Right to Housing Take Action Guide and Resource List

If you have 10 minutes...

• Learn the facts. Read our fact sheet on the right to housing and then test your knowledge with our short quiz at www.discoverhumanrights.org/toolkit.html.
• Donate. Make a donation to an organization in your community working to promote housing rights.  For ideas, check out the "Right to Housing National Resources" list in this toolkit.
• Get the News. Keep up-to-date on housing issues through list-servs and newsletters. 
  • National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty www.nlchp.org/archive_newsletter.cfm
  • Assistance Council News www.ruralhome.org/signup.php
  • National Alliance to End Homelessness Newsletter www.endhomelessness.org/

If you have a few hours...

• Educate. Download our PowerPoint presentation or select one of our lesson plans to teach about the right to housing at your school, community center, or faith community.
• Share Housing Rights with Children. Volunteer to read children's books on housing and homelessness at your local library.  Check out DOTS by Gary Ross and Anwar Morse, Fly Away Home by Eve Bunting, Mr. Bow Tie by Karen Barbour, and Monkey Island by Paula Fox. 
• Advocate for Policy Change. Send a letter or email to your representative regarding current housing legislation.  Check out these sites for information and advocacy ideas:
  • Habitat for Humanity www.habitat.org/gov/take_action/default.aspx
  • National Low-Income Housing Coalition Action Alerts www.nlihc.org/template/index.cfmHousing
  • National Coalition for the Homeless www.nationalhomeless.org/housing/index.html

If you have a month...

• Start a Book Club. Form a book club about housing and homelessness in America and facilitate a discussion about what you have learned.  For book ideas, check out: http://homelessness.change.org/blog/view/10_must-reads or www.amazon.com/Top-Ten-Homeless-Books/lm/R2SFCE15C9HVDl/ref=cm_lm_dtpa_fvlm_cfa_1/002-1238133-3672031
• Host a Film Screening.  Organize a film screening at your school, community center, or place of worship.  Chose a film that focuses on the right to housing and the problems our society is facing today such as Building on Faith: Making Poverty Housing History, Almost Home, or The Soloist. 
• Build a House. Volunteer with a Habitat for Humanity project in your community to help provide decent, affordable homes for those in need.  Visit www.habitat.org.
• Promote Accessibility. Take a look at apartments, hotels, businesses, and stores in your community to evaluate their accessibility.  If some are not accessibile, suggest improvements the management could make.  Check out www.ada.gov/civiccommonprobs.htm for common barriers to access. 

If you have a year or more...

• Volunteer at a Shelter.  Volunteer at a local homeless shelter that helps people transition into better housing conditions.  You might help prepare or distribute meals, assist with childcare, stock donations, or just lend a sympathetic ear.  Find a shelter in this directory: www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/.
• Join a Campaign.  Support organizations who are helping people stay in their homes or who are advocating for affordable housing.  Check out the following campaigns:
  • ACORN - Stop Foreclosures Campaign or Home Defender Teams http://acorn.org/index.php?id=1234
  • The Campaign for Affordable Housing www.tcah.org/how_to_help.cfm
• End Homelessness in Your Community.  Help your community identify effective permanent solutions to prevent and end homelessness.  For a blueprint to follow, download the "Ten Essentials Toolkit" at www.endhomelessness.org/section/tools/essentials.  For more information on organizing your community around housing issues, visit www.hud.gov/organizingindex.cfm