I work with the folks from Matthew 35 pretty regularly and can attest to the tremendous help these fine folks provide to the homeless here in Nashville. Not only do they help house an individual for a transitional period, they also help that individual get back into the "societal groove," for lack of a better description, and also assist them in saving enough money to eventually move out into permanent housing, when it becomes available (and those waits can be damned long here in Nashville, trust me.)
Safe surroundings help homeless recover
Tennessee Voices
The recent efforts in the Nashville area to begin a new road to solving the homelessness issue by providing safe and secure housing is certainly welcomed by those social service agencies that have followed this path for many years. Matthew 25 is one of those agencies that for more than 23 years has pursued an in-residence program as the means to solve the homelessness issue.
Once a person has some sense of safety and security, we have found that they are much more receptive to solving their deeper problems of health, employment and integration back into society.
This is a tough world for someone who only carries a sleeping bag and maybe an extra shirt, with no transitional shelter, to climb their way out of the depths of despair and economic ruin on their own.
The picture in your mind of a homeless person today should not be what it was 10 years ago. Today, you have homeless men and women who are ex-military, ex-business, ex-Music Row, ex-white collar, ex-blue collar and even ex-professional athlete.
They all have one thing in common — yes, they are homeless, but more importantly, they have been the victim of an issue that has dragged them down to the depths where it is difficult, by themselves, to pull themselves up to get back into society.
The issue that has pulled the homeless person down, whether it is past bad relationships, drug and/or alcohol abuse, economic conditions, health reasons or whatever, will not get his/her attention until they feel safe and secure, ideally in a transitional setting.
Our experience at Matthew 25 shows that if the homeless have shelter, and some direction in how to overcome their issues, their chances of once again becoming a part of society are drastically improved over trying to find services on an intermittent basis.
With the present world economic situation and the many members of the armed forces who will be returning to the U.S. with memories they can't forget, we believe that in 24 to 36 months, the homelessness situation will take a dramatic curve up on the homelessness charts. Thus, the present efforts to increase the number of available housing units may just be at the point of implementation when this new wave of homeless people arrive in the statistic books.
There are many great agencies in Nashville that have been supporting the reintegration of homeless men and women back into society.
While Matthew 25 may be one of Nashville's "best-kept secrets" in helping the homeless, we accept the challenge put forth by Erik Cole, chairman of the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission, in continuing to provide a total solution to our fellow Nashvillians.
Previous PageAlex Kelso is president of the board of Matthew 25, a local nonprofit that specifically helps homeless men, many of whom are battling addiction, get their lives back on track.
