Petitions

Generally it is easier to gather petition signatures than it is to get letters, especially from people you do not know.  Petition signatures can be gathered at :

  • Events
  • Gatherings
  • Places of business (usually its best to get permission from the business owner or the organizer of the event)
  • Public areas like parks or street corners
  • On line or through social media

They can even be gathered door-to-door, especially if there is an issue in a specific neighborhood.

Generally, petitions are focused on a particular law, ordinance or piece of legislation, and usually time is needed to gather a significant number of signatures.  Last minute petitioning is usually not effective.  Often times, petitions can also be the catalyst for legislation.  An example might be a petition raising awareness about a large number of homeless youth living under a bridge or in a park, and calling on the city to begin the creation of a youth shelter.  Or calling for increased funding for services for re-entry issues.

All petitions need to begin with a specific statement with which people agree.  If your petition is against something, you want to word it in a way that people agree with being against the issue, not disagree with the issue.  It needs to be direct and simple and concise.  For example:

"The undersigned oppose the defunding by the City of the Hopes Program, which provides the only shelter in the city for homeless teenage women with substance abuse issues.  Defunding by the City will cause Hopes Program to curtail its services or shut its doors entirely and this vulnerable population will have no where else to turn.

 The city must fully fund the Hopes Program."

Usually only three things are required on a petition from signatory:

  • A signature
  • A printed name
  • A zip code of residence (this is especially important if the signatures are aimed at elected officials so they can see which districts the voters might be coming from)

If you have an idea for a petition regarding homelessness in Indianapolis, or centering on a piece of legislation or an issue, contact CHIP.  We will be glad to help you craft the petition or generate one online, and strategize the best ways to collect signatures and to whom to deliver the finished petitions.