Home Together Nashville, a new volunteer-led housing pilot, is jumping in to steady the lives of Metro Nashville students and their families before short-term crises harden into long-term homelessness. Working hand in hand with the district’s HERO team, the effort is built to move families out of motels, cars, and crowded couches into apartments with rents they can realistically cover, plus case management to help them stay put. Organizers say the need is staggering: thousands of children in Nashville do not have a reliable place to sleep at night.
Developer Ken Larish said he was floored when he learned how many students are affected, calling the scale “that’s just outrageous.” As reported by NewsChannel 5, Larish and volunteers from Westminster Presbyterian teamed up with longtime homelessness advocate Judy Tackett to design the pilot and pull in local partners.
How the Pilot Works
The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee reports that nearly 4,500 children enrolled in Metro Nashville Public Schools lack a reliable place to call home, a number organizers say they are determined to chip away at. Home Together Nashville plans to line up already-vacant units through landlord partners like Freeman Webb, subsidize rents to levels families can manage, and provide wraparound case management that keeps kids connected to their schools, according to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.
HERO Program Links Schools and Housing
Metro Schools’ HERO Program for Families in Transition will flag students experiencing housing instability and refer their families to Home Together Nashville’s housing pipeline. The HERO office, funded in part by the McKinney‑Vento grant, works with school counselors and social workers to connect students to services, per Metro Nashville Public Schools.
Who’s Funding the Launch
Local philanthropy and corporate donors helped get the pilot off the ground, and the Tennessee Titans' ONE Community program named Home Together Nashville among its inaugural housing-grant recipients. The Titans' Home Field Advantage Catalyst Fund listed Home Together as a grantee in its first round of awards, according to the Tennessee Titans. Organizers say this early private backing lets them move families quickly into existing units.
Organizers hope to scale the model across Davidson County if the pilot proves successful and are actively looking for more partners and donors to grow capacity. For more information or to make a gift, contact Judy Tackett at [email protected] or visit the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee Home Together page.
