So much has been happening this week that I haven't had time to write about it, but I think it is critically important to share.
Emergency Housing May Be Brewing
I attended a meeting on Tuesday that brought together a group of folks who. as I understand it, will be almost certainly setting the parameters for accessing a privately purchased 150 unit transitional housing unit for families with children.
This is a HUGE change and it has been brought about primarily by the frustration one man - who at this point needs to remain nameless - experienced while trying to assist the folks at Tent City this past year and being shot down at every angle in the process.
There are some big heavy hitters in this effort, trust me, and you'll almost certainly be reading about them and this effort soon. Stay tuned on this; the building aquisition team has several possibilities they are discussing and the belief is that the unit will be online before winter hits.
the committiee I am part of has, as a result of that meeting, already started work on several components of the initial organizational structure and who is going to be involved. I'm drawing up a list of agencies that may be brought to the table and will be presenting them at our next meeting...
Homelessness Commission Re-Examining Themselves
I attended another meeting Yesterday that may change the way the Homelessness Commission gets the job done in Davidson County, and it was the first time since I've been attending meetings in this city that folks around the table were honest about the problems we're facing at the.....meta level, for lack of a better description.
Ultimately, what it boiled down to was the fact that the Commission lacks any real authority to do anything besides "recommend" approaches, programs and actions. Because of this, the Commission has been, in many instances, impotent to affect real change in the way Nashville responds to the burgeoning homelessness problem.
I don't know if it's going to change a damned thing, frankly, but the message was loud and clear: we're duplicating services in some areas, missing other services entirely in other areas, we're tired of not having any emergency transitional housing, frustrated that no one has any authority to hold agencies accountable, and if we don't get a central point of coordination, we're almost certainly doomed to continue on the same course.
Mind you, this isn't to say that the Commission has been totally ineffective; it hasn't. Many things have arisen as assistance and options for folks who are homeless as a direct result of the Commission's intervention. But real progess on critical issues has been painfully slow in materializing and it is primarily because no one has any authority to tell anyone else what needs to be done.
Added to this is the very nature of collaboration among competing interests and the desire to not step on the toes of those sitting next to you; it makes bringing inadequacies in service delivery damned difficult to bring up for many because no one wants to be the one who drops the hammer on a friend and/or colleague.
So stay tuned here; the Commission may undergo some radical changes in the near future and we may see a leaner, meaner commission with some actual authority to get stuff done. Wouldnt' that be something?
Is The "Music" Portion of Music City Finally Going To Get Involved In Homelessness?
I spent a couple of hours on the phone last night, involved in an occasionally contentious discussion with my good friend and outreach protége Big Denis Huey. Let me preface this conversation by stating Denis is an old Teamsters Organizer and is a no nonsense, take no BS, in your face, get it done kinda guy who, in the world of non-profit daintiness in collaboratively dancing around contentious issues is the proverbial bull in the china shop.
He can be abrasive, loud, sometimes ugly towards others, but it's because he recognizes that people are dying out there and they're dying while we tiptoe around issues that keep them dying.
Denis is also the kind of guy who, when he says he's going to do something, actually does it, and he does it to the best of his ability. I like him - a lot - and I respect hime even more, but sometimes we butt heads because while he's always looking at the what ifs in a positive way, I'm often looking at them in the negative. It's probably the natural progression of repeated disappointments I've experienced over the past few years as I've seen great idea after great idea shot down, kicked to the curb, or talked about excitedly for a meeting or two and then quickly forgotten.
So Denis has found someone who claims to be "in the bidness" and according to Denis, the guy has some pretty sophisticated equipment in a shop downtown that lends credibility to his statements.
The jist of the situation is that the man wants to help "the homeless" by organizing fund raisers, getting some big names of music involved in the fight to end homelessness, and generally generating some much needed revenue that could end up in the pockets of those who need it the most, via agencies who are actually doing what they say they are doing.
The contentious part of our phone conversation really centered around the fact that "Homeless Aid" is radically different than Farm Aid, or Live Aid events that have been so successful in the past and I suspect it is that fact that has kept the music industry from jumping into this issue feet first and making an immediate difference. I can guarantee you that we aren't the first folks in Nashville to try to put together some music-related effort to help assist folks on the street and a quick perusal of youtube will instantly show you that there have been some pretty professional efforts already done on this matter.
The problem as I see it is that unlike the other types of "Aid" performances, homelessness isn't a very popular social issue in terms of garnering public support and political will.
Read any comment section of damned near any news story on just about any issue related to homelessness and typically the negative comments about homelessness outweigh the ones with some level of awareness and empathy towards the situation of homelessness by about seven to one.
Frankly, it appears that a great many people don't give two turds about folks who are homeless.
I mentioned in a previous response to my friend over at SloHomeless that really the only thing that seems to be making a significant difference is that many of the folks coming into homelessness at this point are folks who've never been here before and who are traditionally middle class. These people bring with them into homelessness the skills and often the contacts to reach out and get the word spread that homelessness is a big problem and our response to it is completely, pathetically inadequate.
But I digress.
So I tried to tell Denis not to get his hopes up; folks come racing into this issue full of hope and promise, only to discover that no one else really seems to care. Many of these people often then simply pack up their game ball and go home, because actually getting something done in this arena takes amazing perseverance, determination and fortitude, as well as deep freaking pockets. While all this is draining enough, one also has to endure the "you're crazy for helping those bums" attitudes that are pervasive in our community. Added to this is the occasional disappoint delivered up by the homeless themselves; many folks are homeless for a reason, dontchakno, and sometimes poor choices are definitely made by those on the streets.
So anyhoo, Denis I think got his feelings hurt a bit because I was not as "excited" as I think he wanted me to be, and when I pointed out to him the reasons why, he I think felt that I was "bringing him down."
Sorry my brother; it's not meant to bring you down. Rather, it's meant to prepare you for the difficulties you may face and the letdowns that may be coming. And it's not so much with the good person you are working with but rather with those you're counting on to follow through, as well as one of the most probable responses - based on prior track record - from the public, which is "ho hum, another feel-bad flick about a bum."
I hope this time it's different, because I think the music industry ought to be involved up to their freaking eyeballs here in this city; many musicians are among the ranks of the homeless here and I can't count the number of times someone I'm working with has told me they originally came to Nashville to break into the music biz.
There are also a cadre of successful musicians that have pretty humble beginnings, Waylon Jennings, I've been told, used to play for quarters down on Broadway and slept near the fort in Riverfront park until he could get up and do it again.
Denis wants me to meet with the guy and as I understand it, Clifton Harris has already had a couple of conversations with him, so it's heading in the right direction. Whether it goes beyond the planning stage remains to be seen but I am hopeful, primarily because Denis will keep pushing everyone to actually "get it done," and sometimes that is the most important part of the whole enchalada....
