POVA IN THE NEWS: The Contributor - Nashville advocates host panel discussion on city's affordable housing

How will Nashville address the city’s affordable housing crisis that is pushing people into homelessness? A panel discussion, organized by Conscious Conversation, brought together Nashville leaders who are looking for answers. 

By: Amelia Ferrell Knisely

The event, part of the Conscious Conversation’s monthly discussion series, was held Feb. 23 at Refinery Nashville – one year after the organization hosted a discussion on gentrification in the city. Around 75 people attended the event.

“The value of this conversation (for the audience) will be to hear the facts, hear what the people who are on the ground are seeing and doing in the homeless population, and finding a way to get involved,” said Jarrett Strickland, one of the co-producers of Conscious Conversation. He noted that the city has seen a 10 percent spike in homelessness since last year’s discussion on the topic. 

“People have these conversations in silos, but what does it look like when we have these conversations as a whole? If we have organized people, who are direct about what they want done, things can actually get done,” he added. 

Panelists included Councilman Freddie O’Connell, District 19; Nicole Brandt, founder and executive director of Poverty and the Arts; Brian E. Sexton, affordable housing development specialist at New Level Community Development Corp; Adam Graham, housing and grants coordinator for homeless programs at Urban Housing Solutions Inc; Justin Singleton, McKinney-Vinto Homeless Program coordinator for the Tennessee Department of Education; and Linda Bailey, vendor office manager for The Contributor.