Geez, haven’t we been shoving Housing First down everyone’s throats for, like, forever? But guess what? More of the same will not do squat, people.
The public sees with their own eyes that homelessness is growing, and that’s why they’re all about criminalization these days. We’ve been babbling on about housing as the magical solution for a whole damn decade, yet the public is like, “Where the heck are the results?”
Time’s running out, folks! Support for housing as a solution to homelessness is decreasing fast. It’s batshit crazy to keep messaging what clearly ain’t working.
First things first. We need to fix Housing First so it actually works on a larger scale and reduces the number of homeless folks the public sees on the streets. Let’s stop pretending it’s some flawless solution. Until we do that, success stories are just a load of hot air.
No amount of fancy messaging is going to work if we don’t get our act together with Housing First.
Oh boy, pay attention here; the public just wants homeless people to vanish into thin air. They don’t want them in their precious communities, and they definitely don’t see a world where they have homeless or formerly homeless neighbors. And above all, they sure as heck don’t want to pay for what they think is free housing for a bunch of drug-addicted criminals.
These negative perceptions of homelessness run deep.
So, here’s an idea. Let’s focus our messaging on how housing homeless people benefits the average Joe, Mr. John Q. Public. Maybe then they’ll start giving a damn about what’s in it for them! Let’s face it, our success stories have fallen flat, and trying to sell housing as a solution when homelessness is staring them in the face will only breed more skepticism! THEY DON’T BELIEVE US!
Next up, we need ongoing nationwide and local campaigns that actually educate the public about homelessness and knock it into their thick skulls that homeless people are, surprise, surprise, actual human beings! Yeah, mind-blowing stuff, right?
Before we start pushing housing solutions, we better make damn sure the public sees homeless people as more than vagrant nuisances.
Listen up, folks. We have to school and engage the younger generation. Those young adults have a crazy amount of influence on their friends and even their old fogey parents. It’s a long-term play, but we can’t afford to dawdle.
Prager U is already pumping out fifty brainwashing videos a week, targeting kids and youth. Time to hit back with some genuine knowledge and truth.
Last but not least, let’s transform the homelessness sector into badass media publishers. Who needs those outdated legacy media outlets anyway? They’re about as influential as a soggy piece of toast, and who knows what some reporter might scribble down?
It’s high time we seize control and use social media, viral videos, online platforms, and any damn thing necessary to get our message out there.
Remember, we’re all in this hot mess together. It’s going to take some fresh thinking and a boatload of courage to finally start winning support for housing. We can’t keep regurgitating the same narrative strategies and expect a miraculously different result.
It’s time to wake up and see the world as it really is, folks. No more sugarcoating, no more empty promises. Let’s roll up our sleeves, face the harsh reality, and make some damn change happen.
