Suggestion timeline and discussion questions:

 

OPENING – 6 minutes

 

1. Welcome your guests, thank them for attending.

2. Quick HOW overview:

   • What is HOW? HOW is a homelessness prevention, housing, and support services nonprofit that has helped thousands of individuals and families break the cycle of poverty and homelessness.

   • How are you involved with the organization?

   • Why are people gathered today? HOW holds an annual Day of Giving on August 25th each year in honor of the nonprofit's founding. The goal of the day is to gather community members, advocates, and friends in support of HOW. This year's focus is on the critical importance of stable housing in connection to one's health, and HOW's critical work in this field.

3. Set Expectations:

   • No one is expected to know anything about the topic! I personally do not know much about the eviction crisis and I'm looking forward to learning about it with you all. 

   • My intention with this gathering is to engage a group of smart, interesting people with a pervasive intersectional issue in the hopes that we can learn together and support HOW.

   • This should be fun! So let's keep it respectful.

4. Introductions:

   • Allow guests to introduce themselves. You can ask guests to share something about themselves if you’d like.

 

VIDEO VIEWING – 15 minutes

• HOW Speaker Series Session II - Housing Rx: Lived Experiences - will be uploaded on August 25, 2021

 

DISCUSSION – 20 minutes

You do not need to use any or all of these questions. If you are comfortable, we encourage you to facilitate the conversation freely, asking follow-up questions to people’s responses.

 

Post-viewing discussion questions:

• What were some of your initial reactions after watching that video? Was there anything that struck you in particular? If so, why?

• When has your home played a particularly important role in your life? 

• What are some of the ways a home contributes to a person's health and wellbeing?

• Many times health is focused on physical wellbeing, but we are seeing studies showing deteriorating mental health of many groups from the pandemic. What role does a stable home play in a person's mental health?

• A home's location is also important. What are some of the ways a community can provide support? 

• Many have never thought of housing as a form of health care, but more and more nonprofits are working intimately with health systems to essentially "prescribe" housing. This can decrease the use of emergency medical services by individuals who are experiencing homelessness and frequently end up in the ER. What do you think of the idea of doctors "prescribing" housing as a form of health care?

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ENCOURAGE YOUR PARTICIPANTS TO SUPPORT HOW – 1 minute

• Talking points from Ambassadors.

  • HOW's extensive homelessness prevention supports and affordable housing options enable the organization to play a critical role in helping people remain stably housed. Not only does this often contribute to baseline better health, but often allows clients with existing medical conditions to address their illnesses and work towards stability. 

  • HOW also has a full Health Care Case Management team. This team focuses on helping clients with complex medical needs manage their complicated care from helping with medical appointments, treatment plans and prescriptions, and wellness checks. They also assist clients with more generalized needs such as benefit registration aid, securing health care coverage, access to mental health resources, and more. 

  • If you make a gift today you are supporting this work keeping individuals and families housed and in the process helping them to remain well or stabilize their health.

  • The best part is, any gift you make to day will be doubled due to a generous match.

  • You can make a gift now by texting HOWDAY to 44-321 . 

  • Also, please consider other ways to get involved:

    • continuing the conversation by attending HOW's luncheon on September 30th.

    • signing up for HOW's e-newsletter to learn about ways to volunteer and take action.

    • making a gift as the end of the year when nonprofits are most in need. 

  • Thank you for participating today. I truly enjoyed our conversation and ​feel honored to be surrounded by such thoughtful, compassionate people. 

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