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For 28 years, Habitat for Humanity International founder and president Millard Fuller has traveled the world advocating for families in need of a better place to live.
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by Rebekah Daniel
For many Habitat volunteers, the term advocacy calls to mind an intimidating world of "power lunches" in expensive Washington, D.C., restaurants and debates on news talk shows, far removed from the everyday mud and sweat of building houses.
Yet, one of the most effective means of advocating for decent housing requires no more than paper, a postage stamp and a story to tell, says Christen Schaefer Wiggins, director of government relations and housing policy at Habitat for Humanity International's Washington, D.C., office.
"People ask me, 'What am I supposed to say?'" Wiggins says. "I tell them, 'You have experience that is unique, that your member of Congress doesn't have. And your opinion, because of that experience, is valuable.'"
Advocacy, the effort to raise public awareness of poverty and substandard housing issues, is central to Habitat for Humanity's goal to eliminate substandard housing from the earth. At both the community and national levels, activities such as gathering information on the need for decent housing, informing local media of affiliate events, inviting policy-makers to visit a build site and writing letters to elected officials all fall under the advocacy umbrella. Writing letters and visiting lawmakers are particularly effective forms of advocacy, Wiggins says. Both compel congressional staff members to address the constituent's questions and acknowledge the importance of a grassroots perspective.
"There are members of Congress who won't take meetings with professional lobbyists, but will only take meetings with people from their state or district because that's who they feel they should be listening to," she says.
For more information on advocacy, including sample letters and guidelines on nonprofit lobbying activities, write Habitat's Washington, D.C., office at 1010 Vermont Ave. NW, Suite 900, Washington, D.C. 20005, call (202) 628-9171, or e-mail washingtonoffice@hfhi.org.
