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Memphis Groups Attend Housing and Homelessness Day on the Hill

Shelby County participants at Housing and Homelessness Day on the Hill (Photo: Housing for All TN Coalition)

Representatives from Memphis homelessness advocacy groups joined other advocates yesterday for the third annual Housing and Homelessness Day on the Hill.

Officials said the group, comprised of 125 renters, unhoused residents, and concerned constituents from across the state, went to the state capitol in Nashville. Participants convened under a coalition named Housing for All Tennessee.

Organizers met with 50 state legislators to encourage lawmakers to address housing issues, homelessness, and protections for renters.

“The intensifying housing crisis is one of the most pressing issues in Tennessee, impacting rural and urban areas alike,” officials said in a statement. “Rents, evictions, and homelessness are on the rise and homeownership is increasingly out of reach. Twenty-eight percent of Tennesseans, and nearly half of all renters, are cost burdened — paying over 30 percent of their income on housing — while the state faces a shortage of over 121,000 rental homes for extremely low income renters.”

Mauri Pinckney, an organizer from the Memphis Tenants Union, said not only is rent constantly on the rise in the state, but landlords often have more rights than tenants. 

“[There’s] little to no affordable housing in Memphis,” Pinckney said. “It’s not in a good state at all. Most people are one paycheck away from being homeless. That’s just not acceptable — especially with most of the residents in Tennessee being a part of the working class.” 

Pinckney went on to say that the purpose of yesterday’s event was to introduce legislators to the coalition, and to see what their stances are on housing issues and the current state of housing. They also worked to get data on renters and how they can move the affordability crisis forward in a “progressive way.”

Kiera Sowell, youth action board chair for Community Alliance for the Homeless (CAFTH), said they also wanted to convince them to pass bills that would assist the homeless population and tenants.

“[We’re trying] to push them away from the bills like the highway bill,” Sowell said. “We would like people to be able to protest. We want people who are living on the streets and the highways to be able to not have all their stuff taken away, and be able to live comfortably as much as they can while we get assistance to them.”

The proposed legislation in question is Senate Bill 0217 which would require the Tennessee Department of Transportation and other agencies to regulate “the collection, storage, claiming, and disposal of personal property used for camping from the shoulder, berm, or right-of-way of a state or interstate highway, or under a bridge or overpass, or within an underpass, of a state or interstate highway.”

“I just want our legislators and representatives to see that there are real people in these communities, collectives, and companies that have struggled with homelessness and housing insecurity,” Sowell said. “It is something that affects every single person whether or not they’re aware of it. Not only are we in danger of losing our homes and security, but across the nation people are [as well]. If we can be an example to the rest of the states of effective housing assistance, direct change, and advocacy — I hope we can expand that to the rest of the country.”

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‘Point-in-Time’ Count to Provide Data on Homelessness in Shelby County

Photo Credit: Community Alliance for The Homeless

The Community Alliance for the Homeless (CAFTH) and the Memphis and Shelby County Homeless Consortium will be working with volunteers to collect data to develop resources, programs, and funding for those experiencing homelessness.

The Point-in-Time (PIT) Count is an annual initiative scheduled for January 22, 2025. Volunteers will meet at First Congregational Church, 1000 South Cooper Street, at 3:15 a.m., where they will form teams to survey unsheltered locations, including streets, parks, and encampments. These teams, led by trained leaders, will cover areas across Memphis and Shelby County to better assess the scope of homelessness in the region.

In addition to surveying these areas, participants will be distributing care bags with hygiene products, warm clothes, and snacks to those they encounter.

“Volunteering for the PIT Count is a unique opportunity to directly impact the fight against homelessness,” CAFTH officials said. “This annual event brings people together to count and survey our neighbors experiencing homelessness, giving us the data we need to better serve them and bring lasting change to Memphis and Shelby county.”

According to CAFTH, this is required nationally by Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The 2023 PIT summary for Memphis and Shelby County showed there were a total of 1,292 people experiencing homelessness, 1,172 individuals were sheltered, and 165 were categorized as unsheltered. 

Those aged 25 and over made up for a majority of these numbers at a total of 908 people. Youth under the age of 18 accounted for the second largest group with 295 individuals.

Officials said this project informs strategic planning for housing and services. They added that collecting accurate data helps them further secure state and federal funding. 

CAFTH officials said they were able to secure over $11 million in government funding through connecting 20 organizations across Memphis and Shelby County. Funds were secured through gathering and analyzing data on homelessness as well.

PIT is part of CAFTH’s vision to end homelessness through a collaborative approach. The organization has outlined three goals with strategic action to make sure that homelessness is rare, brief, and one-time. 

The alliance’s 901 Home Together: Strategic Plan to End Homelessness in Memphis and Shelby County guide shows that to ensure brevity they must identify and engage those experiencing homelessness as quickly as possible. 

This strategy consists of street outreach and coordinating programs that will allow people to access services quickly. CAFTH said they use input from those with lived experiences and outreach workers.

Those interested in participating can sign up to volunteer in the count here. The community is also asked to identify known locations for those experiencing homelessness prior to the event.

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Memphis and Shelby County Receive $11 Million in Funding to Address Homelessness

Photo: Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Memphis and Shelby County will receive $11 million in funding to address homelessness in vulnerable populations. This funding came from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in the Continuum of Care Program Competition, and was procured by the Community Alliance for the Homeless (CAFTH) and the Memphis & Shelby County Homeless Consortium.

Previously, Memphis and Shelby County received $8.9 million which was used for housing for youth, families, and other individuals. This year, the nearly $2 million increase will help LGBTQ populations and people fleeing domestic violence.

Emma Boehme, Continuum of Care project coordinator for CAFTH, said when they’re dealing with youth systems in CAFTH, they are also helping LGBTQ youth. Boehme added that the LGBTQ youth community, “especially in states like Tennessee,” experience homelessness disproportionately.

“Tennessee doesn’t have any systems currently in place that are measuring the hard data surrounding that because Tennessee isn’t the safest place for that,” said Boehme. “Nationwide, LGBTQ youth are 120 percent more likely to experience homelessness than non-LGBTQ+ youth, and 22 percent of LGBTQ youth are actively experiencing poverty and housing insecurity compared to 11.5 percent of the general population.”

Julie Meiman, Continuum of Care planning director for CAFTH, said the grant mainly funds two different types of programs. Rapid re-housing is a medium- to long-term rental assistance, while permanent supportive housing is for people who have a disability “who need long-term assistance to stay stably housed.”

“Through those they [HUD] want to serve all populations. Included in this funding is our youth homelessness funding. About 2 million of that award includes funding for youth and special populations,” said Meiman. “The Continuum of Care grant, known as the NOFO [Notice of Funding Opportunities], is an annual funding opportunity offered by HUD for Continuum of Care regions around the country.” 

Meiman said CAFTH is the lead agency for Memphis and Shelby County and is responsible for leading the grant process. The grant is submitted on behalf of agencies including Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association (MIFA), Friends for All, Promise Development Corporation, OUTMemphis, Catholic Charities of West Tennessee, and others.

“Everything about this process is as accessible as possible,” Meiman said. “Once HUD announces that the application is open, we immediately post a timeline on our website. Even before the date is announced we’re doing workshops inviting people, especially new agencies that have never received HUD funding to run a housing program. HUD wants to fund new projects.”

Meiman said applying for federal funding is a “complicated and lengthy” process, so they make a special effort to make sure new and returning applicants understand every step.

“All agencies serving any population of people experiencing homelessness are encouraged to apply for this funding in August of 2024,” said CAFTH in a statement. “Community Alliance for the Homeless is thrilled to play a pivotal role in bringing increased funding to the community to impact homelessness. They will continue to leverage a combination of federal, state, and local funding to address all areas of the homeless system, in conjunction with their partners in the City of Memphis, Shelby County Government, and the member agencies of the Memphis and Shelby County Homeless Consortium.”

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Community Partners Believe Solution To Homelessness Lies in Collaboration

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash.

Memphis is improving in some of its “system performances” as a community when it comes to the topic of homelessness, said Julie Meiman, continuum of care planning director for the Community Alliance For The Homeless.

Meiman noted that locally there have been “system-wide” improvements, with lower rates of returns to homelessness, and increased rates of people exiting homelessness with income. There has also been an increase in dedicated funding streams from federal, state, and local sources for homelessness.

Ashley Cash, director of housing and community development for the city of Memphis, said that they have made “a lot of efforts” around reducing homelessness by partnering with other agencies and partners.

While there have been notable strides made, homelessness remains a local and national problem.

Meiman said that here in Memphis there is still a need for emergency shelter that is both “low barrier and free.”

“Even when we can permanently house people, sometimes our resources still fall short, when it comes to providing them with things in order to stay housed, such as access to adequate healthcare,” said Meiman.

Cash added that while, most of the time, shelters are full, there are also people who  are categorized as “housed,” but still live in poor conditions.

On a national level, Meiman said that homelessness has “incrementally increased” over the past six years. 

According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness’ 2023 State of Homelessness report, “homelessness has been on the rise since 2017, experiencing an overall increase of 6 percent.” 

The same report said that in Memphis and Shelby County, there were approximately 1,055 people homeless on a given night in 2022.

CAFTH believes that the solution to Memphis’ homelessness problem does not lie within one entity or organization, but rather the result of “cross-sector collaboration.”

“We all know that families are experiencing homelessness right now in Memphis, and they need support across the spectrum from prevention to diversion, to emergency shelter, to permanent housing,” said Meiman.

Collaboration was the theme for CAFTH’s second annual Symposium on Ending Homelessness, which concluded that “no one person or nonprofit agency or leader” alone can reduce homelessness or end homelessness all together.

During the symposium, Meiman mentioned the efforts being made in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a city that is close to becoming the first in the nation to end homelessness, according to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.

“Milwaukee’s recent progress is a testament to what can be accomplished when communities come together to address homelessness,” said a report from the organization.

Meiman explained that the Continuum of Care (CoC) in Milwaukee partnered with the United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County, and pulled in case managers, eviction lawyers, and other individuals and groups to “develop a new strategy” with a “creative funding model that focused on prevention.”

“That kind of cross-sector collaboration is well within reach for Memphis and Shelby County,” said Meiman. 

While she believes that Memphis and Shelby County have the resources and ability to collaborate on the issue, she said that system-level change is difficult, and often moves at a “glacial pace.” However, she added that Memphis and Shelby County’s CoC is designed for this type of collaboration.

“It is rare, it is golden, and it is full of people who are powerful because they are willing and able to do this work,” said Meiman.

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Mayoral Candidates Share Plans to Address Racial Inequities and Homelessness

Photo Credit:Memphis Flyer

On Thursday, three Memphis mayoral race candidates — Reggie Hall, Michelle McKissack, and Paul Young — shared their plans to address racial inequities and homelessness at the Symposium on Ending Homelessness. 

The event was hosted by the Community Alliance For The Homeless (CAFTH) at Rhodes College on August 10th, with the mayoral candidate forum moderated by Shirley Bondon of the Black Clergy Collaborative of Memphis.

“The mayor of Memphis has an awesome responsibility,” said Bondon. “If they do their job well, they can prepare a vehicle of opportunity for the city and all its residents. Those housed and unhoused.”

Each candidate was allowed an opening statement to describe their plans to address homelessness in Memphis. Symposium participants also submitted their own questions prior to the event. The candidates shared their personal experiences with the issue as well.

Following candidate statements, Bondon asked about their commitment to racial and social equity in their proposed response to homelessness, as well as how they have addressed the problem in their previous work.

The CAFTH 2022 annual report said, “While Black, African-American, or African individuals account for 51 percent of the total Memphis population, they represent 74 percent of the population experiencing homelessness.” In contrast, “White individuals account for 35 percent of the total Memphis population, but represent only 21 percent of the population experiencing homelessness.

“In an equitable world, the total population would be equal (or close) to the population experiencing homelessness,” the report said.

McKissack said homelessness is not just a “one-size-fits-all” problem, and that no one group can address it. “The fact is you have to tap into all those types of agencies that are actually addressing homelessness and racial and social aspects of living,” she said. “Here in Memphis, we are a predominantly African-American community, but the wealth is not spread out in the way that it should be.” If elected, McKissack said she plans to bring all parties to the table to come up with a solution.

She added that her work to address these inequities started in her role as a parent, at Downtown Elementary, where she started a clothes closet for students experiencing homelessness. She also invited local artists to the school every six weeks to ensure all students were able to feel “whole.”

Hall said he will be the “bridge between wealth and sweat equity.” He saidin order for the city to work, we have to learn how to build relationships and partnerships.

“It doesn’t matter if you have wealth or if you don’t, at this moment,” he said. “Bullets are flying. Cars are being broken into. The homes are being broken into. And everyone is being terrorized at this moment. It has finally come a time where we must all build together, work together, put aside petty differences, and bring in a true leader who can bridge that gap.”

When asked to recall a relationship he has built in the city of Memphis to address inequity, Hall said he hasn’t built any on the professional level; everything he does is on ground level. “The people that I help are the disproportionate people and disenfranchised people.”

Young said his approach relies on changing the system, as people of color are “disproportionately represented” in all social systems. “What we have to do is make the process seamless,” Young said. “People just don’t know. They don’t understand our bureaucracy. That’s how we address the inequities.”

Young added there need to be more resources to address the problem, which, he said, he has been actively doing as a part of his work. Young referenced his previous role as director of Housing and Community Development for the City of Memphis, where they started the first Affordable Housing Trust Fund.