Social Media: Our Homes, Our Voices is on Twitter (@OurHomesVoices). The hashtag #OurHomesOurVoices has already been retweeted over 200 times. The campaign also has a Facebook Groups page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/OurHomesOurVoices/). This Facebook page is a quick platform for sharing images, events, and planning questions.
We encourage you to use social media starting today and throughout the Week of Action to share why you believe it’s important to participate in this campaign, how your events are shaping up, and how you plan to advocate for greater investments in affordable homes and communities even after July 29. Retweet and share images, including pictures of yourself coordinating events with other advocates and mailing the postcards to your member of Congress.
Sample press releases, talking points, op-ed, Facebook instructions, social media images, tweets, and postcards are located at: https://www.ourhomes-ourvoices.org/resources
National Events: The Campaign for Housing and Community Development (CHCDF) has scheduled a call-in day, a press event, and a voter registration drive during the week of action. The week will start with a call-in day on Tuesday, July 25. We encourage advocates from across the country to call their elected officials that day with the same “ask” to ensure that these officials not only become aware of the issue and the campaign but also recognize the importance of the issue to their constituents by the number of calls received.
On Wednesday, July 26, Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) will lead a press event touting the introduction of a housing resolution that will align with the Our Homes, Our Voices proposal. She will be joined at the event by other champions in Congress, leaders in housing advocacy, and people who have benefitted from federally assisted housing. After the event, CHCDF will lead a tweetstorm to further elevate our voices for greater investments in affordable homes and stronger communities.
The final national event will be a series of voter registration efforts taking place in federally assisted housing throughout the country. This will be opening effort of voter engagement activities moving into the 2018 midterm elections.
Join Our Homes, Our Voices organizers on a webinar, Monday, July 10, 2pm – 3pm ET for a discussion of local and national events, learn from other advocates around the country, and share insights and questions from your own planning process. Register at: http://bit.ly/2sRLQU0
Look for more information about the national events in the coming days on the website at: https://www.ourhomes-ourvoices.org/
Local Events & Resources: Twenty-seven events across the country have been scheduled and are available on the campaign website. The events vary from rallies on the steps of state capitol buildings and site visits with elected officials to affordable housing developments built with support from federal programs President Trump proposes to eliminate or cut to public hearings with local residents who are demonstrating against HUD budget cuts.
We have developed several resources that will assist with branding the campaign at these events and spreading the campaign’s message to elected officials and on social media. The newest resource is a postcard that can be printed and then mailed to your elected officials expressing your support for affordable housing. There are also campaign T-shirts available for purchase. Be sure to invite other advocates to use our campaign resources—T-shirts, posters, social media images—at rallies, press events, and site visits to generate a compelling visual image of solidarity at your event.
To access resources, go to: https://www.ourhomes-ourvoices.org/resources.
For more information on how to use social media for this campaign, contact: Renee Willis at rwillis@nlihc.org
Send questions about planning an event to: ourhomes@nlihc.org