“You Don’t Have to Live Here”

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The seminal research that started the conversation on narrative shift: Why housing messages backfire and 10 things we can do about it.

Our initiative’s work was built from existing research and best practices, including the seminal research by Dr Tiffany Manuel. “You Don’t Have to Live Here: Why Housing Messages are Backfiring and 10 Things We Can Do About it ” was a powerful wake-up call to the housing justice movement and set the stage for our work.

The research findings presented in this report remain significant to our work, and offer clear details not just on what the messages we should avoid are — but also the critical context of why.

Related Resources

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The Backfire Effect – Dr. Tiffany Manuel (workshop clip)

Stop trying to talk people out of their beliefs  -- it actually reinforces their current position. 

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Shift the Narrative -Tiffany Manuel (full workshop)

Called the affordable housing movement's "rockstar" of communications, Dr Tiffany Manuel takes our coalition through critical messaging research and narrative application.

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Piecing it Together

A framing playbook for affordable housing advocates.

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