Because many leaders involved in policy are often too busy to read several pages of information, think of a memo as a 1-page visual 30-second sound byte. You need to introduce the problem related to the population served, tell how it affects the homeless population/the agency, offer a well conceived solution, discuss potential barriers and outcomes, and close quickly and succinctly.
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Sooooo, with your success in mind, here are some tips that I hope will be helpful as you work on your Advocacy Memo. The problem must be related to the homeless population. The name of the agency is The Beacon of Downtown Houston (The Beacon| Homeless Services| Houston )
a) Memos must be typed in 12-point, single-spaced, font and have 1-inch margins. Those that do not fit this basic professional writing style will not be graded.
b) Because space may be an issue, do not waste a lot of time with fancy headers in large font.
c) The word Memorandum may be centered at the top and should be bolded.
d) For this assignment, the memos are to be no longer than 1-page (front only).
e) To, From, Date, and RE are required and may be single-spaced (I recommend it).
f) People should NOT be the issue/problem. Thus, do not tell your field instructor to fire or discipline anyone.
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f) This is a single problem/concern. Do not try to solve the problems of the world in one page.
Format/ Requirements
Develop a one-page memorandum to their field instructor urging change in the agency setting based on observations of service delivery, client progress, agency access, etc. Your statement should be concise, factual, offer feasible solutions with explanations of why you expect them to work, and identify possible barriers to progress as well as possible outcomes (who you would expect to benefit and why).
ELEMENT: Point allocation
Introduction of the problem/history of the problem/observation 1
Facts about the effect of the problem on service delivery 2
situation? How are they being affected?
How many are affected? (factual, not what you don’t like)
Proposed solution 2
for other clients, workers, constituency groups, funding etc.
Possible barriers 2
some possible barriers and how will you address them? You
cannot just leave them on the table. Think critically.
Possible outcomes 2
implemented after all barriers have been addressed?
Professional presentation (Spelling/grammar/sentence structure) 1
it deserves.
See attached example as well for additional help
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