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My Sistah’s House Calls For Equity and Leverage In Nonprofit Sector

The Shelby County government recently announced an investment of $194,000 into transitional housing at My Sistah’s House.

The organization was founded in 2016 by Kayla Rena Gore and Illyahnna C. Wattshall, two trans women of color who, according to My Sistah’s House, “sought to bridge a gap in services for trans and queer people of color (TQPOC) in Memphis, TN, with a focus on transgender women of color. 

The organization focuses on building and renovating homes in hopes of helping trans women move towards home ownership. They provide emergency housing for trans and gender nonconforming people on a temporary basis. According to My Sistah’s House, housing is a safe zone and drug free.

According to Gore, executive director of My Sistah’s House, the mayor’s office reached out a few months ago in hopes of exploring some of the organization’s properties. Gore said that her organization had garnered a lot of national attention from outlets such as USA Today and CNBC. She said it wasn’t necessarily a surprise that Mayor Lee Harris knew about their project, however she said that it was an amazing experience for the mayor to “come view your work.”

“After viewing some of the houses and meeting some of the homeowners, they had a great opportunity for us to be able to continue the work,” said Gore. “We were there at some of the lots that we planned on developing.”

Gore said that this investment into transitional housing for the transgender community specifically speaks a lot to Memphis, and what the city is, which she said is a city that really cares about its people.

“These last couple of years have not been the best for the trans community when it comes to our elected officials,” said Gore. “This sends a clear message to a lot of people here in Memphis that there are people, who are in power, that are looking out for us. It’s a momentous occasion because trans-led organizations don’t get that type of support very often. So, being able to accept this grant on behalf of the community from the mayor was really mind blowing.”

This investment gives My Sistah’s House the opportunity to continue building homes, said Gore. The organization currently has seven homes that are complete, and they currently have four lots that they plan on developing this summer.

While this has been a step in the right direction for the trans community and city government, Gore said that the community also needs leverage. She explained that Memphis is a city of nonprofits, however she said that it has gotten to where they have to “compete a lot more for funding opportunities,” and they don’t have the necessary resources to do so.

Around 11,505 nonprofit organizations operate in Memphis, according to Cause IQ. These organizations employ 89,422 people, the agency said.

Gore said that it can be harder for new nonprofit organizations to get the funding and recognition that they need, because she said oftentimes organizations that have been around for 10-plus years get priority. Gore added that it usually takes 10 years for nonprofits to get off the ground.

“We need for people to be able to leverage what they have,” said Gore. “That could be connections, status, position. Whatever it is that they have that can make things better for trans people. I think that could be used universally for anything and everybody, where we have to take what we have and make it work for the good of not just ourselves, but for other people as well … Equity if you will. Some people need a little bit more than others”

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Sycamore Institute Report Examines the Cost of Criminal Justice

Earlier this week the Sycamore Institute, an independent and non-partisan public policy research center for Tennessee, released a report in which they broke down the fees and fines within the criminal justice system of Tennessee.

In their findings, they reported that there were nearly 360 public fees and fines authorized in Tennessee state law, a number that is higher if private acts are factored in. The number of fines is something that Josh Spickler from Just City found concerning.

Chip Chockley

Josh Spickler

“I mean, one of the biggest findings for me from that Sycamore Institute report was how many, which is something we’ve known for a long time has been an issue,” says Spickler. “As an attorney, or as anyone who’s been through that system can tell you, just the sheer number of individual charges is really difficult to quantify. And so, of course, it also depends on what you’re charged with.”

The fee and fine system that exists within the Tennessee criminal justice system is not limited to those found guilty of a crime. Tennessee has one of the most robust fees and fines systems in the country. Due to the sheer number of fees and fines, racking up a significant debt during the criminal justice process is likely.

Sycamore Institute TN

Fines and fees can accrue at all levels of the Criminal Justice process


A daily fee for any jail time associated with a misdemeanor conviction, copays for medical care received while incarcerated, and fees and costs associated with court-ordered treatment for mental health or substance use disorders mean that those convicted can find themselves released with a hefty bill. Even when not charged with standard court charges, document filing fees and even courtroom security costs all end up compiling into sometimes ludicrous amounts.

The fees and fines in the criminal justice system are not levied out of spite. For the taxpayers, as well as state and local governments, fees are supposed to take some of the burdens off their community and to fund public safety initiatives. They are also supposed to be deterrents for crime. But as the Sycamore Institute points out in its report, more often than not, these fines end up causing more harm than good. For those without the ability to pay, fines and fees from previous convictions or court appearances can cause significant difficulty, the group says.

“Court fees are some of the biggest disqualifying factors of the thousands and thousands of people we talk to every year at Just City,” says Spickler. “The biggest disqualifying factor is that ‘Yes, you qualify. Yes, it has been 10 years since you were convicted. Yes, you have finished your sentence, you’ve gotten in no other trouble anywhere in the world. But you still owe $700 in core debt from that 12-year-old case, we can’t get you expunges.’ So the fines and fees are a leverage point there. And then several years ago, [Tennessee] doubled down on it by saying if you owe that criminal court debt, specifically, in Tennessee, we’re going to suspend your license.”

While the Sycamore Institute report does not recommend changes for the fees and fines system — the report is just one of a series that they intended to release in order to help policymakers better understand the human element in the criminal justice system — Spickler thinks income-based fines could be a solution.

“In Memphis, consider that the vast majority of people who come through that system are living in abject poverty. You can’t get blood from a turnip. You can assess all the fines you want, it might as well be a million dollars, ten thousand dollars, one thousand dollars, it’s all the same. Make a ‘finding of ability to pay.’ And if you work three shifts at the warehouse and are cobbling together $12,000 a year, you know, a $50 fine, is significant to you. If you’re assessing it to a director of a nonprofit with 20 years of legal experience like myself, that fine is going to be a whole lot higher. We’re purportedly making findings of income and wealth before we appoint a public defender, so these are not new processes that we would have to implement into our system, but we need to make it automatic. Everybody who comes through that system, we need to assess their ability to pay their way through the criminal justice system and stop pretending that everyone on paper can pay, because most people can’t.”

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Panel, Community to Discuss Intersection of Poverty and Education

United Way

Panelists featured in the series’ first installment on equity

A community conversation about poverty and education is scheduled for Tuesday, July 17th at the National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM).

It will be the second of three installments in Poverty Unplugged, a series of solution-oriented, community conversations. Hosted by United Way of the Mid-South, the series looks at the intersection of poverty in three different areas.

Tuesday’s installment will focus on access to education and how it can aid personal development. It will also consider the amount of funding in communities that goes to education, if it is enough, and if the funds should be split into other areas.

The panel will consist of Mark Sturgis, executive director of Seeding Success; Danny Song, founder of Believe Memphis Academy; Shante Avant, deputy director of the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis; and Tami Sawyer, local activist and director of diversity and community partnerships for Teach for America.

“Access to an equitable education is still one of the challenges facing our city and 

country today,” Sawyer said. “We’re hoping we can bring light to what’s keeping Memphis children from quality education and what practices and solutions we’re delivering in our individual and collective work.”

Kirstin Cheers, with United Way, said the overall goal of the three installments is to increase understanding and awareness in the community around the complexity of poverty and “how the multi-faceted layers connect to determine whether a person advances or dormant in this community.”

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“Additionally, it is a formal nod to the incredible work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his final manuscript that included all these topics,” Cheers said. “It started as a partnership with NCRM to ensure the dialogue and steadfast work of fighting poverty continues on in this community beyond April 4th. It took far longer than a day to get here and will take even longer to overcome.”

The first conversation, which was held in April, centered around equity and understanding the difference between equity and equality. The topic for the last installment, which is scheduled for October 2nd, will be fair wages and quality jobs.

In this final installment, there will also be discussion about how the topics of the previous two conversations — equity and education — determine the outlook for individuals and communities seeking self-sufficiency and economic empowerment.

The discussion on Tuesday begins at 7 p.m. and is free and open to the public.