Ending Homelessness — We Believe it Can Be Done. Here’s How Communications Can Help
By Lara Bergthold and Aarti Chandorkar
County-wide public awareness campaigns are often run to elevate complex and often misunderstood issues. But on an issue like homelessness, where everyone has an opinion (and in Washington State and Los Angeles County, it’s polling as the #1 issue people feel needs to be addressed) it’s not awareness that’s needed, but education.
Having an opinion and having an informed opinion are two different things. On the issues of housing and homelessness, there is as much misinformation as good information. I won’t repeat the myths (the #1 rule of good communications work is not to repeat bad information) except to say that in cities where the unhoused are everywhere you look, it’s important to understand what really leads to homelessness and what the solutions are.
In the last two years, we here at RALLY have taken a deep dive on homelessness and housing, and we’re proud to work on public awareness campaigns in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, launching and executing county-wide campaigns that educate and engage the public about the causes of homelessness and the solutions to end it. In the last few years, RALLY has helped launch United Way of Los Angeles’ Everyone In campaign, San Francisco’s All In campaign, and Seattle’s We Are In campaign. We’ve learned some things in the process we’d like to share with you.
1. Complex systems require complex solutions — but desperately need clear communications efforts to explain those solutions
The problem of homelessness has become so large that people give up hope that it can be addressed. But thanks to innovative programs and data-driven solutions, we are seeing cities reduce some of their chronic homeless populations (like veterans and youth) to near-zero levels. That’s largely a success we haven’t heard about (thanks in part to the demagoguery on this issue from President Trump) but people will support complex, systemic solutions if they think they will work. The first step is education — taking a complex, multi-faceted solution and clearly communicating the plan so people understand and can get on board.
2. Housing ends homelessness — and you can’t talk about solving homelessness without an affordable housing solution
Too many cities separated this issue — affordable housing, after all, can be a hot button issue that divides people and solving homelessness has long been seen as a charitable issue we can unite behind. But we can no longer decouple these issues. Bringing our neighbors inside requires us to manage the crisis and the cause at the same time — and at the root of it all is available housing. The Housing First movement, which offers people who are unhoused shelter or supportive housing without restrictions, has successfully shown that people can address their problems once they are inside, and that programs that require detox before admittance often fail. The point is — you have to talk about and connect the forces that drive homelessness in order to truly tackle it. Addressing lack of affordable housing debates means entering entrenched arguments on land use, building policies, and rent control policies, but we have to link the issue to homelessness or we won’t be able to tackle these problems effectively long-term.
3. Solutions take time
The hardest communications campaigns are those that counsel patience and long-term investment but that is what this issue requires. We all feel passionate about the human crisis that is befalling our neighbors, and there are some important near-term solutions we can advocate for and provide, but the true answer to solving this problem requires long-term commitments to building permanent housing that will move people off the streets and into housing for good, not just temporary shelter. For years, we addressed the homelessness issue by sheltering people “out of sight” (moving them to a part of town not frequently visited) but as more people have become unhoused, we are forced to deal with the reality that investing in shelters won’t permanently get people off the streets, and that’s what is needed for a majority of the unhoused populations today. That means ensuring the public understands the need for that long-term engagement and who won’t get distracted by short-term, expensive solutions that draw resources away from those other commitments. The takeaway? If you take the time to show and celebrate the progress made every day by service providers, community leaders, elected officials, and more, people are more likely to understand and support long-term investments if they know it will lead to the progress they are seeing.
4. No matter the city, a successful campaign is inclusive and brings voices together
Everyone In, All In, and We Are In — there is a reason all of RALLY’s campaigns to end homelessness focus on this idea of inclusivity and bringing not just unhoused or unsheltered neighbors indoors, but also helping community members, service providers, elected officials, philanthropies, and businesses come together around solutions. There is no sector or issue that homelessness doesn’t touch, and we cannot solve this problem without each other’s resources, support, and expertise — especially those closest to the issue like service providers, nonprofits, and community members who have experienced homelessness. This issue is large and complex, and a successful campaign requires giving everyone a way “in” to helping solve the problem and reinvigorating the public around an issue they largely feel cannot be solved. There is enough finger-pointing on this issue to go around, and your campaign can be the aspirational, positive, and engaging center through which people come together. Once you build that community, you can direct them to greater advocacy — but first, you must show them that there is a place — and a need — for their voice and their support, too. There are enough people who are interested and in support of solutions that work, and it is critical that a successful communications campaign “speaks to the choir” and keeps the public informed and activated in the continuous push for progress.
Ending homelessness is one of the moral imperatives of our time and one of the strongest measures of who we are and how we treat people. It can be done, but it takes all of us pulling in the same direction to do it. That begins with effective and inclusive communications efforts and we are proud to be at the vanguard of that work on this issue.
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