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To: SHPA Members
From: Mike Bach, SHPA Executive Director
Re: Tips for Producing Resident Video Testimonials
Date: March27, 2015
Overview
Illinois supportive housing providers are working at the Capitol to combat a proposal to dramatically cut funding for supportive housing services in FY 2016, the budget year beginning July 1. As part of thiseffort, we are reminding elected officials that supportive housing services are critical for individuals and communities in every region of the state.
To augment our outreach and underscore our message with the voices of individuals closest to supportive housing throughout Illinois, we are asking supportive housing providers to contribute video testimonials – both from administrators andstaff at our facilities (individuals best positioned to speak about the scope and value of supportive housing in a particular community) and from the residents themselves.
The ubiquity of video cameras in cell phones and laptop computer displays, as well as the affordability of dedicated video recording devices, such as the GoPro and more traditional handheld cameras, coupled with easy-to-use, cost-free distribution channels like YouTube and Vimeo, makes it possible for almost anyone to record and upload decent quality video to tell their stories.
We believe that there is great potential, with modest guidance and instruction, for these video stories to help inform and shape the perspectives of policymakers ultimately responsible for deciding whether supportive housing services in the coming fiscal year will be adequately funded. With information about where an individual resides, we can share links to their video with their specific state representative, senator and staff members; our lobbying team can share with lawmakers via their laptop, mobile device or tablet video(s) from the member’s constituent(s). This approach, in concert with our other outreach efforts,will help put a human face on the sterile figures in spreadsheets and budget books to drive home the true ramifications of the governor’s budget plans.
The best testimonials might be edited and combined into a longer-form video with narration and graphics that provides a comprehensive set of viewpoints to explain what is at stake and why supportive housing must be adequately funded.
On the following pages, please find brief directions and sample questions to help guide your video production.
Contact SHPA Executive Director Mike Bach at or (217) 528-9814 with any questions you may have.
Resident Videos
Segment 1: Introduction
The resident should introduce himself or herself to the camera, as follows:
“My name is [NAME HERE] and I live in [NAME OF SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FACILITY] in [NAME OF TOWN/Neighborhood].”
Followed by:
“I’ve lived in Illinois all my life.”
[OR]
“I have lived in Illinois for [XX] years.”
[OR]
“I have lived in this community for [XX] years.”
Segment 2: Supportive Housing Matters
The resident is encouraged to offer brief answers to the following questions:
How has supportive housing/living at [facility name] changed your life? What was your life like before you moved into [facility name]?
How would your life change ifyou could no longer call this place home?
Segment 3: Appeal to Legislators
The resident is encouraged to ask lawmakers to continue funding for supportive housing:
Please support funding for [name of facility].
Please help my friends and me to stay in our homes.
Director/Staff Videos
Segment 1: Introduction
The director/staff member should introduce himself or herself to the camera, as follows:
“My name is [NAME] and I am [TITLE/ROLE] at [NAME OF SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FACILITY] in [TOWN].”
Thereafter, the director/staff should briefly describe the scope and nature of the services provided.
Segment 2: Supportive Housing Matters
The director/staff is encouraged to offer brief answers to the following questions:
How has supportive housing changed the lives of individuals residing at the facility?
How would their lives change if supportive housing were not available?
Segment 3: Adequate Funding for Supportive Housing
The director/staff is encouraged to offer brief answers to the following questions:
What should Illinois’ elected officials know about your supportive housing program and the value it brings to your community?
Why is it so critical for Illinois to continue adequate funding for supportive housing services?
Segment 4: Appeal to Legislators
The director/staff should ask legislators to continue funding for Supportive Housing Providers and facilities like [NAME].
Please support funding for [name of facility].
[OR]
Please help protect some of our most vulnerable citizens by keeping them off the streets.
[OR]
Supportive housing saves Illinois taxpayers money that would otherwise be spent on more costly emergency rooms, hospitals, nursing homes and correctional facilities.
Logistical Considerations/Transmitting the Video to SHPA
Please keep the videos as brief as you can. You may wish to shoot multiple takes of the video, and then choose the one that you feel is the most authentic and compelling. If possible, try to shoot in a well-lit setting where there is not too much background noise that will compete with a viewer’s ability to hear what is said.
To the degree possible, please avoid overlap between questions posed to the video subject and the subject’s responses. In other words, ask the video subject ahead of time to wait one or two seconds after a question to begin an answer. (Depending on the video, it may make the most sense to preserve the questions – asked from off camera – in the final video. It may, however, make sense to exclude those off-camera questions. In this case, preventing overlap between questions and answers will be very helpful in aiding the editing process.)
Please encourage the video subject to look at the lens of the camera when speaking.
Once complete, please transmit the best version of each testimonial video to Aaron Eldridge at SHPA. [NOTE FOR MIKE BACH: Let’s discuss the most efficient means for handling the transmission and collection of videos before you send this memo.] With each video, please include the following information:
- Name of interviewee
- Title/position of interviewee, if applicable
- Name and address of supportive housing facility
- Nature of services at the facility
- Number of residents at the facility
- State representative or state senator who represents’ facility (if known)