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| The goal of home&community, inc. is to provide information that educates and empowers members of low-income communities and helps prepare for meetings with decision makers; because, often times, it the face-to-face meeting or other direct contact that ignites change. Below, you'll find sample documents and currently available info packets which will assist you in participating in the processes of change! |
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| Document One --
sample letter of introduction for networking with local advocates, residents and other organizations.
You probably already know lot's of individuals and groups that you want to work with on an issue facing your community. Why not contact them? Be sure and conduct a search on the network page on this site, too. |
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Document Two -- sample request for meeting letter.
You've made all the connections with local residents and advocates, and together you've all focused on a particular issue you want to address. Now, make change. contact the decision makers -- elected officials, agency leaders and others -- and schedule your meeting. And, remember, you don't have to go to Washington, D.C. to meet you rep. meetings can be made at the local office. Need tips for what to do before, during and after your meeting? See our Info packet "Getting to the table -- working towards effective representation."
If you need your rep's address and contact information (including e-mail and fax information) go to Contacting the Congress -- an excellent site for all contact information, and a lot more, about the people who represent you! Or, you may call the U.S. Congress operators at 202-224-3121 (House) and 202-202-3131 (Senate). |
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| Document Three -- sample issue letter to legislator. This sample was developed for use at meetings with elected officials. It's always a good idea to have a list of issues down on paper and ready to present at your meeting. Not only does it serve to remind the person with whom you've met of your issues and goals, but it helps as reference during your meeting, too! |
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| Document Four -- sample petition to gather names.
You've heard the expression "there is strength in numbers." Well, convincing someone in a decision-making capacity that your cause is worth their attention sometimes requires evidence of those numbers. . .and, for elected officials, evidence that those numbers VOTE!
Try taking completed petitions with you to meetings and displaying them prominently at press events. Stacks of paper, with lines and lines of names, are powerful statements of your group's intent and its ability to sway electoral politics. If your issue is one that affects residents statewide and/or nationally, get residents elsewhere to sign, as well. home&community, inc. can help you do it, just let us know.
Remember: Petitions also work during negotiations with business owners to convince them of the numbers of consumers they stand to gain (or lose), by working (or not working) with members of the community.
You don't know how to get a petition going? Contact us for specific organizing tools and tips! |
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| Document Five -- sample motion for temporary injunction and/or temporary restraining order (and where to get others!). |
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| Document Six -- an organizer's work plan. Maybe you're an individual trying to organize your fellow residents, or a group of already organized residents trying to increase your numbers -- you need a plan. This work plan can get you started and is a good tool for implementing the suggestions in info packet two "Getting there together -- organizing for community development" |
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| Contact us for more sample documents like: media/press advisories; organizational structure templates; meeting facilitation sheets; evaluation forms; and more! |
List of available info packets (also available in Spanish!)
- info packet one "Getting to the table -- working towards effective representation" -- So, you've got a meeting scheduled, now what? What to do before, during and after your meeting with legislators.
- info packet two "Getting there together -- organizing for community development" -- You know the issues. How do you make sure everyone has an opportunity to participate?
- info packet three "Wading through the alphabet soup of housing & community development -- a plain English summary of major programs" How do these programs affect your community?
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Download excerpts from our Summer Quarterly devoted to Housing Trust Funds.
Click Here
Housing Trust Funds are key to increasing the affordable housing inventory, and this publication provides a thorough overview with 16 articles from local, state and federal sources. Contact us to receive your copy.
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| "From HOPE VI to HOPE SICK?" HOPE VI, a federal program that was supposed to improve the worst of the nation's public housing gets hijacked by private developers and government bureaucrats. Article by Sabrina L Williams, from the July/August 2003 issue of Dollars and Sense: The Magazine of Economic Justice. |
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