Messaging Made (Sorta) Easy w/MCAH
Tuesday, April 14, 2026
01:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Free
No CEUs Available
Please note, as the world becomes more polarized, we will not be sending presentation slides or posting videos of our sessions to avoid creating an opportunity for misunderstanding.
Join Communications Director Amy Stephenson as she provided hands on practice handling common myths and narratives regarding homelessness. Be prepared to participate and practice. A toolkit will be provided at the end of class for you to share with your teams as well as a social media image toolkit for socials. This is interactive!
Breakout rooms will be provided to practice the following (with the majority of the time spent on roleplaying). A toolkit summarizing the first few bullets will be emailed prior to class, so pls register.
- Reframing Homelessness: Shifting the narrative from individual failure to systemic causes (wages, housing supply, domestic violence), with Michigan-relevant framing and language that avoids stigma. Keeping it simple. Sticking to two or three core talking points with laser focus and facts.
- Core Housing Messages: Clear, repeatable talking points on Housing First, prevention, and affordability—what works, what doesn’t, and why criminalization fails. You already know this and could teach this section. It’s just practicing saying it out loud.
- Handling Tough & Harmful Questions: Responding to myths (“they don’t want help,” “it’s drugs,” “why should taxpayers pay”) using facts, empathy, and message-bridging. And when to pivot to MCAH to let us do our thing.
- Ethical Storytelling, Citizen Journalism & Lived Experience: Centering dignity, consent, and safety when sharing personal stories; pairing data with human impact without exploitation. (Reference materials provided only, this section will be brief)
- Role-Play: Media Scenarios: Roundtable practice of the above with peers with live coaching, peer feedback, and take-home message tools. Remember, you are already the experts on this stuff, we just need to practice saying it out loud.
Facilitator
Amy Stephenson