Resolutions at the US Conference of Mayors

Last week was the annual meeting of the US Conference of Mayors. As part of the work that was completed on their trip to Los Angeles the Mayors adopted many resolutions, including ones specifically designed to end homelessness (you'll have to scroll to page 58). There were three key resolutions:

• Endorsing innovative policies to successfully end and prevent chronic homelessness across the nation;
• Endorsing the innovation of national project homeless connect to end homelessness; and
• Ending homelessness for veterans by increasing permanent supportive housing resources.

Project Homeless Connect

Those folks in Chapel Hill have not wasted time in putting the media training to work. They have already started getting press for the Project Homeless Connect that is to be held in October. There will be three events, one in each county. Stay tuned for volunteer opportunities.

Learning about the media

Wednesday was a great day. Members from all three county 10 year plans to end homelessness learned all about developing relationships with the media and think strategically about how to use the media. Capstrat is a local public relations firm that spent a full day with all three county plans. Some of the highlights of the training included:

• Building relationships with reporters
• Looking at the media from within the perspective of the media
• How to find what is newsworthy
• The development of a 6 month calendar of story ideas for each month.

In addition, the group of about 22 people was a mix of Public Information Officers, as well as homeless service providers. This diversity created a rich conversation and a great learning environment for both sides.

Outreach and Engagement

The Orange County version of the News and Observer ran a great article on the challenges and successes of street outreach. Take a look here.

Letter to the Editor

Last Friday the News and Observer had an article that talked about the poor conditions that people were living in. Today's letter to the editor was a response to that from our CEO here at Triangle United Way.