One of the four programs of the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County is Public Education. While this can mean many things (creating e-newsletters, managing the website, media and Public Relations, etc.), perhaps the most important piece of this program is serving as the voice of and for homeless individuals. It was through this program that the Coalition sponsored a bus trip to Austin for local citizens and partner organization staff members to travel to Austin and meet with state Senators and Representatives.

I was fortunate enough to be the one to lead this trip, and it was a fantastic experience from calling to schedule meetings with our legislators, to creating some of the “leave behind” materials, and even all of those tiny little details (contact lists, itineraries, organized folders for participants). We had nearly 20 individuals sign up to attend the trip – staff from Goodwill, Career and Recovery Resources, The Houston Launch Pad, Northwest Assistance Ministries, Harmony House, Caring for Offender Families, and Asset Building Network. All in all, a great showing for our area.

During our pre-trip meeting, we gathered to discuss some of the details regarding our trip, and it was inspiring to me to hear the incredible reasons why some of our attendees signed up to go on this trip. Some were service provider staff members who wanted to ensure that their organizations continued to be supported. One worked for a local community college and had personally helped the nearly 10 homeless students that she knew about on campus. One was a homeless individual who wanted to share his personal experience with legislators and let them know how crucial their support was.

10 meetings were scheduled with Senators and Representatives, and the trip went really well! The feedback from those on the trip was that the meetings were very positive and gave them the chance to talk about their organization as well as the successes that we have seen in reducing homelessness across Houston, Harris County, and Fort Bend County. We have also heard that the attendees from this year can’t wait to go back again next year, and the Coalition is looking forward to hosting again!