Supportive Housing Providers Association Supportive Housing and State Budget Cuts in Fiscal Year 2016

Don’t Get Anxious! Get Active! April 2015

So, we know that the state budget is not good, but….. Do not get anxious…. Instead Active !!! We want you to get There are a bunch of things we can do…. We can talk to our Legislators about the budget. We can write letters or call on the phone.We can get creative about our advocacy. We can work together to advocate.

Talking to Your Legislator – Getting Active! Remember – All Politics Are Local To the degree that Legislators will be interested in our issue, they will be chiefly concerned with local implications – how things affect their District.. First, organize your thoughts – and your message – as they relate to your community. Prepare your message in local terms, while providing a statement of statewide need. Our Statewide Message is… We need a revenue solution for FY We can’t just cut our way out of this budget hole! Restore current supportive housing funding levels back up to $30.8 million! Expand supportive housing service funding by $3.6 million! 734 more units and 788 more people in supportive housing. $34.4 million in the FY 2016 budget will fully fund current and new supportive housing projects, supporting 13,000 people.

Prepare Your Story! Get Active! How many people does your organization serve? How many communities are served? What types of people are served? (Chronically homeless? Individuals with mental illness? Families? All?) How long has the community been served? How long have you lived there? Which other local organizations do you work closely with? (Churches? Local governments?) In the absence of supportive housing, what would become of the individuals served? Where would they go? How would your community cope? Don’t worry about remembering all of this. It is all available for you on line at the SHPA Website – then click on ADVOCACY. It’s called “Don’t Get Anxious! Get Active”

Find Your Legislator. Get Active! If you need to locate your Legislator’s office in your home District, go to click “OK” and enter your home address. Click to find your Legislator’s office. Make an appointment at his/her office or, better yet, invite your Legislator to your agency and offer a tour. Give a copy of the SHPA advocacy summary to Legislator. (Find summaries at on the “Advocacy” page). Take a look at a couple of examples. Again don’t worry about remembering all of this. It is all available for you on line at the SHPA Website – then click on ADVOCACY. It’s called “Don’t Get Anxious! Get Active”

Organize & Position Your Team. Get Active! Consider who on your team will make the most effective messengers. CEO? Executive Director? Case manager? Consumer? Resident? If your team includes multiple individuals, organize your parts in advance. Who is making introductions? Who is taking the lead? Who is best positioned to discuss your operation and the value of your service in the local community? Limit your outreach team to a maximum of three individuals – do not overwhelm the lawmaker.

Your Meeting With Your Lawmaker. Get Active! Introduce Yourself & Our Message Tell your story – BRIEFLY! Introduce yourself and your organization, and explain briefly your place in the community: how long you’ve been active, the types and number of individuals served, any expansion project you have underway. Explain the statewide context: we’re working together, statewide, to preserve and protect supportive housing and homeless services. If the lawmaker wishes to manage the conversation, allow the lawmaker to manage the conversation. Do not attempt to dominate the conversation. However, whenever possible, track back to our basic message and priorities.

Tell Your Story. Get Active! For Example: My name is ______. Thank you for the opportunity to tell my story. I am a registered voter living at the _____ organization. I am here today to {ASK}. Ask: Please include full funding for supportive services in supportive housing in the FY 2016 budget. This funding helps me and more than 12,000 people in Illinois to stay housed and avoid expensive alternatives like nursing homes, emergency rooms and jails. Before living in supportive housing I was……….(homeless, living in a nursing home) Since living at ______ organization, my life has improved. The services of my case manager helped me to________ (find healthcare, go back to school, volunteer in my neighborhood) 3-5 sentences. 1 minute! Please include full funding for services in supportive housing in the new state budget. Thank you!

Share Briefing Materials. Ask Your Lawmaker for Support! Share a one-page SHPA advocacy summary. See choices at click of ADVOCACY. See a few more examples. Suggest your Lawmaker watch the Video “Vote Yes for Supportive Housing” on the SHPA website at Ask the lawmaker whether he or she will support continued, adequate funding for supportive housing and make note of his/her response. Remember to thank your lawmaker for his/her time, and tell him/her that you look forward to following up over the course of the spring legislative session. YesNo

Evaluate Your Outreach After your meeting with you Legislator, ask yourselves - Was our outreach successful? Do your lawmakers more clearly understand the value of homeless services and supportive housing, the critical need for supportive housing and homeless services. Did the lawmakers appear enthusiastic about continued engagement with the homeless services and supportive housing community? Are the lawmakers prepared to support our priority for full funding in the spring session? Do they understand the critical need for supportive housing and homeless services, and the urgency of providing adequate funds for homeless services and supportive housing? Do they understand that the state will actually lose money if adequate funds for homeless services and supportive housing are cut?

If you want to get creative… You can write a letter or note to your Legislator. You can make a short video, using a phone camera and upload it to the SHPA Youtube Channel. You can attend a Legislative Hearing and, perhaps, volunteer to testify. There’s a Hearing coming up on April 1 st in Chicago. It’s the House Human Services Appropriations Hearing at the Bilandic Building on 160 N. LaSalle St. Rm. C-600 at 10:30 AM. You can write a letter to the Editor of your local newspaper. You can participate in the SHPA Legislative Committee and/or the SHPA Residents’ Committee. You can call your Legislator on the phone.