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| This initiative is a project of the National Human Services Assembly and is generously funded by The Kresge Foundation.
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| Columnist Illustrates Familiar Challenge for Human Service Organizations
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The New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof recently highlighted the incredible success of an eight year-old chess champion, Tani, who is a Nigerian refugee. In an initial column, “This 8-Year-Old Chess Champion Will Make You Smile,” he described how Tani, a third grader, catapulted from novice chess player to state champion in his category in one year, despite living in a homeless shelter and lacking the resources of his peers.
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Kristof used the example to illustrate the truism that “Talent is universal, but opportunity is not.” In response, readers made donations and offered housing to Tani’s family. In reporting on the outpouring of support, Kristof observed in a second column, “Our Chess Champion Has a Home,” “One challenge I face is that readers often want to donate just to a particular individual I write about, without addressing the larger social problem.” Human service organizations face similar challenges with how to use client stories to demonstrate the need for and benefit of programs and policies without the unintended consequence of the audience falling into the “Individualism Trap.” When primed with a tight focus on an individual, the public is more likely to attribute a person’s condition to their actions and choices, rather than understanding how the broader societal systems and conditions contribute to their situation. Through this lens, the public: - Views human services as only direct, temporary interventions to address the basic needs of people in crisis,
- Overlooks the ways in which human services promote well-being at many stages of life through prevention, planning, advocacy, and research, and
- Sees human services as benefitting only direct service recipients, not the whole community.
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In particular, FrameWorks advises that examples of individuals should contribute to telling a thematic story that helps the audience see the broader issues, trends, systems, and solutions, rather than an episodic story, which focuses narrowly on individual actions, problems and responsibility. Such episodic stories can limit the sector’s ability to engage the public in the policy and systems solutions to the challenges people experience. As FrameWorks explains, “Episodic frames highlight how to fix the person experiencing a problem, while a thematic frame highlights how to fix the conditions that led to the problem.” In the webinar, FrameWorks walks through specific strategies for reframing stories collected from the field so that they cultivate a deeper understanding of what human services are, how they work, and how we all benefit from their solutions. For example, as shown in a past newsletter, FrameWorks translates an episodic story about one man who is homeless into an explanatory example by showing the broader context of what healthy, stable housing means for everyone and the human service organization’s role in fostering community well-being.
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Additional FrameWorks’ resources on thematic and episodic storytelling include:
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| Send your examples of thematic stories to us by emailing Bridget Gavaghan, Director of the National Reframing Initiative.
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| SPOTLIGHT The National Human Services Assembly's 2019 Annual Convening
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The National Human Services Assembly is hosting its Essential Conversations on Human Services: 2019 Annual Convening on Tuesday, June 11, 2019 in Washington, D.C. The Convening will be a time for NHSA members, along with partners, colleagues, and friends in the human service and nonprofit sectors, to gather and network with each other and the National Assembly Board of Directors and staff to further important conversations and collaboration in the sector. Announced programming includes "How Human Service Organizations Can Strategically Marshal Grassroots Advocacy Campaigns," a panel consisting of experts on developing well-framed narratives, such as the Building Well-Being Narrative, around specific issue areas and professional policy advocates from a diverse range of organizations. Register today!
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We have a robust set of free tools to better equip you integrating this new narrative into your communications strategies.
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Contact Us
For more information on how your organization can join the reframing mobilization, or for any questions about this newsletter or the online tools or website information, please contact the Initiative's Director, Bridget Gavaghan at bgavaghan@nassembly.org.
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