OKC Action Plan: Advocacy

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Advocacy is everyone's responsibility, because everyone can do it.

Advocacy

8. Advocacy

8.A: Public Education and Community Engagement Initiative
8.B: Updated Cost of Homelessness Study
8.C: Expand Samaritan Program

Advocacy helps gain new and increased resources, and can change local policies. Actively enhancing advocacy about homelessness and related issues educates the public, dispels myths and calls attention to the best ways to help. Read the entire section here (pages 83-89 of the full report).

8.A: Public Education and Community Engagement Initiative

Increasing public awareness is the key to increasing pressure on policymakers and encouraging the community to act. Information, education and solutions create actions that make change.

OKC's strategy should be to develop a communication team and a plan. The plan should have a calendar of annual events, establish the most important issues, and define how and when to publicize information.

8.B: Updated Cost of Homelessness Study

Oklahoma City's most recent cost of homelessness study is 11 years old, and showed that the total cost of homelessness was nearly $29 million per year. One chronically homeless man needed $160,000 worth of public services, without entering the homeless system at a much more inexpensive cost.

OKC needs an updated study that incorporates findings into public education and community engagement.

8.C: Expand Samaritan Program

Samaritan is an app that shows the story and goals of a person experiencing homelessness in a user's community, and provides a way for residents to donate funds to support their exit from homelessness. City Care started a local program about a year ago.

This report calls for monitoring the local Samaritan pilot program, and expanding it if it proves effective.

Read the full Advocacy section here (pages 83-89 of the full report).

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