The Low Income Housing Coalition of Alabama (LIHCA), an NLIHC State Coalition Partner, has launched “Messaging Matters,” a series of communications and advocacy trainings designed to strengthen support for the Alabama Housing Trust Fund (AHTF). Begun on September 30, the trainings focus on ways to effectively communicate the AHTF’s importance to legislators and the public alike. LIHCA already has conducted sessions in Montgomery, Mobile, and Decatur as part of this statewide effort.
LIHCA and Alabama Arise, also a State Coalition Partner, joined AARP and Habitat for Humanity in leading the campaign to establish the AHTF (see Memo, 6/1/2012). Despite its establishment in 2012, the AHTF has no dedicated revenue, so advocates now have set their sights on securing funding in 2015.
In its prior campaign, advocates found that support for the AHTF increased when they shifted the way they talked about housing need and created consistent messaging. LIHCA has incorporated these lessons into Messaging Matters, which builds on training by the Center for Community Change’s Housing Trust Fund Project. It highlights two communications elements essential to a successful advocacy campaign: the importance of developing messages that connect with the public’s basic values and the need to consistently use those messages wherever and whenever possible.
Opportunity, reward for work, and responsibility are the primary values that resonate with Alabamians, according to public opinion research. With this information in hand, LIHCA is highlighting the housing needs of children, the working poor, and veterans. It has developed three key messages for the campaign: “Hardworking Alabamians should be able pay rent and still be able to put food on the table;” “every child deserves a safe place to call home;” and “the men and women who defend our country deserve to return to a safe and affordable home.”
Values-based messaging and communications approaches are equally important. “You have to stay on message, you have to be consistent, and you have to take every opportunity to get your message across,” said LIHCA Project Manager Ashley Kerr. In addition, LIHCA emphasizes pairing values-based messaging with personalized stories and results to demonstrate the effectiveness of proposed policies. Messaging Matters trainings allow advocates to practice using these tactics when communicating with legislators and the public.
“We are looking to build our base of support for the issue, and to get people to a place where they are clear and consistent when talking about it,” Ms. Kerr said. “If we connect with people on this now, they will have the background, and will serve as our advocates in their respective communities and with elected officials. We think we have a good chance of winning funding in 2015.”
LIHCA has found that the trainings provide an effective way to get people involved in the issue. “They might know about the trust fund and support it, but there often is a disconnect between being familiar with an issue and taking action,” Ms. Kerr said. “This training gives folks the tools to get engaged, stay engaged, and advocate for dedicated revenue. And, we need folks to stay engaged because hardworking Alabamians should be able to pay rent and still be able to put food on the table.”
Two additional trainings are planned for 2013, with more envisioned for 2014.
For more information, contact Ashley Kerr, [email protected]