Want to Report on Homelessness? What ProPublica Learned About Engaging Responsibly. — ProPublica

It’s not hard to find people who want to talk about cities dismantling homeless encampments and throwing away their belongings. In our reporting over the past year, we found that almost everyone we talked to who lived outside had been through a sweep.

More than 150 people shared their stories with us. Many had lost precious belongings or survival gear, keeping them in a cycle of hardship. Others told us about the barriers they faced trying to get their items back. These interviews allowed us to compare cities’ policies with the reality of what happens on the ground, opening new avenues for our team’s accountability reporting.

While finding stories was not difficult, we faced practical challenges, such as staying in touch with sources. To navigate those and ensure our reporting was as responsible as possible, we turned to the experts: people who experienced homelessness, service providers and key community members. We were also inspired by the work of local reporters who have thoughtfully covered these issues in their communities.

Now, we’re sharing what we learned — and a few ideas we didn’t get to — to help other journalists getting started on this important beat.

If you’d like to reach us, you can contact [email protected].

Discuss your reporting plan and make key decisions before going into the field.

You will likely face challenges staying in touch with sources experiencing homelessness. People may not always have cell service, their phones might be taken in sweeps and talking to a reporter may not be a priority when they’re focused on survival. This makes it even more important to have your reporting process figured out before conducting interviews. That way, people will know what they’re signing up for and you can get the information you need in one conversation.

Here are some topics you should discuss with your team, especially editors:

What verification process will you use? To include someone’s account in our stories, we decided we would need to find a record that a sweep occurred in a geographic area around the time they said, using city or county data, sweeps schedules, media reports, visual evidence or additional interviews. Familiarize yourself with your city’s records and data on sweeps to see how feasible it will be to verify certain information. Many cities won’t have detailed records that allow you to find your sources’ names or the items they describe.

What should you ask? It can be helpful to come up with a standard set of questions to ask and determine which are priorities if you have limited time with someone. Think about everything you might need, such as birthdates or months if you are going to include ages in case they change before you publish.

How will you handle requests for anonymity? We published first names only when people said the publication of their full names would pose safety risks. Even in those cases, we still knew our sources’ full names, which is our standard practice.

You should also determine if you will need to publish information about where someone is living, as it may raise safety concerns.

What if someone asks to use a street name? In two cases that we noted, we published street names that our sources are known by. Assistant Managing Editor Diego Sorbara, who oversees standards, said he thinks of street names like nicknames.

“Especially in a population where using a given name could pose safety risks or could cause them serious problems (like being rejected for a job if a prospective employer reads about them and becomes prejudiced against them because of their circumstances), I think using a street name if far preferable than just sticking with anonymity, which is a last-resort situation,” Sorbara said.

What is your plan for visuals and audio? If you need photos or audio, you should ask for them during your first interview. You may not be able to see someone in person again before publishing.

Would you publish someone’s story if you couldn’t reach them after your initial interview? We explained to sources at the outset that this was possible, and we did choose to publish without reconnecting in some cases. It was helpful to speak to someone more than once when we could, though, especially to reconfirm they were comfortable being included.

What will you say if someone asks for help you cannot offer? Our team would say we are journalists and cannot directly help, but we can tell people about other resources. Talk to your team about whether there are local resources or guides you can share with people.

As with any field reporting, editors and reporters should also discuss safety. If you’re going somewhere you aren’t familiar with, we highly recommend going with someone who knows the area and community. We also found it was helpful to pair up with a colleague.

Build relationships with trusted intermediaries.

Our goal was to connect with as many people who experienced sweeps as possible, and we did much of our reporting while on the ground in 11 cities. We had the most success when an outreach worker, advocate or resident of an encampment helped introduce us to people. That first required earning the trust of these intermediaries, whose feedback also shaped and improved our reporting process.

Before interviewing people in Portland, Oregon, for example, we spent weeks calling street librarians and medics, service providers and advocates, including some who had experienced homelessness. We asked for feedback on everything from how we were planning to phrase our questions to how to stay in touch with people — and adjusted our reporting plan in response. They also flagged things we weren’t thinking about.

You should also ask what language the community uses to describe issues and discuss this with your editors. For example, some of our sources felt that the term “sweep” had a negative connotation, but most said that it is the word commonly used by people experiencing homelessness. Some felt strongly that it should be used instead of more clinical language like “encampment abatements” or “campsite removals” pushed by city officials.

Spread the word about your visit.

We made flyers for day centers and nonprofits to put up before we visited, and some outreach workers told people about our project in the weeks before we went out with them. (If you make flyers, make sure they don’t look like sweep notices in your area.)

Making plans can be tricky when people are frequently moving around to avoid getting towed or swept, but it’s helpful to spread general awareness.

Stephenie, one of our sources in Portland who was featured in our reporting, said she also recommended giving people questions ahead of time so they can think about their answers.

Prepare for reporting on trauma.

During interviews, many of our sources described sweeps as traumatic, and some mentioned other traumatic experiences they had been through. We recommend reviewing resources for reporting on trauma, such as those from the Dart Center.

Some of the trauma-informed practices we used included:

• Giving people agency over the interview process when possible, such as by asking what setting they’d be most comfortable in. If you’re at a location like a day center, see if there is an office you can use if people want more privacy. Some sources may also feel more comfortable talking while taking a smoke break or walking together rather than sitting down.
• Telling people they can take a break if they need to during the interview, and offering one if the conversation feels intense. Allow for pauses between questions.
• Not asking how people became homeless because it wasn’t necessary for our reporting. Some people shared this information with us because they wanted to.
• Avoiding “why” questions that could be perceived as placing blame on someone. For example, rather than asking why someone didn’t retrieve their belongings after a sweep, ask what got in their way.

This can be difficult work. The Dart Center also has tips for managers and reporters about preparing for and responding to secondhand trauma.

Pack the right supplies.

Many of our sources recommended bringing snacks or small useful items with us, which we felt was in line with customary courtesies we extend to sources on other projects. Make sure you tell people they don’t have to talk to you to take something. Portland Street Medicine founder Bill Toepper recommended bringing tangerines and electrolyte drink mixes, which were popular. People also told us they liked candy and soft granola bars, which are easier to eat than hard ones.

We also brought printed materials, such as flyers about our reporting. It can also be helpful to bring a copy of a story you’ve published so people can see what your work looks like.

As for what to wear, Stephenie said, “Dress down and wear clothing that is simple to minimize the person being interviewed feeling their appearance matters.”

Respect people’s space and time.

If you’re at a day shelter or another location where people are accessing services, don’t get in the way. Approach people when they’re waiting in line or after they’ve gotten a meal, or let people approach you. After describing your project, ask people if they’d like to participate.

You don’t have to jump right into an interview, though. Several organizations and sources emphasized the importance of being able to just hang out. Chat with people.

When approaching an RV or tent, knock or announce yourself — or stand to the side while an intermediary checks to see if someone wants to talk. Don’t touch people’s belongings. And don’t approach someone’s pet without permission.

“Remember that even though the person you are interviewing may have a tent in a public place or sleep outside that it is still their home and respect their area like you would anyone else’s home,” Stephenie said.

She also recommended that reporters mentally prepare themselves for things they may see, such as drug use or bathroom situations. Remember that people living outside have less privacy, many cities lack public restrooms and some people use substances to try to keep themselves safe, like in order to stay up at night.

Make the process clear.

At the start of our interviews, we walked through a sheet explaining our process and left a copy with people in case they wanted to review it later or contact us to say they changed their minds.

Make your role and mission really clear. If you’re out with a mutual aid group or at a nonprofit, emphasize that you are a journalist and explain that you’re not affiliated with the group. Explain that people don’t have to talk to you to access resources or services the group is providing.

Stephenie also recommended that reporters “reinforce that you are not there to get anyone in trouble, that you don’t work for the city, police or any other agency.”

Don’t make promises you can’t keep, including about what might happen after your story is published. Set expectations; explain that you may not be able to publish every story but that they all help you do your reporting.

Offer multiple ways to participate.

We handed out notecards that people could write on to share their thoughts in their own words. Some of our sources really liked this, while others said they were self-conscious about their handwriting or spelling. If we were to do this over again, we might try additional options, such as audio statements.

You also shouldn’t assume that people experiencing homelessness aren’t online. Most of our sources had phones, and dozens of people who experienced homelessness connected with us through an online form or email. Some found the form on flyers, our website or social media.

Ask for multiple contact methods — and be patient.

You can say something like: “I know sometimes people have to replace their phones or get locked out of their accounts. Just in case, how else can I contact you with questions and to share the story?” In addition to asking if they’re comfortable sharing a phone number and email, ask if they have a Facebook account or a mailbox at a shelter or nonprofit. You can also ask if there’s a place, like a day shelter, they go to often, or if there’s an outreach worker they see regularly. (This is another benefit of having an intermediary introduce you.)

Send people a message right away so they have your contact information in multiple places.

You may lose touch. Someone might not respond for weeks or months only to resurface. You can keep checking in every few weeks using the contact information you have.

Share your reporting in accessible formats.

Send updates and links to stories as they publish. Think about how you might reach your sources you lost touch with or who don’t have phones. We distributed paper copies of our reporting in Portland through the same intermediaries and organizations that helped us connect with people. We’re working on sending copies to other cities.

If your publication has a print newspaper, can you provide complementary copies to groups that work with people experiencing homelessness? Or would your local street newspaper be interested in collaborating or copublishing? Street Roots, the street newspaper in Portland and one of our Local Reporting Network partners, printed one of our stories.

Some other ideas:

• Street Books told us that there is high demand for coloring books and graphic novels. For the right project, you could create a service journalism piece in a graphic novel or zine format.
• We would have loved to explore having an artist do on-the-spot illustrations that we could use in our story and share with sources.
• We wanted to provide useful information about reclaiming items after a sweep, but our interviews made it clear that most people found the system inaccessible. We were also covering this issue across the country, but most service journalism would need to be hyperlocal to be useful. Local reporters, such as LA Taco reporter Lexis-Olivier Ray, have done great work meeting community needs.
• Mutual aid groups and advocates often have a lot of photos and videos of sweeps. Can you crowdsource those to show a violation of policy or show the public what sweeps really look like in your city? Stephenie, our source, also recommended providing people with cameras to document what sweeps are like. You would need to come up with a plan to collect them afterward.
• Researchers and advocates in some cities have used GPS devices to track where people’s belongings end up after a sweep, sometimes finding they appeared to have gone straight to a landfill or incinerator. We considered doing this but ran into challenges. If you’re interested in this approach, you should determine whether it’s essential or if you can find other evidence. You’ll need to build a lot of trust with sources and should also consider the potential hazards if these devices end up being punctured.