, or the filing of friend of the court briefs. "Lobbying" has a strict legal and IRS definition for nonprofits, which generally only includes activities that ask policymakers to take a specific position on a specific piece of legislation, or that ask others to ask the same. For more information, consult the IRS and/or a lawyer. There are also many resources on the web that can help you clarify these definitions.

**: This information is not official legal advice.

Media as an Audience

Frequently, nonprofits will identify the media as a key audience. This makes sense since members of the media can actually take your messages and deliver them to many more people than you can. If you can convince them that your messages are important, the media also becomes a messenger who delivers your messages to other key audiences.

You don’t need to hire a public relations firm to do your media relations work – an intern or volunteer can do it if the correct tools and strategies are used. In the following pages, we provide a foundation for this work, and a sample press release. You can use the language from the press release to write other materials, such as letters to the editor and Op-Eds. Remember that there are also many free online tools for doing media work. As with any resource, make sure you choose carefully and selectively.

Who’s who in the media?

Daily Newspapers

Your best contacts are reporters and assignment editors. As you reach out, find out if they prefer to be contacted by fax, by email, or by phone. (One note on email: Never send an attachment. Most reporters will not open them.)

Reporters: Identify reporters who cover your issues. Get them to know your name and that of your organization. You may need to contact a variety of reporters, depending on the story. If, for example, you are having a rally to protest the fact that no housing trust fund has been established in your state, you might contact the reporter who covers your state legislature, a reporter who covers affordable housing issues, a Metro section editor who covers events in your community, and perhaps even a columnist who shares your views.

Assignment Editors: If you are inviting coverage of an event, always send a press release and/or media advisory to the assignment editor. This person works in the newsroom, sorting through the mountain of releases and assigning stories to various reporters. Each newspaper has an assignment desk with its own editor and fax number.

You can locate information on the largest newspapers in each state at www.newslink.org.

Weekly Newspapers

Most weekly newspapers have small staffs, but almost always have an Editor, News Editor, or Managing Editor. You can contact any of these people with a press release or media advisory. Look in the masthead to get the appropriate name. If the masthead lists a specific Calendar Editor, make sure that person gets announcements that would appear in a calendar or events listing.

News Services

The Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI) and Reuters are national news services with bureaus or offices in cities and towns across the country. If one of these news services writes a story about your organization, it will be available to the many local, national, and international news outlets that subscribe to the news service. Sometimes a bureau will run a press release almost verbatim, if it meets their criteria for newsworthiness. If there is not a bureau of AP, UPI or Reuters in your community, check the largest nearby town or city. News services can elevate your local story to a national one or include local information you provide in a larger, national story. Most of the time, the Bureau Chief is the best person to address your release or announcement to.

These news services also create Day Books – daily logs of events that reporters might be interested in covering. Each log entry contains a basic who, where, what, and when to contact. Reporters check the Day Book every morning as they decide what they will cover for that day. To get your event listed in the Day Book, fax or email a basic announcement to the Day Book Editor three days prior to your event. Sometimes the Day Book Editor’s fax number is different from that of the Bureau Chief, so make sure to call for the correct numbers.

Online Media

As major daily papers shrink and lay off staff, more and more people are looking to online media sites for their news. Many of the sites are actually run by the major dailies who acknowledge that the printed page doesn’t always appeal to people who want their news in real time as it develops. Other sites are maintained by citizen journalists – some 1,800 strong by recent estimates – whose analysis of current events, blogs, and videos often inform stories offered by traditional media outlets. Sometimes online media outlets run by citizen journalists can break a big story first. Such was the case when a US Airways jet crash-landed on the Hudson River; the first video and news reports came from eyewitnesses that were then picked up by mainstream media outlets.

Don’t overlook the possibilities offered by the numerous online media outlets, many of which target specific audiences. There are blogs for every audience in every community, and it is easy to reach out to specific audiences with targeted messages. YouTube offers an opportunity for you to post up to 10 minutes of video, and both Facebook and My Space have abundant ways for you to reach out to various social groups.

Local Television News Stations

As with newspapers, each news station has an assignment editor who should be your initial contact when trying to obtain news or event coverage. If you know the name of that person, it is always preferable to use the name rather than addressing a fax or email to “Assignment Editor.” You can often get the assignment editor to tell you if a reporter has been assigned to your story, but usually not until the morning of your event. In addition to contacting the assignment editor, if you have a relationship with a reporter – or if there is a reporter who has previously covered your organization – send a copy of the release or announcement directly to her.

Develop relationships with reporters and producers who cover your issues. Find out who those reporters are by calling the news desk and asking, “Who is assigned to cover community organizations? Homelessness and affordable housing? Children’s issues?” Be sure to check back frequently as turnover at television stations is high. You also might want to assign a volunteer to monitor your local television stations to record which reporters are covering stories related to your issues.

If your television station has a local public affairs or news show that books guests, the best person to contact is the show’s producer or assistant producer.

Local Cable Access Television Stations

In most communities across the country, cable access – also known as public access – television plays an important role. It gives ordinary citizens and organizations that would otherwise not have access to the mass media a chance to be heard. Public access gives the organization almost complete control of the content – many times with few restrictions. Production and distribution costs are free or minimal.

Many stations will repeatedly air high-quality video pieces submitted by local organizations or individuals. Often, you can get staff at the public access station or from a local college or university to produce programming for you. You might also want to ask if they will air shows produced for a national audience (for example, a show produced by a national organization working to reduce child homelessness).

While audiences for cable access stations are considerably lower in number than for commercial stations, shows are often repeated several times, increasing the likelihood that channel-surfers will see them. The strategy for using cable access effectively is not only to produce a program, but to get the word out to your target audience that the program can be seen on a certain date on a specific channel.

News Radio/Talk Radio/General Radio

Radio stations often have small staffs who have many different responsibilities. The best place to start is usually with the news director; he can refer you to the producer of a specific show. Be sure not to call on the hour or half-hour when many radio stations broadcast the news. Unless you know the host of a program well, don’t bother contacting him or her. Program decisions are often made by the producer or news director, and they frequently have more time to talk. Radio stations often have large blocks of time to fill and are frequently receptive to phone calls from organizations pitching a guest or story idea. Before you call, make sure you know the demographics of the radio station – the format, who the listeners are, and other important information.

Media Lists

You will find contacting the media a more pleasant task if you know the names of the reporters, editors, and producers you are attempting to reach. The best way to get these names is from a media directory. Many public libraries carry these directories, including Bacon’s Media Directories, which are updated annually or even quarterly. Bacon’s has separate guides to daily and weekly newspapers, magazines, radio, television/cable, and even columnists. Each is broken down by state, county, etc.

You might also be able to use or acquire a media list from a larger organization in your state, such as the United Way or the Red Cross. Keep in mind that human-generated media lists are only accurate on the day they are created. To keep a list current, you must continually update it.

Some states also have colleges, universities or organizations of media professionals that create local or statewide annual media directories. It is worth checking with these organizations to see if there is a free, high-quality resource on the local news media. The Library of Congress has an online listing of lots of media outlets, both traditional and online at www.loc.gov/rr/news/lists.html. There are links to both local and network television stations as well as online magazines and other resources.

What makes news?

While decisions about what makes it onto the evening news may seem entirely random to you, formulas are used by television news directors and newspaper editors. Among the characteristics that these decision-makers are looking for are:

• novelty;
• human interest;
• controversy;
• timeliness;
• importance to the community;
• celebrities;
• a surprise ending;
• conflict;
• great visuals;
• a local component to a national story; and
• emotion-grabbers.

Sometimes, it might just be something that catches the attention of one reporter or editor on a day when there isn’t much else in the news. Most of the time when you are trying to determine if your story is newsworthy, ask yourself: “What makes this person, event, product, idea, or organization different from all others?” In addition, the Newsworthiness Checklist below will help you determine if reporters and editors will be interested in the story you are “selling.” Timing is everything. If you hold an event about single moms close to Mother’s Day, you are likely to get better coverage than at some random date.

Sometimes a program or organization is the news. If you are beginning a new program to reduce the extent of child homelessness in your community, it could be fairly easy to get the local reporters who are interested in that subject to do a story on your program. It will help if the reporters can talk to the program director and a family who is participating.

Media Events

Sometimes you have to create an event to get in the news. Some events are huge and generate media coverage. Some events are hardly events at all, but are merely a few people taking advantage of an opportunity.

Many organizations successfully stage larger events to which media are invited or which focus solely on obtaining media coverage. Some examples of this are rallies, candlelight vigils, town meetings, and community fairs. Most events gather together grassroots support to demonstrate the importance of an issue or organization.

However, events can have a downside. You have less control over who speaks to reporters and what they say if there are a large number of people present. The possibility of problems increases when an event is not tightly choreographed or is not contained in a small space. The expense of sound equipment, building the crowd, and visuals can be prohibitive, but the possibilities abound. Sometimes an event – with or without media coverage – can get volunteers excited and can move a program forward rapidly.

Most media outlets would prefer to cover your issue through an event that provides good visuals rather than via a news conference. Most of us are familiar with news or press conferences. Have you tried to draw reporters to one lately? It is a very difficult task. Most reporters – both electronic and print – are bored with “talking heads” who stand behind podiums in a hotel room or conference room and speak from notes. Most reporters simply don’t bother attending, and if they are at all interested in the subject matter, will call and request a press kit.

Here are some suggestions for a successful event:

Newsworthiness Checklist

Use the following checklist before pitching a story or event:

• Is my story brand new? Has this event or occurrence never happened before in our community?
• Does my story contain an unusual or surprising twist?
• Does my story give a fresh local outlook on a national story?
• Does my story contain an interesting human angle?
• Is my story a “News You Can Use” item, with practical information of use to people in my community?
• Does my story fit into a story that the media automatically files, such as a holiday observance, an annual event, or a political issue?
• Does my story contain unusual and rich visuals (important for television)?
• Does my story offer a new voice or a celebrity voice on an issue?
• Does my story shed light on a complex issue?
• Does my story offer conflict, new data and/or novelty?

How to get a reporter’s attention

If you intend to use the news media to reach your target audiences, it is well worth the time it takes to build relationships with reporters, editors, and producers. The more recognizable your name or the name of your organization, the more likely press people are to respond to your story ideas. It is always easier to pitch a story to a reporter who knows you and who is willing not only to take your calls, but also to listen to a lengthy explanation of why this story is critical.

There are several easy and successful ways to cultivate your local media:

• Pay attention to which reporters are covering organizations and issues similar to yours. Put them on a list to receive your newsletter and other mailings that don’t contain information that might be considered “sensitive.” Sensitive information might include internal planning or financial discussions.
• When you see a new reporter on the evening news or bylined in the local paper, send a welcoming letter as well as a fact sheet about your organization and its efforts.
• Pay attention to columnists whose work appears in the local paper. Columnists write from personal experience so their words are often slanted toward a political or ideological point of view. If there is a local columnist whose work seems to reflect an affinity for the work you do, try to meet with him or her. Keep the columnist informed of the impact your program is having on the community.
• Clip any articles or interesting “factoids” pertaining to your issues in professional publications that reporters probably would never see. Send them with a quick note that says, “Thought you might find this interesting.”
• If a reporter does a story that is even remotely related to the issues you cover, send him or her a nice note praising the story, and attach a brochure or fact sheet about your organization “for future use.”

For most organizations, the local news media serve as a conduit to reach target audiences as well as the general public. There are many vehicles for getting the media to focus on information, an event, or a news story you think is important, including the following:

• Press release: A press release is one of the most basic ways of conveying information to the press. It is often used when simple information needs to be exchanged, such as new statistics on the number of foreclosures in your community and the resulting homeless population or the results of a new study. A press release of more than two pages probably means that this is not an adequate vehicle for such a complicated story.
• News or press conference: A press or news conference is held only if you have something major and newsworthy to announce. It should be a last choice, rather than a first choice as explained in the previous section. When you schedule a news conference, think “visual” – try not to have a person(s) standing behind a podium in a drab room. Try to hold your news conference in a symbolic or meaningful location. Add some human interest and visual elements. Keep the length of your news conference to no more than 30 minutes, with 15 minutes of that time allocated for questions and answers. Use a media advisory to tell reporters about your press conference or event. An advisory is one page in length, and contains the who, what, when, and where along with a list of speakers or highlights of the event.
• Media briefing: This is an excellent forum for discussing something important and complicated or that is not newsworthy or time-sensitive. Invite a small group of reporters for a roundtable discussion with 2-4 presenters. The discussion begins with a presentation on your issue or topic. Reporters would then have the opportunity to ask questions. Have handouts available and use visual aids during the briefing. The entire briefing should last no more than one hour. These briefings succeed in framing an issue, giving reporters a context for an issue or getting them interested in covering an issue. Sometimes stories result from these briefings, but not always, and that should not be your goal.
• Editorial Board meeting: Every newspaper has an editorial board, and this forum is used to encourage an editorial advocating a particular position. You can set up a meeting by calling and asking for the Editorial Board. Go into the meeting ready to clearly and persuasively state your position. It is often helpful to take with you a Board member who is influential in the community and can speak on your behalf. Leave behind a concise handout. If the Editorial Board decides not to take a position on your issue, ask them to use an Op-Ed written by you or someone in your organization.
• Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor: Most newspapers welcome columns and letters written by members of the community. While they don’t often have the impact of news articles, they are frequently read and can even spark new stories. The most important rule is to use them judiciously. Submit an Op-Ed or letter to the editor only on important issues. An Op-Ed (short for Opinion-Editorial) is a bylined column by a member of the community stating an opinion on a given topic. Most Op-Eds are between 500 and 900 words. They must be topical, timely, well-written, and must clearly state a strong opinion. Before writing one, you might want to call the editor of your paper’s Op-Ed page to see if he or she is interested in receiving a column on the topic you have selected.
• Individual Interviews or One-on-Ones: Sometimes it is easier to sit down with one reporter at a time when you have more than one message or issue to present. For example, if your organization expects to undergo many changes in the coming year, it might be advantageous to set up a series of one-on-one interviews with influential reporters and columnists in your community. You can provide each one with a calendar of events and benchmarks for the coming year and explain the changes and their anticipated impact on your community. While this may not result in a story the next day, it can result in future stories. If you go this route, be sure to include someone from each of the print and broadcast media outlets in your community.

A few thoughts about reporters and producers:

• They are usually working under deadline pressures. Most print journalists file their stories around 3:00 p.m. They gather information in the morning and write in the afternoon. The best time to call any reporter is early, before 10 a.m. Always ask if they are on deadline and if there is a better time for you to call back.
• Whenever you call a reporter to pitch a story idea, make sure you have something in writing that explains the story. Most of the time a reporter or producer will ask for a brief description in writing. If you are not familiar with the reporter, editor, or producer, email not only a written description of your story, but also a one page fact sheet on your organization or program.
• Do not rely on faxing or emailing alone to draw media attention to your issues or events. Follow up all faxes and email with phone calls in the early morning at a time when reporters are likely to be at their desks and interested in hearing from you.
• Always answer questions honestly or, if you cannot, don’t answer at all. Being evasive, dishonest, or misinformed is far worse than saying, “I don’t know” or “I can’t answer that.” Also, try never to say, “No comment.” Tell reporters what you would feel comfortable discussing. Don’t be afraid to set parameters.
• Try to be helpful. If you can’t help a reporter, see if you can refer her to someone else. Say you will call back as soon as you can get the information she needs.
• Always return a reporter’s phone call, even if it’s to say you are not the right person to talk about this particular issue. You never want to alienate a reporter if you can avoid it.
• Keep a file of things that might be helpful to a reporter. These might include videotapes of your organization’s activities that could be used for B-roll (background video for a news story.) Keep moving testimonials and letters from clients and community leaders that speak well about your programs. Keep drawings from kids in your program and other visuals that could be shared with reporters and producers.

Thank you for your work to increase awareness of the importance of ensuring that not one child in American goes one night without a home!

Homeless Children: Quick Facts

America’s Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness

More than 1.5 million homeless American children are stranded at the grim nexus of poverty, economic downturn, and escalating housing foreclosures—one in every 50 American children is homeless each year. With foreclosures and layoffs increasing daily, the number of children and families without homes in the United States is likely to increase.

America’s Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness presents the clearest snapshot yet of the 1.5 million children who are homeless each year—where they live and the consequences of their precarious situations. This count is conservative because it is based on data reported prior to the nation’s economic crisis. The report documents the extent of child homelessness, child well-being, risk for child homelessness, and policies and planning efforts for each state. Recommendations for state and federal action are also presented. The complete report and a 16-page summary document can be downloaded at www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org.

Homeless Children: Some Facts

• More than 1.5 million children—one in 50—are homeless in the United States each year.
• Homeless families comprise roughly 34% of the total U.S. homeless population.
• 42% of homeless children are below the age of five.
• Twice as many (1 in 7) homeless children have moderate to severe health conditions as middle-class children (1 in 16).
• Math and reading proficiency rates for homeless children are 16% lower on average than scores for all students.
• 36% of homeless children repeat a grade.
• Estimated graduation rates for homeless children are below 25%.
• Homeless children live in households where adults “hit or throw things” three times as often as middle-class children.
• By age twelve, 83% of homeless children have been exposed to at least one serious violent event.
• One in six homeless children has serious emotional disturbances, twice the rate of middle-class children.

State Report Card on Child Homelessness

Data from all 50 states was collected and analyzed along four major domains: extent of child homelessness; child well-being; risk for child homelessness; and state policy and planning efforts. A composite of these four domains was used to rank the states. Although the states are ranked from 1 to 50, there are homeless children in every state, and work must be done throughout the country to ensure that no child in the United States is homeless for even one day.

For the complete state rankings and individual state profiles, visit www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org.

Policy Recommendations

The report offers state policy recommendations to:

• Create state and local housing trust funds to complement the National Housing Trust Fund.
• Increase the number of children who have health insurance by enrolling eligible children in Medicaid or SCHIP.
• Improve access and supports for uninterrupted schooling.
• Increase participation in the federal nutrition programs.
• Develop family-oriented services to treat the extreme trauma of homelessness.
• Ensure homeless children and families are included in state plans to end homelessness.

The report offers federal policy recommendations to:

• Capitalize the new National Housing Trust Fund at $10 billion for two years to rehabilitate or build 100,000 rental homes for the lowest income households using green standards.
• Fund 400,000 new Housing Vouchers at $3.6 billion for two years to provide the lowest income households with rent assistance.
• Fully fund Subtitle B of Title VII of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11431) at $210 million to ensure that every homeless child can enroll in and attend school, and receive the services they need to succeed.
• Invest $3 billion into child care vouchers for children experiencing homelessness so that they can receive the early care and education they deserve, and so that their parents can engage in employment, job training, and other activities to lift their family out of homelessness.
• Fully fund the Violence Prevention and Services Act at $175 million and increase the Victims of Crime Act Cap to $717 million annually.
• Expand the TANF contingency fund so that states are able to provide cash assistance to the increasing number of very poor families.
• Restore expedited Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly the food stamp program) eligibility for all homeless individuals and families.
• Require the federal Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) to make child and family homelessness a high priority.
• Coordinate Congressional Committee activities on homelessness with the federal ICH.
• Require all studies and programs supported by federal agencies and serving low-income people to collect data on the housing status of program beneficiaries.

For a full list of the report’s federal and state policy recommendations, please visit www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org.

Campaign to End Child Homelessness

The release of America’s Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness launches the Campaign to End Child Homelessness, an initiative by The National Center on Family Homelessness to bring together advocates, communities, families, policymakers, and others at local and national levels to galvanize public and political will to end this national crisis by:

• Increasing public awareness of the scope and impact of homelessness on children and their families.
• Informing federal and state policies to better address the needs of homeless children.
• Improving program design and service delivery to effectively meet the unique needs of homeless children and their families.

To learn more about the Campaign to End Child Homelessness, visit www.familyhomelessness.org.

For More Information

For more information, contact Christina Jordan, Senior Policy Manager, at 617-969-7146 or Christina.Jordan@familyhomelessness.org. Visit www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org to share your ideas and experiences in your state and community, and get involved in the Campaign to End Child Homelessness.

About The National Center on Family Homelessness

The National Center on Family Homelessness, founded in 1988, is the nation’s foremost authority on family homelessness, and the only national organization dedicated solely to helping homeless families. Through state-of-the-art research, program design, and public education, the National Center is committed to ending family homelessness in America. For more information, please visit www.familyhomelessness.org.

Sample Press Release

DATE

Media Contact: (Insert your organization’s media contact name, phone and email)

One in 50 U.S. Children Is Homeless: More Than 1.5 Million Annually
(State) Ranks (#) out of 50

LOCATION… A new report by The National Center on Family Homelessness finds that more than 1.5 million children are homeless annually in the United States—one in every 50 American children. America’s Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness offers the first comprehensive state-by-state data on the status of homeless children and ranks the 50 states from best to worst. The report urges federal and state action to end child homelessness and recommends how this can be done.

(State) ranked (number) out of 50, primarily because (fill in short explanation). (Include information here about child homelessness in your state/community, as well as efforts to address it.)

(Include a quote here from a leading advocate about child homelessness in the state/community.)

America’s Youngest Outcasts documents the extent of child homelessness, describes the plight of these children, profiles and ranks the states, and proposes solutions. The report presents several national data sets in one place for the first time, offering the clearest snapshot of child homelessness to date. The complete report and a 16-page summary document can be downloaded at www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org.

“Children without homes are on the frontline of the nation’s recession. These numbers will grow as home foreclosures continue to rise,” said Ellen L. Bassuk, M.D., president of The National Center on Family Homelessness and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “Our report underlines the need for every state—as well as the Obama Administration and Congress—to provide equal opportunities for all American children to grow and thrive in the safety and security of their own homes.”

Homeless families comprise 34% of the U.S. homeless population, with more than 40% of the children under the age of five. According to the report, homeless children have twice the rate of moderate to severe health conditions as middle class children, and twice the emotional disturbances. They struggle in school, with an average 16% lower proficiency in math and reading, and an estimated graduation rate below 25%.

Data from all 50 states was collected and analyzed along four major domains: extent of child homelessness; child well-being; risk for child homelessness; and state policy and planning efforts. A composite of these four domains was used to rank the states. Individual state profiles and the complete state rankings are available at www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org.

“Homelessness children are scared, hungry, sick, isolated, and falling behind in school. Without decisive action, millions of children will carry the burden of homelessness for their entire lives,” said Dr. Bassuk. “The consequences to our society will play out for decades. As we bail out the rest of our nation, it is time to come to their aid now.”

The report offers state and federal policy recommendations to increase housing stock for families who are homeless and at-risk for homelessness, improve access and supports for uninterrupted schooling, develop family-oriented services to treat the extreme trauma of homelessness, address family health, employment and income needs, and include homeless children in all state plans to end homelessness. A complete list of policy recommendations can be downloaded at www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org.

The release of America’s Youngest Outcasts launches the Campaign to End Child Homelessness, an initiative by The National Center on Family Homelessness to bring together advocates, communities, families, policymakers, and others at local and national levels to galvanize public and political will to end this national tragedy.

About The National Center on Family Homelessness

The National Center on Family Homelessness, founded in 1988, is the nation’s foremost authority on family homelessness, and the only national organization dedicated solely to helping homelessness families. Through state-of-the-art research, program design, and public education, the National Center is committed to ending family homelessness in America. For more, please visit www.familyhomelessness.org.

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*This guide was authored by Tamar Abrams of Tamar Abrams Consulting.