Just the Basics
Most of us take it for granted that the lights will come on when we flip the switch, and that we can get a drink from the faucet at any time. We know where our families will be sleeping tonight and can be certain that they will be warm.
Thousands of our neighbors are unsure that they will be able to afford these basic necessities amid rising rents and inflation. They worry about becoming homeless or having critical utility services disconnected.
NeedLink Nashville is here to help. We help families, seniors, and people facing an unexpected crisis to avoid homelessness and stay in their homes, connected to power, water, and natural gas service.
Why It Matters
Nashville is no longer gripped by the extreme poverty of those early years, when Big Brother Elmer Bryant reported delivering food to people “so hungry they were gnawing on bones”.
But in Music City today, many of our neighbors struggle to meet their most basic needs. And as the cost of housing rises rapidly, Nashville natives can no longer afford to live in the neighborhoods where they grew up. Working people are pushed into public housing because it is all that they can afford. Waiting lists for affordable housing grow long for our poorest neighbors, leaving families homeless, living in motels or doubled up in small apartments.