Press Release - Dec. 2, 2008

Contact:
Clifton Harris
Homelessness Coordinator
Phone: 615-252-8451
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

First Project Homeless Connect draws White House attention

Nashville, Tenn. (Dec 2, 2008) – Two White House officials attended today’s rally of the first Project Homeless Connect Nashville, which is held at the Municipal Auditorium and functions as a one-stop shop connecting homeless consumers to services they need.

Philip Mangano, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, and Grace Ohlhaut, associate director of the USA Freedom Corps, said they were thrilled to see the volunteer effort behind Nashville’s first Project Homeless Connect first hand.

It is the first event of its kind in Nashville, but Councilman Erik Cole, who chairs the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission, said his commission plans to repeat Project Homeless Connect on a regular basis.

“Other cities such as San Francisco, which was the first to launch Project Homeless Connect in 2004, have held multiple events with tremendous success,” Cole said. “We would like to turn this into an annual one-stop shop for the homeless that eventually will involve the entire community.”

About 50 provider agencies were ready at 9 a.m. when the first homeless individuals arrived to receive services from medical and dental care, to haircuts, mental health evaluations, HIV/Aids tests, legal aid, pet care, free phone calls to family, substance abuse counseling, food, housing assistance, and more.

“We hope to be able to move dozens of homeless individuals into permanent supportive housing today or at least have them on the road to housing,” Clifton Harris, Nashville’s homeless services coordinator, said. “We’ve been working with the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, nonprofit housing providers and for-profit landlords in our community and were able to identify close to 60 housing opportunities.

“Our goal is to identify some of the most vulnerable homeless individuals in this community and move them into housing as quickly as possible,” Harris added.

Local outreach workers, shelter providers and other nonprofit agencies have invited their homeless consumers for the past few weeks to participate in Project Homeless Connect. Nearly 250 volunteers signed up to help consumers receive the services they wanted and needed.

Project Homeless Connect is one facet of Nashville’s plan to end homelessness. Other initiatives of the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission include the Housing First Pilot Project, which provides supportive housing for some of the most vulnerable homeless individuals in the city, and the SSI/SSDI program that helps homeless individuals obtain benefits that can then be used to purchase housing and secure access to Medicaid.

At any given time, Nashville is home to an estimated 3,000-5,000 homeless men, women and children, many of whom double up with friends and family for a period of time. The intent of Project Homeless Connect is to change how business is done when it comes to expediting outcomes, lowering barriers, removing obstacles, and increasing results.

The Metropolitan Homelessness Commission will release event data, which will show how many consumers accessed what type of services, as soon as available.

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To donate online, click on the "Join The Key Alliance" button.

The Key Alliance is a
501(c)3 nonprofit organization that partners with the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission to bring together the community to collaborate around permanent solutions to homelessness in Nashville.

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Upcoming Events:

Project Arts Connect runs through March 2
Project Arts Connect is a event hosted by the Metro Arts Commission and The Key Alliance who are collaborating with The Contributor newspaper and Room In The Inn to exhibit artwork by Nashville artists who have been affected by homelessness. The show is exhibited at the Metro Arts Gallery, on the 4th floor of the Metro Office Building, 800 Second Ave. South. The exhibit is free and open to the public and will run through March 2.

Project Homeless Connect on March 28
The Key Alliance is partnering with the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission to host the fourth annual Project Homeless Connect event on March 28, 2012, at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds. We are seeking 500 volunteers. To volunteer, please sign up at Hands on Nashville.

Run for the Homeless on May 12
The second annual Run for the Homeless, a 5K walk/run through Downtown Nashville will take place on May 12, 2012. Stay tuned for more details.

Community Calendar
The Key Alliance hosts a new feature on its Website: A Community Calendar (view tab on the left). Service providers are invited to email details of their events and happenings they would like to be listed on our Community Calendar to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

The Contributor goes to twice monthly
On Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012, The Contributor, Nashville's successful street newspaper, will publish two issues per month. "In a time when print media is on the decline, street newspapers all around the world have seen major increases in distribution. The Contributor, now the highest-distributing street newspaper in North America, is a leader in the global street newspaper movement’s success. Thanks to the hard work and determination of its vendors and staff, as well as the generosity of its donors, The Contributor has grown exponentially over the last two years, enabling approximately one-third of the paper’s vendors to earn enough money to obtain housing." - Andrew Krinks, The Contributor's editor, in a recent press release.

Volunteer Award
The Key Alliance is proud to announce that our volunteer, Ben Morton, was honored with the Phyllis M. Frank Volunteer Award by the Nashville Coaltion for the Homeless for his outstanding efforts to help the local homeless community. Read the press release here.

New initiative launched called Adopt A Unit
The Key Alliance, in partnership with the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission, has launched a new program called Adopt A Unit that invites congregations to help formerly homeless individuals establish a household.
For more information, click here.

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The next MHC meeting is scheduled for Friday, March 2, 2012, at 9:30 a.m. in the Sonny West Conference Room of the Howard Office Building (Fulton Complex), 700 Second Ave. South.

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A Summary Report of the Committee on Police/Homeless Issues of the MHC is posted here.

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Adopt A Meter Program

The Key Alliance has partnered with NashVitality to promote its Adopt A Meter program.
The program places refurbished "parking" meters in high foot traffic areas Downtown. All change collected will benefit homeless outreach with the goal to place people into Housing First. For a $1,000 sponsorship, contact Clifton Harris at 862-6401 or email him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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The Key Alliance launched a Speaker's Bureau program. We are available to speak to groups larger than 10 members including businesses, neighborhood associations, civic groups and congregations.

Contact Judy Tackett at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to set up YOUR meeting.

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To date the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission and MDHA have been able to connect 37 homeless individuals who lost everything in the May floods with Section 8 Housing vouchers. The Homelessness Commission has closed the program. All Section 8 Voucher applicants have to go through MDHA's Secion 8 Office at 620 Dew Street.

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If you would like to be included on our volunteer e-mail list for special events and other opportunities, or sign up for our newsletter, please contact Judy Tackett at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

For media inquiries
call Judy Tackett at 517-7000.