Act Locally

There are a number of ways that you can get involved locally, including writing a letter to the editor of your local paper to raise awareness, volunteering with your local shelters and advocacy organizations, raising money to end homelessness by holding a garage sale, having your friends make a donation in honor of your birthday in lieu of gifts, and contacting your elected officicals to encourage them to support policies.

Here are some ideas on how you can get more involved in ending homelessness in your community:

Faith Community

• Deliver a sermon on homelessness; consider publishing it, in part, as an opinion piece in your local paper; or consider sending it to the Coalition for possible publication here on our website and in our other materials
   
• Invite a member of our Speaker’s Bureau to give a brief presentation on homelessness and follow it with a free-will collection to help us in our efforts to end homelessness in Minnesota
   
• Join an affordable housing coalition in your area
   
• Attend a continuum of care planning event in your area
   
• Start a church of the week sheltering program in your area; for examples, visit Project Home in St. Paul or Church of the Week in Minneapolis
   
• Encourage your members to serve as host homes for homeless youth and others in need of shelter; visit Youthlink and Point Northwest for more details
   
• Use Coalition lesson plans as a topic for a Sunday school lesson or adult forum
   
• Collect items for your local food shelf
   
• Host a read-a-thon to raise money for efforts to end homelessness
   
• Invite your local elected officials and a member of the Coalition’s Speaker’s Bureau to a discussion on housing/homelessness
   
• Print information in your newsletter about homelessness
   
• Host a Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week event
   
• Ask your members to make a donation to the Coalition or a local homeless program

Students and Educators

• Teach K-6 and middle school kids about homeless
   
• Incorporate homelessness into the classroom by holding a read-a-thon, assigning school papers or book reports
   
• Do a sleep-out to raise awareness in your community, or a drive for clothes, food, or school supplies
   
• Invite a member of the Coaltion’s Speaker’s Bureau to speak to your class or organization
   
• Consider volunteering at a local program
   
• Consider doing a read-a-thon (see list of books on homelessness/poverty) to raise money for efforts to end homelessness
   
• Sponsor an essay contest on homelessness and submit the winning essays to the Coalition for possible publication on our website or in our newsletter or for possible use as testimony at the state capitol
   
• Have your school’s library highlight Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week by posting factsheets on homelessness and setting out a table with books about poverty and homelessness

Community Members

• Have your school’s library highlight hunger & homelessness awareness week by posting factsheets on homelessness and setting out a table with books about poverty and homelessness
   
• Participate in your local affordable housing coalitions and continuum of care planning groups
   
• Host a community event to raise awareness of homelessness (sleep-out, book discussion group, etc.)
   
• Volunteer at your local shelter, and not just only on holidays
   
• Be kind to homeless people you meet; if you worry about giving them a dollar because they might not spend it the way you’d like, consider giving them a clean, dry pair of cotton socks instead (the #2 need of most people on the streets second only to “hope”)
   
• Work with your local newspaper to sponsor an essay contest in your community on homelessness

People Experiencing Homelessness

• Contact the coalition and share your story and your insights on solutions to ending homelessness

Elected Officials

• Visit your local homeless shelters, food shelves, battered women’s programs, at-risk youth programs, and workforce centers to educate yourself on the issues of homelessness and poverty
   
• Read books and factsheets on homelessness
   
• Discuss your opinions and make suggestions about the Coalition’s legislative agenda
   
• Participate in your local affordable housing coalition and/or continuum of care planning groups in your community
   
• Deliver a speech on homelessness and submit it to your local paper as an opinion piece and send it to the Coalition for possible inclusion in our newsletter, website, or public testimony
   
• Sponsor a food drive, clothes drive, school supplies drive, etc.
   
• Volunteer at a local program to highlight that the need isn’t only during the holidays, but year-round

Service Providers

• Become a member of the Coalition
   
• Share your thoughts and concerns about the Coalition’s legislative agenda
   
• Meet other service providers in your area who serve other populations or other needs of the same population you serve; visit your local homeless shelters, food shelves, battered women’s programs, at-risk youth programs, and workforce centers to see how you can best work together
   
• Participate in your local continuum of care and/or affordable housing coalition planning processes
   
• Sign up for the Coalition’s action alerts and updates

For further ideas on getting involved locally, please contact Mike Davey.