BL2018-1199 Creates new Nashville-Davidson County Continuum of Care Homelessness Planning Council
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The following is a press release sent out on July 5, 2018:
Metro Council Adopts Ordinance for a new Homelessness Planning Council, Eliminates Homelessness Commission
New Homelessness Planning Council Serves as CoC Governance Board
Nashville, Tenn. (July 5, 2018) – With the passage of Ordinance BL2018-1199 on Tuesday the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission ceases to exist and is replaced with a new homelessness governance board called the Nashville-Davidson County Continuum of Care Homelessness Planning Council.
The new ordinance marks the last chapter of three-year long community conversations among homelessness stakeholders to create a unified governance structure with a focus on building an effective Housing Crisis Resolution System for Nashville.
Liz Allen Fey, former chair of the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission, said the move was in essence eliminating a bifurcated approach to ending homelessness.
“We have been operating out of two systems for close to 10 years now, and it has limited Nashville's ability to impact on reducing homelessness and getting people housed,” Allen Fey said. “With one body, we can harness our collective energy and look to leverage greater local and national resources to create a true coordinated entry system along with the housing and services needed.”
The passage of the Metro ordinance was the last approval needed to create this unified new governance entity after the Continuum of Care (CoC) general membership in May adopted a new CoC charter on the condition that the Metro Council approve the ordinance. The Continuum of Care is a federal construct under the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009 and is comprised of Davidson County stakeholders who collaborate to work on preventing and ending homelessness for Nashville neighbors experiencing a housing crisis.
Sean Muldoon of Operation Stand Down Tennessee, who has served as the chair of the CoC Governance Board, said the new board will initially be formed with most of the members from the current CoC Governance Board and the former Metropolitan Homelessness Commission to allow for continuity.
“The great part of this partnership is that both boards’ members are already passionate about ending homelessness in our community, committed to the process, and working toward solutions,” Muldoon said. “Our immediate task, therefore, is to use that energy to identify and enact a singular strategic vision and plan, clarify and consolidate processes, and get to work for those experiencing or living at-risk of homelessness.”
The first meeting of the new Homelessness Planning Council, which serves as Nashville’s Continuum of Care Governance Board, is scheduled for Wednesday, July 18, 2018, 8:30-11:30 am at the Randee Rogers Training Center, 1419 Rosa L. Parks Boulevard.
Homelessness Commission staff becomes the Homeless Impact Division
As part of this process, the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission staff will be renamed as the Homeless Impact Division of Metro Social Services.
“The Metropolitan Homelessness Commission used to be housed under the Metro Social Services Board of Commissioners,” Renee Pratt, executive director of Metro Social Services, explained. “Therefore, the name change of the division will not affect their status as staff of Metro Social Services.”
Judith Tackett, who now serves as the director of the newly named Metro Homeless Impact Division, said BL2018-1199 renames her team but does not change how staff functions within Metro government.
“While our name is changing, our roles and goals still include bringing our expertise to the community,” Tackett said. “The Homeless Impact Division is ready to help move the new Homelessness Planning Council forward in its efforts toward building an effective and efficient Housing Crisis Resolution System.”
Tackett said her team was actively involved in the process of finding a new name for the division and creating the new logo, which is presented below.