Communities Working in Partnership: “Building Capacity for Policy Change” among People Experiencing Homelessness

Introduction: B-More Housing for All (BHFA) is a grassroots campaign of people without housing working to end homelessness by promoting policies to make housing affordable, incomes livable, and health care available for all; raising awareness of the experience and causes of homelessness; and fostering leadership and solidarity among people without housing in Baltimore. In July 2010, indigenous leaders of the campaign joined students and faculty from Johns Hopkins University and other local colleges in the Communities Working in Partnership Policy-Advocacy Train-the-Trainer Workshop (CWP) to increase the campaign's intentionality and efficacy.

Methods: Particular challenges face organizers of people without housing. In addition to their extreme vulnerability, people experiencing homelessness are extremely transient – both because of a lack of stable residence and the temporary nature of homelessness. To address these challenges, BHFA leadership adapted the CWP materials to be used during weekly organizing meetings in strategy discussions around particular issues confronting campaign members.

Results: BHFA has built and demonstrated its capacity for policy change and coalition-building in varied ways. Since the training, BHFA has increased substantially its members' presence at legislative and budgetary hearings, established a local “Faces of Homelessness” Speakers' Bureau, and collaborated with students at local colleges and universities on community-based experiential learning advocacy projects - including “lobby days”, demonstrations, and a street newspaper – connected with their curricula.

Discussion: This presentation will discuss the benefits and lessons learned from community-academic partners adapting and utilizing the CWP training for work with an especially marginalized and vulnerable population.