Tallahassee Speakers' Bureau Presentation Outline

• An AmeriCorps VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) or a volunteer from the community moderates the event and begins by introducing the speakers.
• Explanation of Tallahassee’s Homeless Speakers’ Bureau, AmeriCorps, and our mission.
• Make clear why we are here today to speak with your group.

• The goal here is to engage the audience by asking questions and discussing stereotypes, myths and misconceptions of homelessness. This is an interactive experience so audience participation is encouraged.
• Discuss the causes of homelessness. People become homeless for many reasons such as losing their job, having family problems, domestic violence, mental illness, natural disasters, lack of affordable housing, lack of universal health care, and lack of a universal living wage.
• Distinguish who can become homeless. We must remind ourselves that anyone can be homeless; we are all susceptible to the causes of homelessness.

• A 13 minute video entitled “It Could Happen to You!” used by Miami-Dade County Public Schools can be shown depending on time allowances.

• Each speaker spends about 10-15minutes sharing their stories on how they became homeless and the difficulties of extracting oneself out of the situation.
• This section allows people to personalize homelessness, dispel stereotypes, and inspire hope by presenting first-hand experiences of the panelists, and allowing the general public to interact with these “experts” through question and answer periods.
• By linking the individual lives and stories with broader systemic structural factors, we are then able to more clearly see the need for change.

• The audience has an opportunity to have their questions and concerns about homelessness answered by true experts – those who have or are experiencing homelessness.

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