Press Release - November 16, 2011 PDF Print E-mail

 

Ben Morton honored with the Phyllis M. Frank Volunteer Award

Nashville Coalition for the Homeless praises contributions of Project Homeless Connect volunteer

Nashville, Tenn. (Nov. 16, 2011) – The Nashville Coalition for the Homeless honors local volunteer Ben Morton with the Phyllis M. Frank Volunteer Award at its regular monthly meeting on Thursday, Nov. 17 at the Nashville Rescue Mission.

Morton was nominated by the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission and its partner, The Key Alliance, for his invaluable volunteer work with Project Homeless Connect and the Run for the Homeless.

“Ben has been our volunteer coordinator for events put on by the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission and The Key Alliance for a few years now,” said Judith Tackett, communications coordinator for the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission. “He has put in countless of hours to help us organize events such as Project Homeless Connect, where he trains and coordinates up to 700 volunteers.”

Project Homeless Connect is a one-day event that brings together about 70 provider agencies in one location and provides thousands of services to up to 1,500 individuals including children. The goal is to remove barriers to housing.

Janet Rosenberg, chairperson of the Nashville Coalition for the Homeless, said that Morton was elected because the Coalitions’ board strongly felt that he is a true volunteer servant reflecting the spirit of the Phyllis M. Frank Volunteer Award.

“We established the Phyllis M. Frank Volunteer Award to recognize a local volunteer such as Ben Morton devoted to helping remove barriers to homelessness in our city,” Rosenberg said.

The Phyllis M. Frank Volunteer Award is named after its first recipient, Phyllis M. Frank, who is an advocate to end homelessness and the past chairperson of the Nashville Coalition for the Homeless.

 

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  • onlinedonations
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:

End Homelessness Eraselets
The Key Alliance together with the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission is utilizing a new marketing tool called Eraselets, which are wristbands that also serve as erasers. The message on the Eraselets is End Homelessness. Eraselet inventor Bryan Ricci became homeless at the age of 15. Currently he is trying to get his product into Wal-Mart.

Operation Stand Down
The 20th Annual Operation Stand Down Event has been scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 12, 13 and 14, 2012 at the old TN Preparatory School (TPS) Gymnasium Please note this is a return to our regular weekend format! The address is 1164 Foster Avenue, Nashville, TN 37210.

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.

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.