As San Diego’s largest homeless services provider, Father Joe’s Villages ensures that each person can rediscover hope and leave homelessness behind. We consistently work with Father Joe’s to address the changing needs of people experiencing homelessness, but there was an unprecedented threat of widespread infection at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We turned our attention to utilizing media relations to help the organization keep the community abreast of its efforts to protect its clients.

Our Objectives:

We proactively connected with internal and external audiences, including the media, to address the developing situation in tandem with the organization’s health professionals’ and City and County of San Diego’s efforts.

We worked with Dr. Norris, as well as president and CEO Deacon Jim Vargas, on ten weekly press conferences and seven weekly media alerts to inform the public on key COVID-19 updates respectively. Dr. Norris specifically offered vital information on how community members could stop the spread and support homeless people who couldn’t necessarily stay home or isolate themselves. The key to landing these agenda-setting stories in the middle of everyone’s packed schedules included twice-a-week press conferences that later switched to office hours so reporters could speak to either Deacon Vargas or Dr. Norris directly.

Since the staff are essential workers, we also supported internal communications strategies to ensure they received important updates before it was made public.

Here’s how we did it:

• Developed proactive public statements to create awareness of Father Joe’s Villages efforts to address comprehensive service needs of the homeless community and earn media coverage
• Strategically identified stories and updates to share during the weekly zoom press conferences, especially during the opening of the San Diego Convention Center shelter
• Developed a process to identify profile stories for the heroes of the pandemic at Father Joe’s Villages
• Created awareness of and drew donors to Father Joe’s Villages Emergency Response Fund
• Strategized with the leadership team to adjust in-person events and volunteering opportunities to ensure the safety of the community

The Outcome:

Leaders in San Diego County, including Father Joe’s, contributed greatly to containing the spread of the virus amongst the region’s homeless population. While our specific contribution was minor in the grand scheme of things, the effects of our work were tenfold. Our efforts helped them leverage their successful leadership through local and national media placements – an average of 24 placements per month from March to May 2020 – to offer insight to their approach and promote Father Joe’s Villages Emergency Response Fund by including a call to action to donate in all communications/media materials. Four additional media placements profiled leaders making a difference during the pandemic.

We won the following awards for our work at the 2020 Bernays:

• Silver Bernays Award of Excellence winner in “Campaigns: Community Relations – Nonprofit/Association” category: Father Joe’s & Mixte Communications for A Leader Amongst Homeless Services Provider During COVID-19
• Silver Bernays Award of Merit winner in “Campaigns: Public Affairs” category: Mixte Communications and Father Joe’s for A Leader Amongst Homeless Services Provider During COVID-19
• Silver Bernays Award of Merit winner in “Campaigns: Public Service” category: Mixte Communications & Father Joe’s for A Leader Amongst Homeless Services Provider During COVID-19

Did this spark your interest in improving your digital marketing in 2021? Inquire about Mixte’s digital marketing and PR services by contacting: mixte@gomixte.com or 619-732-0789