Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness
Project Homeless Connect Guide
Project Homeless Connect
Table of Contents
Background Information
What is a Project Homeless Connect?
What is the history of Project Homeless Connect?
What are the goals of Project Homeless Connect events?
Funding an Event
How should we fund this event?
How do we get sponsors or in-kind donations?
Who should hold the money for the event? What about the donations?
Local Structure for an Event
What is the goal of our local project homeless connect event?
Who should be on the planning committee?
What subcommittees should we have?
When should we have this event?
Location and Venue
Where should we hold the event?
How should we set the event up?
How do guests move through the event?
Data Collection and HMIS
What data should we collect?
Should we use HMIS for data collection?
When should we collect this data?
What about client privacy on the day of the event?
What about client privacy in data publication?
Service Provision
What services should we offer?
How do we recruit service providers, and keep track of them?
Should we provide a meal?
Should we give free items away?
Should we have live music?
Can we have religious organizations there, if we’re using money from the state?
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Volunteers for a PHC
What about volunteers?
How many volunteers do you need?
How do we recruit volunteers?
What information do volunteers need before they show up?
How do we thank volunteers? Should we ask the volunteers for feedback?
Guests and Public Relations
How do we get guests to the event?
How do we use the event to raise awareness? How do we get media attention?
Would elected officials be interested in attending the event? How do we get them there?
Evaluating your Event and Preparing for Future Events
How should we evaluate the event?
How should we prepare to have an even better event for next year?
What information do volunteers need before they show up?
How do we thank volunteers? Should we ask the volunteers for feedback?
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Frequently Asked Questions
Background Information
What is a Project Homeless Connect (PHC)?
A Project Homeless Connect is a one-day community-oriented event to offer help. In
Michigan, the event is a collaboration of the local Continuum of Care (CoC), and endeavors to
draw in all the resources in the community that can support people and families in times of crisis.
This ranges from the typical social service providers, to free haircuts and massages.
A Project Homeless Connect offers services to all those in need. This is the basic premise of
the event; however, the need of each individual guest who attends the event is very different.
Guests at a PHC who are in a shelter may already be receiving the majority of the services
offered, but could benefit from free haircuts or a massage. For newly homeless people, PHCs
promote services made available to clients and help explain how people may apply for them.
What is the history of Project Homeless Connect?
The first Project Homeless Connect was held October 2004 in San Francisco and was put on by
the then-Mayor of San Francisco. He wanted to do something different—knock down barriers,
improve access to services for homeless – so he called together all the city agencies that served
the homeless and organized a one day, one stop event. Two hundred and fifty city employees
were surprised to find that five hundred and fifteen homeless people came to access services. The
event in San Francisco is now held bi-monthly and is a major component of the advocacy effort
to end homelessness there.
What are the goals of Project Homeless Connect events?
A Project Homeless Connect is a powerful advocacy statement. By gathering local homeless
service providers, local medical and dental providers, local landlords or housing developments,
and local businesses in a single place, the community is making a statement that those who are in
poverty and/or homeless are part of the community and should be assisted in times of need.
A Project Homeless Connect increases outreach to the “new homeless” and those who are
“newly impoverished” by economic circumstances. Framing the event as a welcoming,
community-oriented event creates a non-threatening atmosphere for those who are embarrassed
or otherwise unsure how to approach the social safety net.
A Project Homeless Connect raises awareness in the community. A well-planned event can
bring awareness to many different groups of people. After a presentation about homelessness
in the community, community groups could do a basic needs drive for the event, or organize a
group to volunteer. Engage many different types of people: students, the retired, civic groups,
churches. This is an opportunity to both inform about the need, as well as offer an opportunity to
address it.
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A Project Homeless Connect strengthens the local Continuum of Care. Even though a
Connect event is a single day event, the effects of the event will last much longer than that day.
The collaboration and networking involved in the event – especially from providers visiting each
other’s booths – can recruit new members to the CoC, increase the number of cross-provider
referrals and increase access to services the rest of the year.
Funding an Event
How should we fund this event?
The Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness has, historically, offered grants of $500
dollars to communities who are holding PHC events. The RFP period for the 2012-2013 grant
cycle is currently open. There are some restrictions regarding the use of the funds.
What Funds Can Be Used For
What Funds Cannot Be Used For
 Facility rental
 Raffle Items
 On-site staff (security, facilities
 Gas cards or gift cards
maintenance; NOT volunteers or
 Food/meals only for volunteers
services workers)
 Entertainment
 Food (on-site meals, take away meals,
 Lodging
food truck rental, commodity food)
 Travel costs (i.e. mileage)
 Hygiene items
 Expenses not directly related to the
 Printing (flyers, advertising, t-shirts,
Project Homeless Connect event
nametags, banners)
 Bus tokens or public transportation
rental
 Filing or administrative fees to obtain
identification (birth certificates, drivers
licenses, or Social Security cards
 HMIS data entry – for PHC data only
If there are questions from current grantees about the use of the funds, they may contact the
MCAH Volunteer Coordinator at (517) 853-3887 or phc@mihomeless.org
Contributions of money from individuals, local businesses and non-profits, as well as large
corporations should make up the rest of the cash budget. The mini-grant from MCAH is not
intended to cover the entire cost of the event. Some events have found success in asking for
small donations from each service provider present at the event – $10 or so – that helped defray
the costs of the event. Other events have had good success soliciting support from the local
community in the form of event sponsorships.
Where donations of money are infeasible, in-kind donations from similar groups should be
considered. In-kind donations are donations of goods and services rather than money. Local
churches may provide a meal or donate toiletries that were collected by church members. Local
CoC members may be able to pass on donations that would be more useful at a PHC event.
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Businesses may want to have a corporate volunteer day, giving their employees time off to
volunteer. Individual members of the community may wish to volunteer at your event – even
within professional capacities, such as accountants, doctors, and dentists. Time, goods, and
services are all in-kind donations that can help your event stretch their cash budget.
How do we get sponsors or in-kind donations?
In the local community it is important to make a case for how the issue of homelessness
affects them and how Project Homeless Connect is part of the solution. Not everyone is
aware of the effects of homelessness on their community and so local businesses and individuals
may not know why you are asking for contributions. Presenting a case should be data driven –
how many people are homeless in your local community? Why are they homeless? How has
PHC helped people in the past? All of these things can help create a case for community
involvement in the event.
The easiest way to get monetary and in-kind donations is to ask for them. Be clear what you
are asking for: money, goods or time. Asking for contributions in person is best, by phone
second best, and by letter probably least effective. Be sure to follow up with requests, and to
thank people for their time. Local church organizations, local civic organizations, and local
schools are good sources for donations of basic needs – clothing and food, as well as volunteers.
Assign each organization a specific type of donation (i.e. hygiene items, non-perishables,
mittens, hats, gloves) and make it a competition!
It is important to make it easy for potential donors to give to your event. Make sure that
there are mechanisms in place for money to be received by the fiduciary organization. Ensure
that it is easy to give a receipt to the donor for their tax records.
When approaching large businesses, such as Wal-Mart or Meijer, be cognizant of their
“giving periods.” They often process all the requests for sponsorship during a specific time
period during the year and refuse any other requests. Soliciting donations from these types of
businesses may require some foresight. Donations from corporations and manufacturers may not
give full sized products, but samples instead.
Who should hold the money for the event? What about the donations?
One organization should act as fiduciary for the event. The organization should have the
backing of the CoC. They will need the capacity to accept and track monetary and in-kind
donations and deliver the appropriate receipts.
In-kind donations of goods will require storage. If the designated fiduciary does not have the
storage space, collaboration in the CoC may be required to store those items.
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Local Structure for an Event
What is the goal of our local project homeless connect event?
It is important to develop a clear understanding of the purpose of the event in your local
community – why have a PHC and what your expected outcomes are. A clear purpose for
the event is important when gaining buy-in from the Continuum of Care for support in planning
the event. You must also consider attaining buy in from the community in order to execute the
event.
PHC event should have a goal to reach a certain specific number of people in the
community, and provide each of them with a certain number of services. Determining these
numbers is a result of research. How many guests have come to previous PHC events? What is
the need in your local community? How many people need housing, versus food assistance,
versus other kinds of assistance?
The specific numbers will depend upon the capacity of the local community. Do not stress
over what another CoC had at their PHC event – the composition of their CoC is different, and
therefore had different goals. Focus instead on attainable and realistic goals for your community.
Think about increasing your outreach to the newly homeless or reaching out to more people than
the previous year, instead. Tie your goals to new funding sources or seasonal concerns.
Some goals are qualitative. General goals like strengthening the local CoC and making an
advocacy effort are hard to reduce to numbers, but are tangible, nonetheless. If goals are
qualitative, it is important to be aware of stories that show that these goals have been obtained.
Goals don't mean anything unless you measure them. When you set your goals, you will need
to determine a process with which you could measure your goals. What data points would be
necessary to collect from guests/clients? What questions should you ask clients about their
experiences at the event?
Who should be on the planning committee?
The planning team should consist of people with lots of connections to others in the
community, who know how to lead. They should be people who have the time, energy, and
passion to devote to the event.
Organize a planning team with leadership structure, starting with an event director, or
committee chair, then with a small core group of organizers who are accountable to the
director or chair. The decisions of the core group should consist of those who are informed
about homeless and formerly homeless, advisories from partner groups, such as the local
continuum of care, as well as those who have seen a successful PHC event.
Too large of a committee can lead to stagnation and inefficient meetings and planning. It is
important to strike a balance between “many hands make light work” and “too many cooks in the
kitchen” – be judicious in choosing people to be on the planning committee, versus those who
are dedicated volunteers on whom the planning committee can rely.
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What subcommittees should we have?
In our experience, four subcommittees can cover all of the major to-do items that are associated
with the Project Homeless Connect event.
Venue:
This committee is responsible for choosing a site and a date for when the site is available. Once a
site has been selected, this committee will obtain a floor plan of the venue and assess the
amenities at the site. This includes locating power outlets, Ethernet ports, and phone lines as
appropriate.
This committee is also responsible for the way guests navigate throughout event. This means
creating signs, as well as designating entrances for intake and exits for discharge so that
appropriate data is collected at the event. This committee is also responsible for setting up the
event (and knowing what supplies are needed by the service providers) and breaking down the
event.
Services:
The first thing the service committee is responsible for is setting goals: how many services will
be offered? What types? This committee will then recruit the services and service providers for
the PHC event. All service providers should offer an actionable service at the event and should
market their offerings to guests.
Volunteers:
This subcommittee is responsible for the recruitment, training and retention of the volunteers
required to make the event run. The committee will set a goal for the number of volunteers
needed for the day, and then recruit volunteers from local churches and civic organizations. They
should enlist partners on the Continuum of Care with ties to local volunteer pools to employ
more regular volunteers for the day.
Guests:
Without guests, there would be no PHC. This committee sets a goal for attendance for homeless
and at-risk community members, advertises, organizes outreach efforts, and arranges
transportation for the day of the event.
When should we have this event?
The date of the event usually coincides with the purpose of your event. The population you
want to focus on, the data you want to collect, or the community partners you want to engage
may all influence your decision as to what date to hold your Project Homeless Connect event.
You may also want to consider the weather at that time of year, availability of volunteers
(especially college students), the amount of services/donations available (especially Big Box
retailer donations), and the target population’s availability.
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Tips from around the state:
 Do the event in conjunction with the required Point-in-Time count in January
 Do the event at the beginning of February to discourage people from taking out Tax
Return Loans
 Do the event the same time/day/location as a local food truck
 Plan your event around School count day, to encourage parents to make sure their kids
are in school – Third Wednesday after the first day of school in September.
 Focus on employment opportunities around Labor Day
 Focus on veterans around Memorial Day or Veteran’s Day
Location and Venue
Where should we hold the event?
The majority of events held in the 2011-2012 grant year were held either at local churches
(10) or at service providers themselves (2). Community centers, including senior centers,
school district multipurpose centers, and Knights of Columbus halls, were also host to the event
(16). Schools (1), colleges (1), fairgrounds (2), and libraries (1) round out the list of places where
PHC events have been held. The important thing is to choose a venue that fits your specific
needs (as far as space, expected outcome, etc.)
The venue or location of your event is one of the most important decisions of the planning
process. The venue for the event needs to be easily accessed by public transportation,
welcoming, and well known in the community. Consider estimates of potential attendance, and
the size of venues in the area. The location needs to be chosen with a “flow” to the event in
mind. Where will guests begin their day? Where will they end their day? The ability to control
traffic, especially if your event will attract an upwards of 100 people, is very important. The
venue also has to be large enough to accommodate both the services you wish to offer and the
guests you wish to invite.
If you already have a venue donated, great! Make sure you make the most of your donated
space. Find ways to create a “flow” to the event, and make sure you give enough space for each
of your service providers. In this case, make your event fit the space. The same questions apply
for a donated space as a selected space.
How should we set the event up?
Be sure to get a map of your venue, or make one. This map will be helpful for both planning
purposes as well as the day of the event. Do a thorough survey of your venue to get a full
understanding of its functionality for your event. What rooms are available to you? What are the
amenities (outlets, thermostats, Ethernet, etc.) do these rooms have? Where are the bathrooms?
Where other essential equipment (tables, chairs, if included) is located?
Identify the entrances. Service providers, volunteers, and guests will enter the event at different
times and require different directions from organizers on what to do and how to act. Take into
consideration the accessibility of a handicap entrance for guests. If you can have service
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providers and volunteers enter separately from guests, it may be easy to keep the commotion
down. You may want to include an area for HMIS data collection at the entrance (or exit), if you
are using HMIS data collection. Otherwise, just make it clear that you want Service Providers to
set up, Volunteers to attend an orientation, and guests to wait patiently with some coffee and
breakfast.
Identify the exits. Exits are almost more important than entrances when it comes to setting up
your event. Exits are where you will collect data from guests and volunteers, as well as give out
door prizes or other giveaways to guests. A well marked, logical exit will make it easy for people
who are leaving to identify how they should go about leaving in an orderly manner.
Identify the best location to provide the services your event will provide. You should place
each service in an area that provides the most appropriate amenities. For example, a hair stylist
may need access to water, and may require a floor that is easy to clean up. Another service
provider might need private areas to do exams or sensitive intakes. The dining area should be
near a kitchen, etc. Ask yourself, “Does the space chosen for this service take into account what
is needed to provide the service?”
Make everything worth knowing about the event easy to identify. If you wish to distribute a
map to guests and volunteers, make sure the map is accurate to the event. With or without maps,
it is important that signs are easy to read, reflect the common name for a service as opposed to
the formal name for the service (food stamps v. SNAP benefits), and are easily visible.
How do guests move through the event?
Guests arrive early. If the weather is temperate, it might be easiest to have guests wait outside,
in a line. However, with extreme weather – either hot or cold – it might be better to have guests
wait in an area set up for social interaction, such as the area that is set up for lunch.
In this case, it is important to make sure that guests are still served on a first-come, first serve
basis. Many communities have found success by using raffle tickets or another numbering
system. Then the guests can be called up to the intake area in an orderly fashion.
Guests are oriented to the event and data is collected about them. Well-trained volunteers or
case managers should assist guests on filling out their personal descriptive data as well as
indicate types of available services the volunteers wish to receive. It is important, in designing
the form and how it will travel around the event, to consider possible loss and to minimize this
possibility. Ways of doing this includes making the form a single sheet – minimizing loss from
staple or paperclip failure – or giving the guest a folder in which to hold the sheet(s).
Guests are assisted by volunteers to find the services that they desire. The model that most
Michigan events are using has volunteers stationed at well-trafficked areas directing people in
the right direction, rather than traveling through the event paired with a guest.
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Guests receive services. At each service, the service provider should mark in a way not easy to
duplicate – with a small stamp, special colored pen, their initials, or a combination – that services
were received.
After services are received, a guest is directed to the exit station, where they provide
feedback on the event and receive any giveaways or door prizes for attending the event. At
the end of the guests visit, they should turn in their paper or folder to a volunteer at a check out
station, where the guests receive a gift for their attendance and are able to evaluate their
experience. The volunteer should put these forms in a safe place, so that the data can then be
entered into HMIS and reports produced.
Data Collection and HMIS
What data should we collect?
For each guest, we recommend a minimum data standard of the demographic data
collected during a point in time count. This will allow your Project Homeless Connect count to
be unduplicated. For family households attending a PHC event, it is crucial that the minimum
data profile is completed on the heads of households plus all household members who are
present at the event. Collecting data at the event and then reporting that data to the continuum of
care and other stakeholders is important to understanding the population of consumers and
clients in your area, as well as establishing the effectiveness of an event. Any event funding by
MCAH in the 12-13 Grant Year will be required to use the form template we have created in
order to standardize data collection, so we can give an accurate picture of the event across the
state.
Individual communities may wish to collect more extensive data than those collected by our
forms. In that case, keep the core questions on the form and the attached template will need to be
modified to reflect those additional data points. Please do not delete or replace the core
questions on the form. When considering additional data items, keep in mind that the more
quickly the form is completed, the more quickly the guest can receive services and PHC are
meant to be guest and service oriented rather than data oriented.
In addition to the demographic data collected on each guest, keep track of each service
received during the event. The attached template presents a list of services which have become
typical over the past several years at Michigan Project Homeless Connects – please customize
the list to reflect the services which will be available at your event
Should we use HMIS for data collection?
Entering your event data into HMIS is not required. However, using the standardized state
form is required for 2012-2013 Grantees of the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness.
Though, entering your data into HMIS is highly encouraged. The form is optimized for a
workflow that is easy to set up for a CoC and with minimal training (including privacy) that even
volunteers can easily put the data into the system.
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The benefits of putting your data into HMIS include:
1) The workflow produces a report that will analyze the data from your event, giving a
break down of gender, age and housing status, among other variables.
2) The persons who attend your event will be unduplicated in your local Project
Homeless Connect count.
3) CoCs will have the ability to coordinate Project Homeless Connect events with
Point-In-Time Counts, using common data collection and data entry protocols.
When should we collect this data?
The events that are most successful in collecting quality data collect it as people enter the
event. The event usually chooses a venue that allows for a single point of entry and volunteers
collect personal data as people enter.
Guests typically keep their personal data form as they move through the event. Each service
provider they visit marks the personal data form to keep a record of which services they were
interested it.
If guests keep their personal data form, the event must have a clearly labeled exit, where
the biographical and service information is collected. Usually there is some positive
reinforcement to induce the return of the personal information data forms – usually guests are
rewarded for their cooperation and attendance with a door prize.
What about client privacy on the day of the event?
General issues of client privacy should be addressed with a refresher of the HMIS Client
Privacy Training. The privacy training can be taken as a podcast and is located on the MCAH
website.
The HMIS workflow that has been set up to handle PHC data uses a program “bin” in the
system that runs completely closed by default. Because HMIS is used as a part of the PHC
internal record keeping system and no personal level information is shared, PHC events
can collect data on participants without requiring releases of information (ROI) from every
guest. This will allow an unduplicated PHC count to be generated on the local level and will not
release identifying information to the CoC.
However, the situation is different if an individual service provider at the PHC event
collects data from a guest, enters it into HMIS, and then wants to share the HMIS record
with another service provider. In this case, that Service Provider will need to collect a consent
form for the release of information from the client at that point.
What about client privacy in data publication?
The key question to ask here is, “Could a set of numbers identify someone in a smaller
community?” Some savvy citizens may be able to guess from aggregated data who the
individuals are. A sufficiently large sample size is necessary to publish the data to the general
public. Extreme characteristics or outliers can be identified in smaller samples, and can be
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grouped together in an “other” category. The best practice is to be mindful of what data to
include in a publication to avoid the potential for indirect personal identification.
Service Provision
What services should we offer?
The number and kind of services to engage in the planning and execution of your event
depends upon the size of your venue, the needs in your community, and the purpose of
your event. Services provided through a PHC event should yield results as quickly as possible
for guests. Supports need to be in place to allow organizations to do their work. Additionally,
organizations need to understand that PHC is an opportunity to help people more immediately
because all the potential resources are in one room.
Generally, the most common services include housing, health services, social benefits, legal and
financial services, employment, education, veterans, childcare, personal care (i.e. haircuts, foot
wash) and transportation. Additional services offered include phone calls, ID cards, voter
registration, and free books. Whatever services are available in your community on a daily basis
should be represented at your PHC. A hot meal the day of the event is a key feature in attracting
a crowd.
Tips for Housing:
 Keep housing issues “top of mind” – what resources do you have available in your
community to help someone access or retain housing? (Housing can be anything from
shelter to permanent supportive housing to remaining in an apartment or house)
Tips for Health Services:
 Contact your nearest federally qualified health care program (listed here) and ask if they
would assist with providing healthcare services
 Recruit health care volunteers from local hospitals and public health departments or even
local nursing schools
 Think broadly about health – this includes mental health, vision, medical, dental, etc.
Tips for Social Benefits:
 Consider if certain agencies need paperwork from other agencies to provide services. For
example: The Community Action Agency needs a denial letter from DHS to provide
utility assistance. Make sure both organizations are there, and prepared to get people help
that day.
 Screen for and provide as many benefits as possible day-of. If applications require
paperwork or identification, have agencies make follow up appointments.
Tips for Education:
 Child and Youth Education: Think Infancy through College: Head Start, the Public
Schools, GED, and local community colleges.
 Adult Education: Think GED, Community Colleges, Literacy Coalitions, and trade
schools
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Tips for Personal Care:
 Think about the things you take for granted: washing machines, showers, haircuts.
 Think about your luxuries: massages, makeovers, manicures and pedicures, etc.
Tips for Transportation:
 Don’t forget about repairing bikes and wheelchairs!
 Engage the local transportation authority, especially if they offer discounted rates to
veterans, disabled persons, and seniors.
 Ask local church organizations to donate volunteers to drive their Church vans, especially
if the event is out of the way.
How do we recruit service providers, and keep track of them?
Create a chart to track services you wish to offer at a Project Homeless Connect event, and
which providers would offer those services. The columns that have been most useful in
brainstorming services and keeping track of their recruitment have been: service, provider,
contact at provider, committee member responsible, and confirmation of availability.
Harness the power of your Continuum of Care. Identify what the primary service of each
member is and invite him or her to participate at the PHC to provide that service. Third, think
outside of the box – what other services are available in the community? Invite those providers
as well, so that they can see the need and possibly get involved in the local continuum of care.
Establish connections to the appropriate person at each service provider. If a committee
member has a personal or professional relationship with someone at a service provider, it is
important to use that connection to recruit a provider to the event. This way, the persons
responsible will feel both professionally and personally accountable to coming to the event.
After an organization has agreed to provide a service at the PHC, organizations need to
register. Specific needs to provide a service (such as private space for medical care, internet
access for intakes) should be mentioned at the time of registration. The service committee and
the venue committee work together on site layout and the accommodation of specific needs.
Include a deadline in your registration form. Prior to the event, registered organizations need to
receive information about parking, set up, data tracking, and food. It is helpful to have a map of
the site and a description of all the services and organizations provided. This will also be helpful
for volunteers.
Should we provide a meal?
Food should be provided for all attendees. Usually if the event runs from 10a-3p coffee and
breakfast are available in the morning and then some type of lunch is available later in the day.
Many PHC had food donated through local restaurants or had bag lunches made and handed out
to participants. If you are using outside sources of food, it is important that your venue will allow
you to bring in outside food or otherwise make food available through their services. Make sure
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that you account for people with dietary restrictions (vegetarian, gluten-free, ect), if you have the
funds to accommodate that.
A dining area should be available so people can sit and socialize while eating. Think about
the number of people you can seat when planning your food distribution. If you wish to be
precise about who eats, consider crowd control through tickets or hand stamps, etc.
Should we give free items away?
Free items such as coats, socks, gloves, hats, or goody bags with hygiene products are
usually given out at PHC events. As long as item giveaways are done in an orderly and
constructive manner, there is no reason to exclude giveaways at your PHC event. The Midland
PHC event has their give away room set aside from the main event and only a set number of
guests are allowed to enter at a time, so that they can make sure that everyone gets what is most
useful to them.
Collection of these items can vary; churches or companies can do clothing drives, or local
sports teams could collect items during game time. Items could be purchased with grant money
or other monies collected from sponsors as well. Some guidelines for collecting items for a
PHC: Clean and individual packets – when asking for items ask that they be clean and in good
shape. Socks should be new. Hygiene products should be in small travel packages that could
include shampoo, conditioner, lip balm, soap, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, lotion. Shelters
usually know where to get these in large volumes, or you can seek donations through stores such
as Wal-Mart or Target who care these products. As always, be cognizant to ‘periods of giving’
with larger companies and leave enough time to apply and receive donations.
Project Homeless Connect events are sometimes combined with food pantry distributions.
In this case, commodity food (food to be prepared and consumed at home) is given out to each
household who attends a PHC event.
Should we require a certain number of services in order for people to get free stuff?
There is a fine line between requiring a certain number of services to make sure guests
have sampled all the opportunities available to them, and requiring so many services that
guests are burdened by the obligation of visiting them. Integrating suggested services into the
intake process – in terms of meeting the needs of the guests – may be a way to direct people
without placing a burden on them. However, a small number – between 3 and 5 – might be
beneficial to both the guest and the community supporting the event.
Should we have live music?
Live music can draw in a crowd and contribute to the festive atmosphere of a Project
Homeless Connect. However, any live music should be contained in a room away from the
services being provided, so as to not distract from the main purpose of the event—providing
services to the members of the community in need.
Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness
http://www.mihomeless.org
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Can we have religious organizations there, if we’re using money from the state?
Yes, they are more than welcome to provide services at your PHC event – but they should
provide a service, and not limit that service based upon their religious beliefs. For example, it
would be acceptable for a religious organization, perhaps a food pantry, to tell people about the
food pantry and maybe also have Bibles or other materials to give to interested parties. However,
it would be unacceptable if religious literature were the only service available from that
religious-affiliated organization.
Volunteers for a PHC
What about volunteers?
Volunteers can be involved in many different aspects of your event. Community members
have been involved in local Project Homeless Connect as committee members, guides to the
event, food servers, heavy lifters, check-in and check-out personnel or as hosts at each service
table.
The most important thing is that volunteers have clear expectations set out for them. A
good way to do this is to write out paper trainings to hand to volunteers as they enter. This can
and should include a “sensitivity” training that explains the issues of poverty and homelessness,
localized to your community. It should also include a description of the day’s events (if there are
rallies or speakers), and a description of the duties of the volunteers.
The volunteer job descriptions include, very importantly, a supervisor for each position. It
is important for volunteers to know of whom they can ask questions; even a very well thoughtout training cannot prepare a volunteer for everything. Think about designating one of the
organizers of the event to be the point person for the volunteers.
The most essential type of volunteer at a PHC event is the Guest Guide. This is where the
hospitality of the community gets to shine. It is in these interpersonal interactions between
community members and guests that stigmas are challenged and faith in humanity is restored.
How many volunteers do you need?
The number of volunteers required for a Project Homeless Connect depends largely on the
size of your event and how you want to use your volunteers.
The number of volunteers involved in guiding guests between the services depends upon
estimated attendance, and how you want to guide guests around your event. There are two
choices for this: either a partnered approach, or a shuttle type approach. The two approaches can
be seen in the attached worksheet. For a partnered approach, you would need a volunteer for
nearly every guest at the event. For a shuttle type approach, you need at least one volunteer per
service provider.
Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness
http://www.mihomeless.org
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The number of volunteers involved in check in depends upon your expected total
attendance, when you expect the majority of your guests to arrive, and how fast you want
to turn guests from waiting to receiving services.
The same type of logic is applied to every volunteer position – what do you want volunteers
to do? How long do you want them to do it? How many volunteers will you need, based on those
performance measures?
How do we recruit volunteers?
The first step to recruiting volunteers is to note where volunteers already exist in the community.
For this purpose, it is important to identify churches, social civic organizations, volunteer
centers, and corporate and educational groups which may want to volunteer. Don’t forget to ask
the volunteers at organizations participating in your PHC to volunteer at the event.
Volunteers could also be recruited more generally, through posters, media noticed, email chains,
and social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. These methods are less effective
than speaking with the leadership of community groups that wish to volunteer and asking them
directly. Volunteers are more likely to be engaged and committed when they feel they have been
asked personally to volunteer.
What information do volunteers need before they show up?
At a basic level, a volunteer needs to know:
 Directions to the event
 Where to park, or what public transportation to use
 What to bring, and what not to bring
 When to arrive
 A contact person, and how to contact them with questions
Volunteers should be given all the information necessary to have good expectations about their
volunteer role. This communication could be done through email, but it could also be done
through information pick up, or another similar registration technique.
How do we register volunteers and put them to work efficiently?
There are two main approaches to putting your volunteers to work. You can assign your
volunteers roles ahead of time, or you can assign volunteers roles as they arrive to help out
at your event. Of course, you can use a combination of these techniques, depending upon your
volunteer pool.
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http://www.mihomeless.org
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Assigning volunteers ahead of time works best when you have a solid commitment from
your volunteers, and you trust them to show up. This way, you can provide training ahead of
time, if possible. However, the downside is that if your volunteer does not come to the event,
you’ll have to shuffle volunteers so that all of the most important roles are covered.
Assigning volunteers as they arrive at the event works best for larger events, with more
nebulous volunteer commitments. This involves volunteers checking in with a volunteer
coordinator, who can assign them to a volunteer role from a prioritized list of volunteer
positions. This way, the most important positions get filled first and the “nice to have” roles get
filled last. Handing volunteers instruction sheets as they arrive, much like those described above,
would be a good way to orient them on the job quickly.
How do we thank volunteers? Should we ask the volunteers for feedback?
It is important to recognize volunteers for their contribution to your event. Thank
volunteers by recognizing them with thank you notes and certificates. Also show you value
volunteers by asking their opinion. Volunteers often get to see and hear things that you’re unable
to during the course of the event, and volunteers appreciate a chance to help make the event
better in the future. Ensure that you have some type of evaluation form for the volunteers, so you
will be able to improve from previous events.
Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness
http://www.mihomeless.org
17
Guests and Public Relations
How do we get guests to the event?
Identify a target audience. The target population to be guests at a Project Homeless Connect is
primarily homeless people and families. However, this population can and should be expanded to
include at-risk populations, especially those perilously housed. Write down this broad
population, as well as any sub-populations that may have specific needs when it comes to
reaching them.
Construct a message. All of your public relations outreach will need to have the same message,
to create and maintain consistent expectations for your event. A question to think about when
constructing your message: “What are we trying to bring to the forefront?” Feel free to use the
section in this FAQ that deals with “What is a PHC event?” and what the goals of the event are.
Frame your event as news and noteworthy. Not all events are created equal, especially when it
comes to service provision. For the homeless population in the community, a PHC may be most
noteworthy because it provides services. This question asks you to consider in advance why
someone should come to your event, before anyone even asks.
Put your message where your target audience will receive it. This involves three steps.
1. Identify where the target population and sub-populations are in your community. The
homeless population in any community is widespread and diverse. It includes families,
singles, veterans, and chronic homeless subpopulations. Each sub-population may need a
different location from which they can get their information.
Tips:
 Outreach to all subpopulations should start at local service providers.
 Consider public transportation, Laundromats, and other businesses and social services
that are frequented by people at or near or below the poverty level.
 Have the local school system send home flyers with the elementary school children.
 Ask local law enforcement to carry flyers in their patrol cars to hand out when they
encounter people who are homeless.
 Create a street outreach team to inform people of the event – both in advance and the
day of the event.
 Be cognizant of other events for your target audience in your community. For
example, if there is a free Thanksgiving dinner before your event in December, ask
the organizers of that event if you can advertise your event.
2. Have a timeline-based plan to put your message into the world. Because you are holding
an annual or a one-time event, proper timing is important so that your audience will be
able to plan to show up for your event. Flyers in a controlled setting (such as those that
get sent home with elementary school children) should probably be sent out at least a
month in advance, and then a second set a week before the event. Flyers that will be set
out to be taken at-will, such as those in a library or other public space, should probably be
Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness
http://www.mihomeless.org
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put out a month in advance, and then maintained weekly. Some posters with the same
information – in a large size – might also be helpful.
3. Create the documents and materials that will carry your message. For the homeless
population and those who are at risk of homelessness, the most useful document may be a
hand bill or flyer with the date, times, and location of the event. Some basic information
about what will be provided is probably a good idea, but also consider including public
transit lines, location of parking, etc. Public Service Announcements (PSAs) may also be
valuable PR if you able to accurately identify the audience of the TV or Radio station that
wants to work with you.
Maintain your message out in the world. Flyers should be replenished in public spaces. If the
flyers aren’t being taken, see if you can figure out why. Are they not easy to see and to grab? Are
they not eye-catching? Potential guests at the PHC event should be asked personally by service
personnel that they trust. People are more likely to attend events if they believe there is a
personal relationship with the invitee. Continue to put the word out, maintaining your message
and managing expectations for the event.
Have a designated spokesperson on the day of the event. Have someone knowledgeable
about the services available in the community ready and able to answer questions that guests
may have and to field complaints.
Follow up. It is important to get feedback from your guests to find out what got their attention,
what the best part of the event was for them, if they would come back, and if they would
recommend the event to a friend. This way, you may be able to improve and target your PR
efforts in the future. Don’t forget to thank the participants for coming to the event.
How do we use the event to raise awareness? How do we get media attention?
Identify a target audience. In order to get to a broader audience of the public at large, you’ll
first need to gain the attention of reporters. Gaining the attention of reporters may be easier in
smaller communities than in larger communities where the media markets are larger. Either way,
you should do a media study to find the most receptive reporter (i.e. one that reports on your
issue, and sees it your way), as well as the circulation and viewership of the outlet.
After identifying your target media outlets, it’s important to approach them on their terms:
 A television reporter wants to know that you’ll have really good visuals. When you
contact the newsroom at a television station, know and describe what it will look like on
camera.
 A newspaper reporter wants to know that you’re the most reliable source for a story.
 A radio producer wants to know that you are eloquent and articulate (that you have a
good story)
 Media outlets have assignment editors. Find out who the gatekeeper is, or what the
infrastructure of the organization is
Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness
http://www.mihomeless.org
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Construct a message. All of your public relations outreach will need to have the same message,
to create and maintain consistent expectations for your event. Make sure the awareness message
fits well with the “come to this event!” message. A question to think about when constructing
your message: “What are we trying to bring to the forefront?” Feel free to use the section in this
FAQ that deals with What a PHC event is and what the goals of the event are.
Tip: Use you CoC’s local HMIS data to tell a story about who is in need in your area.
Frame your event as newsworthy. Events that are newsworthy are those that are interesting
enough to the general public to warrant reporting. This means that the event is current, that the
number of people affected by it is impressive, that it’s a local story, that it’s prominent. This is
the answer to the question, “Why should I report on this?” Journalists and PR pros abide by these
rules that make a story newsworthy:
 Timing: Does your PHC coincide with National Homelessness Awareness week or
around the Point-in-Time count? Make sure that it is concurrent with the times. Do not
try and pitch your story too far or too late. News happens now.
 Significance: The more homeless people you are able to serve, the better. PHCs that serve
200 people compared to 20 people will be more recognized.
 Proximity: Stories that happen closer to us have more significance. Mind you, proximity
doesn’t have to account for geographical location. If your PHC is serving populations in
rural Northern Michigan, it may cater to the same crowd as rural west Michigan.
 Prominence: If you are having local/state/national legislators attend your PHC, that is
very important.
 Human Interest: This should be easy since PHCs serve the homeless population and are
about helping the fellow man. The important thing to remember about this piece is you
are able to appeal to the emotional aspect of PHCs.
Put your message where your target audience will receive it. This involves three steps.
1. Identify the target publications. Find out if there are any assignment editors at your local
media outlets. If so, acquire their contact information. Otherwise, collect the contact
information for the reporters that you have a good professional relationship or that cover
your issue area.
2. Have a timeline-based plan to put your message into the world. Since news is partially
about timeliness, timing is everything when it comes to working with the news media.
News advisories should be sent out 1 week before, three days before, and one day before
an event. A news release should be sent out the day of the event, and the day after the
event. The Advisory invites a reporter, and a release provides the information to a
reporter who still wants to cover your event, even if they were unable to attend.
3. Create the documents and materials that will carry your message. You will need both a
News Advisory and a News Release to get reporter’s attention. A News Advisory is like
an invitation. It gives who, what, when, where, why, and how of your event. A News
Release is a sample article that you’ve written. It should be no longer than 1 or 2 pages,
Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness
http://www.mihomeless.org
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and includes quotes from at least three sources. These documents should be short and
concise. The easier journalists are able to take quotes directly, the better for them and will
increase the likeliness the story being reported.
Maintain your message out in the world. It is important to follow up with your emailed news
advisories by talking with a real person. The best way to contact the press is through emails.
When you talk with that person, try to find out who would be coming to your event, and when
they will show up. Commitments like this increase the likelihood that a reporter will attend the
event. Find out if there are any other newsworthy events that are happening the same day as your
event. If so, make personal contact with reporters to explain why your event is more
newsworthy.
Have a designated spokesperson on the day of the event. This is the person who should be
doing the follow up with reporters after the press advisory is sent out, but it is also the person
who should be able to present a consistent message to a reporter on the day of the event. The
spokesperson should be able to identify other valuable and reliable sources to the reporter who
comes to the event.
Follow up. Always thank a reporter for whatever coverage you receive. If you don’t receive any
coverage, feel free to call the reporter to ask why not. Follow the news outlets year-round, and
follow up on stories of interest to your organization with praise and criticism so that you can
build a professional relationship with the reporter.
Would elected officials be interested in attending the event? How do we get them there?
Identify a target audience. Who do you want to invite to your event? There are national elected
officials, like Senators and Representatives, who are very interested in what happens in their
communities. There are state level elected officials, who want to keep in touch with their
constituents, like State Senators and State Representatives. Also, there are many county and local
representatives in both the executive branch (like Township Supervisors) who would be
interested in attending. Collect the contact information for each official’s office staff, preferably
their scheduler, if they have one.
Construct a message. The message of inviting elected officials would be one that emphasizes
the activism involved in an event like this. A question to think about when constructing your
message: “What are we trying to bring to the forefront?” Feel free to use the section in this FAQ
that deals with What a PHC event is and what the goals of the event are.
Frame your event as noteworthy. Elected officials are very interested in what is going on in
their districts, and how citizens are responding to it. The model of a Project Homeless Connect,
in which many organizations work together to combat a common problem should be very
interesting to an elected official who wishes to learn more about the problem of homelessness.
Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness
http://www.mihomeless.org
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Put your message where your target audience will receive it.
1. Have a timeline-based approach to your invitation. Elected officials, especially those
who serve on a federal level, have very busy schedules. Invites to these parties should
probably go out at least two months in advance and be followed up with several times
(perhaps at the 1 month and the 2 week and 3 day point) to make sure that the official or
their representative will be attending.
2. Create the documents and materials that will carry your message. This means writing
letters or emails that would be sent to the offices of these officials.
Maintain your message out in the world. In this context, this primarily means following up
with the invitation several times – perhaps updating the message when you do – so that you
remind your invitee that the event is coming up and that their presence is valuable.
Have a designated spokesperson on the day of the event. This way the elected official can get
a tour, ask questions, and be able to learn in a hands-on manner about the problem of
homelessness amongst their constituency.
Follow Up. Thank the official and/or their staff for attending the event. If they are unable to
attend the event, follow up by calling and letting them know how the event went.
Tip: Elected officials are highly likely to read the letters to the editor and the editorials in the
newspaper. Send letters to the editor (each newspaper has its own guidelines) to educate
policymakers on the event and how it is representative of the local difficulties in ending
homelessness.
Evaluating your Event and Preparing for Future Events
How should we evaluate the event?
Objectively, success or failure of an event is in the comparison of the outcomes of the event
versus the goals you set out to achieve. The first step to objectively measuring the outcomes of
your event is to set goals early in the planning process.
The second step is to put processes into place that will allow you to measure if you achieve those
goals. For example, if you want to serve 100 people, you would need to put a system into place
that counts guests as they arrive at your event, to see how many people you serve over the course
of the day.
The third step would be to follow through on your measurement. Finally, you should compare
the measured outcomes of your event to your goals. This will help see where you can improve
your planning, as well as see where you have been successful.
Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness
http://www.mihomeless.org
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Subjectively, the success or failure of the event is in the perceived usefulness and hospitality
of your event for clients, service providers, and volunteers. The first step to measuring
subjective outcomes of your event is to identify different areas that you want feedback on. For
example, you may want to know about the value of the services from the clients, and you may
want to know about the quality of the volunteer management from the volunteers. From
acknowledgement of these areas, you will want to create a survey.
The second step to measuring subjective outcomes is to administer the survey. Many
communities have found success in asking clients, service providers, and volunteers to “check
out” before leaving, when they are asked to fill out a survey. Compiling this information will
give you valuable insight into the subjective success of your event. Tailor the questions and
answers to each participant group filling out the survey. For example, you will not want to ask
questions about volunteer if guests are filling out the survey.
How should we prepare to have an even better event for next year?
Improving a Project Homeless Connect event from year to year requires building upon the
work done the previous year. This type of improvement requires records to be kept. These
records should be of the decisions made (and why they were made), people who provided goods
and services (and what they provided), and the evaluations made by guests, volunteers, service
providers, and leaders. If any debriefing session is held after the event, a record should be kept of
concerns raised and of the solutions proposed. The idea here is to keep as many useful notes as
possible that will extend your knowledge of the event and how to improve it, as well as
combining the knowledge of other people.
Always make records about Project Homeless Connect available to the rest of the
Continuum of Care. Because of the reality of staff turnover, the reality of responsibilities and
job descriptions changing often, the PHC point-on person in charge of the event could change. In
order to ensure the event is continually improved upon, files on PHC events and records that can
be utilized and readable by people should be made readily available.
If you have further questions concerning PHC events, feel free to contact the MCAH Volunteer
Coordinator at (517) 853-3887 or phc@mihomeless.org
Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness
http://www.mihomeless.org
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