Act! Speak! Build! Week

Act! Speak! Build! Week

A week-long series of youth-led advocacy events.

 

   


Act! Speak! Build! Week goes beyond the build site as volunteers advocate for decent, affordable shelter by engaging elected officials and their community to eradicate poverty housing.

Building alone cannot provide shelter for the 1.6 billion people who currently live in poverty housing. Act! Speak! Build! Week serves to educate others by expanding the scope of Habitat’s mission from raising a hammer and raising funds to include raising your voice.

This year, Act! Speak! Build! Week is March 31-April 6, 2013.

Here’s what you need:


Become an advocate:

  • Act:
    Learn more about the issues related to poverty housing. Become an online advocate with Habitat for Humanity. Contact elected officials through calls, letters, emails, petitions, and tweets about specific legislation or an “ask” that you want recognized.
  • Speak:
    Challenge peers to become advocates through Act! Speak! Build Week events including: Shantytown; Welcome Home Housing simulation, and a film viewing and discussion. Involve other campus groups by asking them to showcase environmentally friendly housing practices, education on legal issues tenants face and promotion of service-oriented groups that work with low-income areas in your community. Partner with your local affiliate to provide a true understanding of how Habitat for Humanity works with partner families in your community and abroad.
  • Build:
    Build awareness in your community about poverty housing issues through events that engage local officials. Events could include scheduling visits with local representatives about housing issues, letter-writing and phone call campaigns to U.S. representatives. Making it more than a one-time thing by setting up an advocacy calendar to continue regular visits by Habitat campus chapter participants to build on what you started with A!S!B!W. Let officials know that poverty housing is an issue that affects everyone by providing specific examples in your community and abroad. Contact with elected officials is best done when you have a specific “ask.” For information on local housing issues, please contact your local affiliate about legislation they’re endorsing.

More information