We recently connected with Mrs. Kennetha The Homeless Ceo Patterson and have shared our conversation below.
Mrs. Kennetha The Homeless CEO , appreciate you joining us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
My Defining moment was in 2011 I had my 1st visions of a fully renovated home it was missing the steps it was located primely now right on Meharry Blvd. it was my first sight of fix and flip for 10k I saw this place fully immaculately rehabbed WITH the steps too !
I later found this was was a thing my entire background was medical , mental health , and triage including post mortem tissue evaluator, before my large family of 7 met homelessness 4 separate tragic times , it taught me on the job along the way #thereallivedexpereincedadvocates of Nashville is literally the school of the hard knocks grassroots training life course .
I watch so many others like me hurt , work , build the city , serve , dads in DV , kids no voice in homelessness while in school , elderly , veterans , all valuable jewels I see all their purpose .
I officially sparked our 1st hybrid non profit in this city in 2016 ( Reverse of the for profit to non profit models ) Vision Heirs INC ( no longer operational largely revamped ) we could not get access to funding there were barriers we are finally learning to navigate past them creatively . The problem literally created US peer to peer advocates we are currently building a very strong network of them .
I’ve learned I am a native Nashvillian trailblazer of so many historical 1st here in Nashville TN too many to list that’s something I will promise myself to do here in the near future for my own self !
I also learned that homelessness is not cookie cutter there are so many ways to get there , we simply need each side ” technical ” vs. ” Lived Experience ” both equally , to make housing happen across this entire city as a blueprint to the beyond.
Same as envisioning that home I envision the very same for our city , an eco community that all humans are seen , and thriving while lifting their neighbors up too , The Real Volunteer State Vibes .
I am one of the hidden jewels that loves to collect other hidden jewels & to intro them to each other in Kingdom Building for the Whole family towards permanent homes and innovative ways of sustainability .
Mrs. Kennetha The Homeless CEO , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
As a Native Nashvillian I have watched our city change tremendously and without a lot of us , I started to speak up surrounding gentrification in 2016 I went to a local district meeting ( I did not know was a thing in my community back then others did not either , but that’s where it makes the difference us being in the rooms for transparency ) .
So over the 4 times my family was homeless I saw the system work different in each instance there were overarching barriers that the system eats people with in the name of social services or charity right .
We really need social narrative change no hand outs but let hand each other up by taking inventory of who we really have that everyone is blinded to.
I adopted the name : Mrs. Kennetha ” The Homeless CEO ” Patterson during our COVID bout of homelessness this is pivotal to my forward , and discovery of the hybrid model or benefit corps , I was finally able to afford a coach .
The Homeless CEO means storyteller of all poverty and homelessness great example stating with my own story I was able to invest in a coach only cause some humans qualified for stipends in a global pandemic ?
I was waiting to see the aftermath of the eviction moratorium I see it clearly now too another pandemic of codes volitions causing evictions now and still is the trend form that no-one can see unless they are grassroots / lived experience.
There is a stigma that the homeless are lazy or unintelligent my Brand it to completely dispel this Rebel against it if you will , I my self earned my GED in 3weeks !
But, by way of the stimulus I gladly paid for my first coach if she said the whole 1200 it would have been beyond worth it we still have a relationship to this day .
She saw me struggle just as we started building this my baby brother was a very high profile murder here in Nashville TN during the pandemic ( I have tons to speak on that but another time ) as a Kingdom Connection she guiding me like no other to build my solid foundation I stand on now !
To GOD be the full total honor & Glory !
I was recently elected to be the 1st Historical Lived Experience Chair of the COC Homeless Planning Council of Nashville Davidson County by my fellow peers 08/14/2024 . I did not expect it but am so grateful because of the Homeless DEI fit for ALL in transparency & Healing !
I’m going into my second year of Chairing THE :
COC ( HUD Continum of Care ) CONSUMER ADVISORY BOARD of
NASHVILLE-DAVIDSON COUNTY CONTINUUM OF CARE
Purpose
Nashville/Davidson County’s Continuum of Care recognizes that those
closest to the problem are often closest to the solutions. The Consumer
Advisory Board was created to have a dedicated table for people with
lived experience of homelessness to advise and guide local strategies for
preventing and ending homelessness.
Who Should Join
People who have experienced homelessness in Nashville, especially
people who are currently or recently unhoused.
What is the Consumer Advisory Board (CAB) working on?
The CAB is working with the Lived Experience Director at the National
Alliance to End Homelessness to outline together as one CAB , our own clear goals, strategic initiatives, funding , peer to peer support , and bylaws started by our own lived experience policy advocacy Chair .
The CAB is also working to cross collaborate and advise other
Continuum of Care Committees, service providers, and others working to
end homelessness.
For more information, contact Chair Mrs. Kennetha The Homeless CEO Patterson
(629) 932-0029 | [email protected]
Consumer Advisory
Board members are to be
compensated for their
time and expertise . ( https://www.hudexchange.info/resource/7053/people-with-lived-experience-and-expertise-of-homelessness-and-data-decision-making/ )
COMPENSATION:
CAB participants are
paid $20/hour via
direct deposit or Dollar
General gift cards.
JOIN US!
CAB meetings typically take place
on the 3rd or 4th Wednesday of
the month from 9:30 – 11am
(after the Contributor breakfast).
@ THE CONTRIBUTOR
WHAT IS THE CONTINUUM OF CARE?
The Continuum of Care (CoC) program was created by the federal government
to help fund and coordinate local initiatives to end and prevent homelessness.
Nashville’s Continuum of Care is made up of many community partners working
together to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness in our city.
The Continuum of Care is responsible for many homelessness initiatives in our
community, including the Homelessness Management Information System,
Coordinated Entry System , Point-in-Time Count, and housing programs funded
through the Continuum of Care.
STRUCTURE
The Continuum of Care features 13 committees who strategize and advise on a
range of issues. The Consumer Advisory Board is a dedicated committee for
people with lived experience. Eventually, the Consumer Advisory Board hopes to
have people with lived experience represented at every level of the CoC.
For more information, contact CoC Manager Raquel de la Huerga
(615) 767 – 2078 | [email protected]
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
My story with pivoting AKA being on the swivel in business was all the falling away and loss of partnerships and family that passed away 5 parents one baby brother murdered .
The last time my family was homeless and the year my baby brother was released from prison and many of us leaned in on my mother & bonus dad to provide shelter to our families during COVID little did we know it would turn into that after the March 3rd 2020 tornado.
SO , in ALL of that though I had to break my large family down my kids were in different homes & one was still in Cheatham County after he graduated , we lost EVERYTHING in storage not being able to afford it while working homeless .
I kept building our non profit that was legitimate but due to me being a Nashville Native Ex Black Token I could never connect to colorful options of funding sources for building pour housing social justice capital .
I was able in 2020 to afford for the very fist time in my poverty stricken adult life able to secure a COACH I mentioned in my Highlighter article !
I prayed for this person she started our every session with prayer , boy did that align so beautifully when my baby brother was murdered she let some of our sessions just be me getting it out but we still gonna snatch what your telling me about the business we got the most work done in that adversity of my liquid heart !
My baby brother was the 1st of my Husband and I’s children along with his niece as high school sweethearts we had them before we had our 5 !
He was super smart and a great loss , I remember my mom saying i’m NOT going to crawl up in a corner and die it saved ME to hear her say that was HER baby boy literally !
When we lost my mom 06/11/2023 6 weeks after her husband my bonus dad and my brothers father whom preceded them both she was doing my non profit taxes with explanation of why we were behind ( all the previous deaths within that year including my mother in love ) not knowing how to access this info , I dissolved Vision Heirs INC. Hybrid non profit.
However , Because of COACH Kenyatta Tidwell I was able to keep the for profit sector of the Hybrid Non Profit ( Innovative JOBS Solutions LLC. ) in the pivot all that to say because of ALL of that she was ahead of her time working with me, this city had zero ideas what social enterprise type b corps , hybrid non profits were .
I cannot wait for the day all obstacles preventing myself & others from making our own financial freedom from the work , I have trailblazed in this and as a woman of color we have to create our own peculiar lanes to be able to work with my COACH full time and across this city to uplift other ME’s up into permanent housing at that too !
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
My resilience in my story has been being ever so intentional about ever learning , positivity to self first , I am not a dumpster for anyone , I am a literal hidden gem set to extract other hidden gems in this city of Nashville TN !
Where I had to make the hard decision to separate from very big some things morally , I found peace in that letting go of things not meant to hold my presence and space.
In the same breath, housing social justice I hold firm to no matter how much it tries to hinder me I will keep going until families never have to go through what my family had to endure as a very large houseless family.
So, in that I imagine an inclusive city that hears its houseless especially the families with children , single dads , higher level of care needs , domestic violence to men , elderly , prevention opportunities , and those with pets.
As the Peers / Persons with Lived Experience and Expertise as defined by HUD we have the solutions we simply need to be funded to do our work that assist in ENDING homelessness in our city.
We have a very unique opportunity here in Nashville, TN to work alongside our houseless friends for the solutions they have by living it .
I’d love to see us as a part of the vision for this city as also stakeholders cause most people that are houseless are also trying to work or fight barriers to employment , we can create options working together and taking care of each other Davidson County Wide .
Contact Info:
- Other: https://blinq.me/SWVCYv0aSxB5CzZUX5Ju Has all of the above information a qr code will be with the photo’s I send also so people can scan it !
Image Credits
My Brothers Keeper Outreach Ministries , I’m Their Homelessness Director so sharing some events they have going up in the community , super impactful !
All others are myself Chairing as Nashville Davidson County : 1st Consumer Advisory Board CAB , black female Chair , 1st Historically elected Lived Experience HPC ( Homeless Planning Council ) Chair , National CAB im a member of for the Healthcare of the houseless , the voting community engagement flyer is from that group too !