Harris County Housing Authority

Challenge

At dawn on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, stranding tens of thousands of residents in a deluge of toxic floodwater.  For the frightened victims trapped in the Superdome, help was slow in coming.  And when it finally did, it was in the form of a one-way bus ride to Houston. By the end of the week, federal authorities had placed more than 20,000 Katrina evacuees into mass shelters inside the Houston Astrodome.  

The Harris County Housing Authority, which on average operates housing-voucher programs for more than 7,000 residents in Harris County, was given the task of moving thousands of Katrina victims out of the Astrodome and into apartments — immediately.  It was the definition of a communications crisis: crucial information had to be conveyed in real time to an information-hungry public — as well as to the evacuees themselves, many of whom who had lost everything.

Moving these evacuees required more than just an understanding of housing practices; it required professionals who could manage the media circus that had descended on Houston to cover the story. That where Pierpont stepped in.

Strategy

Pierpont, realizing that only the communication, not the crisis, could be controlled, implemented two key steps.  First, Pierpont’s experts ensured that only consistent and responsible information was made public by creating a round-the-clock presence in the Astrodome.  The purpose of this was placing the key communications strategists where the real-time decisions were being made.  Second, Pierpont established the Housing Authority’s executive director, Guy Rankin, as the single spokesperson for all communication and long-term housing issues. This ensured that a single voice handled all media relations — consistently and authoritatively.

Results

Pierpont's efforts helped the Housing Authority stand out as one of the nation's most successful Katrina-response agencies. In addition, Pierpont’s media outreach resulted in executive on-message coverage by a slew of local, national and international news organizations, including: NPR, NBC News, The BBC, Reuters, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Associated Press. In all, Pierpont helped secure 16 broadcast and 17 print media placements in target media outlets. The Housing Authority’s executive team was also summoned to Washington to highlight their efforts for top officials from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban development and Pierpont secured one-on-one meetings for them with several U.S. Senators.

Pierpont continues to work with the Harris County Housing Authority on expert positioning and community outreach.