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Finding our StoriesWe can do this!

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We can all do this!

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What The HHS Network wants from you

• Be a resource

• Engage in the on-going public dialogue/debate

• Localize & make the cuts real

• Find local stories to illustrate the impact

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Three things you can do

• Learn the Key Messages – and Use Them

• Find stories you can use now, and in the future

• Work the media & social media in your community– Raise awareness – Earn media coverage– Earn legislative attention

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What exactly are we up to???

• Our Goal:– Highlight the impacts of the cuts in our

communities

• Our Strategy:– Train leaders to find their stories (today)– Make these cuts “real” by putting a human

face on them– Engage coalition members in larger budget

discussions/media/community work

• Our Messengers:– Families & advocates, agencies & providers

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What are we saying? Our 2010 Messaging

Family Recovery Budget / Plan• Create jobs, preserve the jobs we have and invest

in California’s workers

• Maintain a strong safety net where there are no jobs

• Find targeted revenue solutions to help our economy and families recover

• Bring home the federal funds intended for California’s economy and families.

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Storytelling – The Importance of Anecdotes

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Storytelling – The Importance of Anecdotes

• Storytelling is common thread through all cultures

• Humanizing. Anecdotes personalize the issue

• Impact - Anecdotes are a way for audience to understand your perspective – more powerful than text of your remarks

• Linkage – a story can personalize an issue much faster than reciting statistics, or historical facts.

• Credibility – anecdotes allow you to “borrow” someone else’s credibility Graeme Frost, SCHIP Kid

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Storytelling – Budget Examples

• Finding new messengers

• County could lose $262 million loss in federal and state money (CCTimes 7/3/08)

• In the end, Nick Robinson just couldn't afford the Bay Area. And with pending state budget cuts threatening the foster care counselor's programs and salary, he decided to pack his belongings and leave Walnut Creek for Boston.

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Storytelling – Budget Examples

• Just like me & my family

• Boy's special medical care

imperiled by state budget crunch (Sac Bee 5/11/08)

• Derek Longwell's wheelchair bears all the scars of rough handling by a fully charged 13-year-old boy: scratched metal frame, chipped paint, worn treads and a perpetual coat of dust on the footrest.

• The teen with dark chocolate hair and olive-tinted eyes suffers from spina bifida, a birth defect that has left him with an incomplete spinal cord and an inability to walk. But a committed team of doctors and his devoted parents, backed by a specialized state health care program, have enabled Derek to enjoy an active life outdoors.

• Now the state's ominous fiscal forecast is threatening to disrupt Derek's ability to see his doctors in a timely manner or get leg braces to fit his growing body.

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Think about the many ways to use a story

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Finding your stories

What stories do you have to share?• Tell me about ONE person? A kid, a

parent, a community partner. • Tell me a “win” and tell me a “loss”• What is the impact on our community

today? Tomorrow?• Why is this important

– Don’t lose sight of big picture & messaging– What does this story illustrate?

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Sharing your stories

Who will tell your stories• Is this the right

messenger?• Can they tell it in a way

that is memorable?• How can you continually

refresh the story with new facts, new stories, new wins/losses?

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Sharing your stories

How will you share your stories (e.g.)• Print/Booklet: Children’s Defense Fund• On-line: Mom’s Rising • Person to Person: You? • Legislative Advocacy: You and your

partners• Media: How can you ready your family &

storytellers to present to media

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HELP reporters help you tell stories

• Make it real• Find a local face• Root the story in a

local place• Find an expert

(preferably local) • Go to the media &

legislators – don’t wait for them

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PROVE IT! Here are the basics of some stories

• What have you seen that makes you proud? That makes you worry?

• How has/will this change lives?

• What will this mean for the things you care most about?

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What Makes a Story?

• Controversy. Patients temporarily close clinics in protest

• Conflict. Local families confront electeds• Problem/Solution Dynamic. Advocates & families

provide a family recovery plan• Timeliness & competitive advantage – What are you

doing now to prepare for May Revise? July 1?• Access to & reliability of sources – Are you making

yourself available as a local expert?• People/Personalities. Talk about small investments in

people that can save big for the state – job training!

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What Makes a Story?

• Dramatic Human Interest. Parent who works third job and doesn’t sleep to pay for aging parent’s homecare

• Trends. Three is a trend – Third local example of local families struggling with same bind (jobs, housing)

• New Announcement. Release of new numbers on those without access to services. Goal: Make it fresh.

• Localize national story (and vice versa). Take a nationally breaking story and emphasize its local impact

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What Makes a Story?

• Anniversaries/ Milestones. – May Revise, July 1 are certainly important milestones. So is the end of the school year.

• Fresh angle on old story. Same budget challenges but we are missing access to federal dollars

• Stories. Impact on local family • Special event. Can you leverage an event, march or

forum to raise attention/awareness• Rapid Response. Being prepared on July 1• Celebrity. Is there celebrity who benefitted from child

health or IHSS programs?• Strange Bedfellows. Who is the least likely

person that you might be aligned with?

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Maximizing the Power of a story: What People Need From You

• A quick synopsis of the situation as you see it• Honesty & Forthrightness• Clear and concise answers• Quotable quotes & a sense of humor• Access – are you available to tell it often• Positive & non-defensive attitude• Mastery of issue(s)• Become an on-going resource

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Now What? Here’s a To-Do List

• Know your goal & find a few stories.

• Make communicating them an organizational priority.

• Don’t be afraid to learn by mistakes.

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