Reporting Guides

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Homelessness Beat Reporters Collective releases guide to help journalists cut through the noise

New reporting guide offers practical knowledge and reporting tips for journalists covering one of the most complex and consequential issues in America. 

(Remote, USA) – The Homelessness Beat Reporters Collective (HBRC), a group of journalists who cover homelessness across America, today announced the release of its second reporting guide, “The Homelessness Reporting Toolkit.” It is a practical resource for journalists to navigate the avalanche of information, competing perspectives and political narratives surrounding homelessness — and report accurate, nuanced stories without harming the people at the center of them.

The new guide builds on the skills outlined in HBRC’s first reporting guide by adding knowledge and context collected by HBRC members. Together, the guides are designed to help reporters of all backgrounds and beats move beyond surface-level coverage and produce journalism that is rigorous, humane, and grounded in the lived realities of homelessness.

“As an editor at a publication focused on homelessness, we’re often getting requests to connect reporters to sources or help them understand the issue, especially when homelessness is in the national news,” said Annemarie Cuccia, who leads the street paper Street Sense Media in Washington, D.C. “It’s really exciting to be able to share the knowledge of our group with anyone who may be covering homelessness for the first time. We hope they feel more confident and equipped to write these stories.” 

Homelessness reporting can require journalists to sort through research, government data, claims by advocates, public frustration and the experiences of people living without stable housing, all while working under tight deadlines. The guide offers reporters practical advice for evaluating information, understanding the broader landscape and approaching homeless sources with care and respect.

“We walk readers through common policy jargon and stories we’ve presented in our own communities,” said Stefania Lugli, who’s covered homelessness extensively for The Journal, a nonprofit newsroom in Wichita, Kansas. “We were mindful of being inclusive to all newsrooms interested in covering homelessness, not just those in large urban areas where the people experiencing it are often more visible. This is an issue without borders. We hope this empowers reporters to tell these stories, regardless of whether they are stepping into the beat for the first time or considering an approach they haven’t thought of before.”

The guide aims to help journalists in local and national newsrooms, including reporters new to the homelessness beat and experienced journalists looking to deepen their coverage of housing, poverty, public policy and communities experiencing homelessness.

“Covering homelessness is challenging, especially at a time where there are such different views on the best ways to address it,” said Lisa Halverstadt, who has covered homelessness for more than a decade for nonprofit outlet Voice of San Diego. “Our group is offering its years of collective wisdom on the beat to help journalists across the U.S. navigate this complex, nuanced topic and tell important, fact-based stories about one of our nation’s foremost crises.”

About the Homelessness Beat Reporters Collective
The Homelessness Beat Reporters Collective supports journalists covering homelessness with reporting resources, guidance and shared knowledge aimed at improving the accuracy, depth and humanity of news coverage.

Media Contact: Robert Davis, homelessnessreporting [at] gmail [dot] com