About the program

We know stories are powerful so we are excited to launch a storytelling program (I ♥️ Home) for NYC-area artists, photographers, writers and content creators who have experienced unstable housing, eviction or homelessness. Applications are now open for creators who want to share their stories about housing insecurity and homelessness in New York City and highlight solutions so every New Yorker has the dignity of a stable home. Whether you're an artist, writer, social media creator, filmmaker, podcaster or other kind of storyteller, we invite you to apply.

This program is all about creating and sharing stories that build public support for solutions to unstable housing and homelessness in New York City. Over the course of the year-long program, you will receive training, support and funding to create content in your chosen medium.

The storytelling program will take place from February to December 2025. Each storyteller will receive up to $12,000. Creators are required to participate and create content for the entirety of the program in order to receive the full amount. Payments will be broken up over the course of the year. 

Deadline to apply: Jan. 2,  2025 

Who Can Apply?

We’re looking for:

• Illustrators, writers, filmmakers, photographers, podcasters, painters, social media creators, graphic designers – basically all kinds of storytellers

• People with lived experience of homelessness and/or housing instability

• Storytellers based in NYC

Requirements: 

• Must have: 

• Access to a reliable internet connection and a device that can use Zoom for trainings and check ins

• An email account for communication

• Documentation that allows you to earn income according to IRS guidelines

• A bank account to receive payments 

• What we ask you to commit to: 

• Creating and sharing 1 to 12 pieces of content by Dec. 31, 2025 depending on your medium (as an example, a filmmaker or documentarian may only make one final piece, but a social media content creator could make 12 or more). You will own your work, but we ask you to share it publicly via social, websites, submissions, etc. and tag us, partners and other creators. We want people to see what you create.

• Content created by participants must fit within the narrative guidance provided by the Housing Narrative Lab.

• Participation in three 1.5 hour training sessions to learn about the essentials of housing narratives and the root causes of housing issues and solutions to homelessness. Training will be held once a week for three weeks starting the week of February 10. Specific dates and times are TBD.

• Quarterly check-ins with the Housing Narrative Lab team and other participants to discuss everyone’s progress.

Who we are:

The Housing Narrative Lab is a national organization that builds support for the housing solutions that create healthy, stable and thriving communities. We are a narrative research and implementation hub that centers stories to reimagine housing as a basic need that requires public investment. The storytelling program is supported by The NYC Fund to End Youth & Family Homelessness, which provides resources to transform NYC’s homelessness systems. 

Who you are:

You will be a good fit for this program if you are an artist or content creator living in New York City who tells stories in your preferred medium, has experienced housing insecurity or homelessness, and are interested in building support for compassionate and evidence-based solutions to housing insecurity and homelessness in the city. We especially welcome applicants who are disproportionately impacted by the housing challenges in the city, including applicants who are Black, Brown, Indigenous, LGBTQ+, youth and immigrants.