Preventing and Ending Family Homelessness

Every family deserves a place to call home. But the reality is: In a thriving city like Nashville, more than 3,000 students don’t—they live in cars, motels, shelters and on friends’ couches.

It doesn’t have to be this way. With your help, we can make homelessness a rare and brief experience for Middle Tennessee families.

When a family is experiencing homelessness, they are in crisis mode. Finding the programs and services they need to get into stable housing feels like a maze; there are multiple admission appointments, transportation issues, confusing requirements and hoops to jump through—all on a ticking clock.

Rather than requiring families in crisis to hunt, navigate and self-advocate for the services they need, our framework brings agencies together to build a personalized system of support around each family.

In 2014, with seed funding from the Siemer Institute, United Way of Greater Nashville launched The Family Collective—originally the Family Empowerment Program—to address homelessness, connect families to sustainable opportunities and disrupt cycles of poverty. In 2020, a grant from the Tennessee Department of Human Services allowed us to expand our efforts to include five counties and more than 30 collaborating partner organizations.

Our goal is to get families from crisis to stability to thriving. To do that, we seek, support and strengthen programs that not only address families’ immediate needs but also foster long-term self-sufficiency. From employment readiness to education and financial literacy, our multi-generational support helps families gain the skills and resources to become self-sufficient and stop the cycle of poverty for the next generation.

Partner Organizations

• 15th Ave. N. Learning Academy
• Bethlehem Centers of Nashville
• Catholic Charities of Tennessee
• Cheatham County School District
• Community Helpers of Rutherford County
• Conexión Américas
• Dominion Financial Services
• Doors of Hope
• Elevate Consulting
• Fannie Battle Day Home for Children
• Financial Empowerment Center
• Gentry’s Educational Foundation
• GraceWorks Ministries
• Insight Counseling Center
• Martha O’Bryan Center
• McGruder Family Resource Center
• McNeilly Center for Children
• Metropolitan Nashville Development Agency at “Envision Napier”
• Organized Neighbors of Edgehill
• Preston Taylor Ministries
• Rutherford County Schools
• Safe Haven Family Shelter
• St. Luke’s Community House
• Saint Mary Villa Child Development Center
• Tennessee Reconnect
• Tennessee Resilience Project
• The Community Resource Center of Robertson County
• The Journey Home
• The Salvation Army
• United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties
• Workforce Essentials