The Contributor: November 20, 2024

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"JELLY CLAUS" BY WENDELL (@GOLDFINGERZ3000), CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

Contributor Board

IN THE ISSUE 1

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Amber DuVentre, Chair • Christine Doeg, Secretary • Wade Nelson Jr., Treasurer • Kerry Graham • Cathy

Jennings • Demetria Kalodimos • Tom Wills • Robin Kimbrough-Hayes • Jim Shulman • Drew Morris

11

Wrapping Paper

Delicious Feature

Vendor Writing

Moving Pictures

In a special section of this issue, we've created holiday wrapping paper designed by Contributor vendors.

The Downtown Presbyterian Church's annual Waffle Shop fundraiser celebrates its 100th year.

Vendors write in this issue about art, numbers, shopping and an organization that helps mothers and children.

The Apprentice turns Trump’s origin story into a sensational fairy tale.

Now available to rent or buy.

Thursday, Dec. 5th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Benefiting homeless ministries outreach.

The $15 ticket includes:

HOW TO PAY A VENDOR WITH VENMO Any vendor of The Contributor can accept VENMO as payment.

Technology a barriertour to those experiencing homelessness.

Many of our vendors don’t have • A freeisguided of the church’s beautiful historic Egyptian Revival sanctuary and an organ recital with phones or bank accounts, or use online commerce. We simplifiedanthe Venmo process by using opportunity to participate in singing Christmas carols one account for all vendors. You must identify your vendor when using Venmo.

• Shop at the church’s gift shop which includes homemade ADDITIONAL TIPS IF YOU'RE A FIRST TIME VENMO baked goods and otherUSER: holiday merchandise such as festive tins filled with Goo Goo You must have a Vemno account to Type in the amount youClusters wish to pay. badge number may be written on the

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• A chance to bid on wonderful items at the Silent Auction Vendors get all the money you send by code. such as luxury hotel stays, sports tickets, and more

SCAN THE SQUARE QR CODE above or the next business day. in the top left corner of the cover of this The first time you pay The Contributor Purchase tickets online at: dpchurch.com paper using your phone or tablet camera.

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Type 6829 in this field. service provided by Old Town Trolley Address: The Downtown Presbyterian Church 154 Rep. John Lewis Way N.

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send a Venmo payment.

Contributors This Issue Norma B. • Maurice B. • William B. • Erin Bell • Linda Bailey • Chris Scott Fieselman • FreePressGMA • Daniel H. • Sharon H. • Amanda Haggard • Lashika • Wendell J. • Michael M. • Joe Nolan • Judith Tackett

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Ree Cheers SOAR Manager Will Connelly Executive Director Sophie Druffner Data Analyst Intern Evan Godt Certified Peer Recovery Specialist Cathy Jennings Director of Finance Andrew Krinks Editor Emeritus Caroline Lindner Case Manager Zero Mannino Housing Stability Guide Raven Nye Director of Housing Initiatives Gracie Rule SOAR Coordinator Andrew Terry IV SOAR Referral Specialist Carli Tharp Housing Stability Guide Justin Wagner Housing Stability Guide & Reporter Tom Wills Senior Advisor/ Data Manager Barbara Womack Advertising Manager Will Connelly, Tasha F. Lemley, Steven Samra, and Tom Wills Contributor Co-Founders Editorials and features in The Contributor are the perspectives of the authors. Submissions of news, opinion, fiction, art and poetry are welcomed. The Contributor reserves the right to edit any submissions. The Contributor cannot and will not endorse any political candidate.

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Carols,Cookies & Crafts

Saturday, Dec. 7 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Local Choirs Holiday Cards Fun Crafts Delicious Cookies A FREE holiday event!

Festive wear and sweaters are welcomed!

1000 Rosa L. Parks Blvd.

Nashville, Tennessee 615.741.2692 • TNMuseum.org

November 20 - December 4, 2024 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 3

A FEW QUESTIONS

Learn More About Coordinated Entry

BY JUDITH TACKET T

When Coordinated Entry first started, homelessness leaders compared it to creating something akin to match.com. You list the available resources in the community and make an appropriate match.

In theory, this means that the most vulnerable of our unhoused neighbors would be matched with the most intensive services approach, and ultimately linked with a permanent supportive housing program. Folks with medium needs would be matched with Rapid Rehousing, which offers time-limited assistance. And some households would only need help with accessing an affordable place.

And so on.

The federal government has required local communities to implement a coordinated entry process to serve people experiencing homelessness and link them to housing and services more efficiently. In its interim rule for the Continuum of Care (CoC) program, which was published in 2012, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) required local CoC’s “to establish and operate a ‘centralized or coordinated assessment system’ (referred to as ‘coordinated entry’ or ‘coordinated entry process’) with the goal of increasing the efficiency of local crisis response systems and improving fairness and ease of access to resources, including mainstream resources.”

Let me quickly explain the difference between the CoC Program and the CoC, which is often misunderstood because both of them are generally referred to as CoC. The Continuum of Care refers to a group of stakeholders within a geographic area that comes together to plan and coordinate housing and services for people experiencing homelessness. This is the group tasked with building a homeless crisis response system, which locals also refer to interchangeably as a Housing Crisis Resolution System.

The Continuum of Care Program is the federal funding program that HUD administers in an annual competition. Nashville currently receives about $9.7 million in CoC funding for various local homelessness programs with the potential to increase that amount to over $11 million next year.

To receive CoC funding as well as other dollars including the federal Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), which is also managed by HUD, local communities must run a Coordinated Entry (CE) process.

Interestingly enough, when you try to google the definition of CE, you get different responses depending on which community you pick. Here is how HUD defines CE per the CoC Program interim rule at 24 CFR 578.3: “… a centralized or coordinated process designed to coordinate program participant intake assessment and provision of referrals. A centralized or coordinated assessment system covers the geographic area, is easily accessed by individuals and families seeking housing or services, is well advertised, and includes a comprehensive and standardized assessment tool….’”

The four core components of a CE process are Access, Assessment, Prioritization, and Referral. Communities originally had to meet

the following CE requirements (copied and pasted from HUD): 1. Cover the entire geographic area claimed by the CoC; 2. Be easily accessed by individuals and families seeking housing or services; 3. Be well-advertised; 4. Include a comprehensive and standardized assessment tool; 5. Provide an initial, comprehensive assessment of individuals and families for housing and services; and, 6. Include a specific policy to guide the operation of the centralized or coordinated assessment system to address the needs of individuals and families who are fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault or stalking, but who are seeking shelter or services from non-victim specific providers.

Additional requirements were added in 2017, and the full HUD Notice is available online at https://www.hud.gov/sites/documents/17-01CPDN.PDF. Some of these additional mandates expand on the initial CE requirements. Others are new. The details are too long to include here, but some of the highlights that stood out to me are as follows: • Every access point must offer the same assessment approach and must be usable by all people who experience or are at risk of homelessness.

• The CoC’s written policies and procedures must include a process by which individuals and families may appeal CE decisions.

• CoCs must maintain CE written standards that prohibit the CE process from screening people out of the CE process due to perceived barriers related to housing or services.

• Ensure that all people in different populations and subpopulations in the CoC’s geographic area, including people experiencing chronic homelessness, veterans, families with children, youth, and survivors of domestic violence, have fair and equal access to the CE process, regardless of the location or method by which they access the system.

• People must be able to access homelessness prevention services funded with ESG Program funds through the CE process.

To the extent that other homelessness prevention programs participate in the CE process, the policies and procedures must also describe the process by which persons will be prioritized for referrals to these programs.

• The CE process must allow participants autonomy to freely refuse to answer assessment questions and to refuse housing and service options without retribution or limiting their access to assistance.

Written policies and procedures must specify the conditions for participants to maintain their place in the coordinated entry prioritized list when the participant rejects options.

HUD made additional recommendations that promote a person-centered approach to the system, and as part of those, HUD mentioned

prolonged stays on waiting lists for housing resources, which can have a negative impact on the well-being of participants. Thus, the federal government simply recommended that “if a community cannot offer housing resources to every prioritized household experiencing homelessness in 60 days or less, then the CoC should tighten its prioritization standards in order to more precisely differentiate and identify for resources those households with the most needs and highest vulnerabilities.” HUD further states that this means that CoC’s “will need to develop strong relationships with providers of mainstream resources in order to offer these households as much assistance as possible to help resolve their homelessness outside of the dedicated homeless assistance system.”

Communities have a choice of developing a system in accordance with HUD requirements only or building a local system that meets and expands upon those federal requirements. In other words, while the federal government mandates the implementation of CE for its resources, how it is done is up to the cities. That leaves room for a nuanced approach.

Political pressure based on NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) movements (usually loud voices from affluent neighborhoods), and the response to the COVID pandemic, as well as a shift toward increased criminalization supported at the federal and state levels, have had the effect that local CoC’s often see themselves forced to strictly follow federal requirements, thereby, limiting the scope of the work. We see that when communities suddenly create policies that prioritize encampment closures at the cost of other vulnerable people (sometimes more vulnerable) who do not happen to live in the targeted encampment.

While all people in the CE system have a need for housing or housing stability (let’s not forget about the people at risk of homelessness), CE is also about connecting people to the correct resources including support services. To do so, we need an inventory of all available resources in our community beyond CoC, ESG and other federal dollars designated for homelessness, which we started to build in 2021. Only then can we build a functional local system that allows for a nuanced approach in which we make appropriate referrals and match different households with the right interventions. This would also allow for room to make adjustments. What if people who were super vulnerable are recovering from their trauma after a few years? They won’t need the intensity of a permanent supportive housing program, and we could free up those resources for another household in need.

CE allowed communities to move from a first-come, first-served model to a system that prioritizes people with the highest needs who otherwise would not be able to obtain housing on their own. However, the hyper-focus on prioritization of the most vulnerable people has had some side effects. Providers who are already constantly overwhelmed and tired feel the intensity of their work and often are overwhelmed, which can lead to high turnover. High turnovers lead to the quick hiring of inexperienced staff, who are often asked to have a higher than recommended

PAGE 4 | November 20 - December 4, 2024 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

workload without the necessary tools or full understanding of best practices.

Other challenges I read and heard about from national and local sources include: • Perceptions that CE is disempowering people; • Concerns about accuracy, reliability, and racial bias of assessment tools; • Concerns about the implementation of case conferencing, which also includes the lack of participation by some organizations; • Challenges with a lack of available resources (and the knowledge of those available resources) to make appropriate referrals; • Lack of truly listening to clients about their needs, which results in giving a choice that they already said they would not be able to succeed in; • Lack of service connections and warm handoffs once people are matched to housing; and • The treatment of CE assessment as a service in and of itself — rather than a tool to offer service assistance and housing matches.

Finally, I have been surprised how many national researchers have voiced their reluctance to fully endorse the CE process. Some were downright dismissive when I mentioned CE’s potential to them. This indicates to me that they have been observing inconsistencies in many communities.

However, I have been a supporter of CE because I believe it has the potential to serve people more efficiently and fill some gaps as long as cities understand that a more nuanced approach to the HUD requirements is necessary to ensure a people-centered approach that works.

Here are some benefits: • CE has the potential to foster transparency about available resources across a community; • Case conferencing, if done well, can promote a more holistic assessment process that fosters filling gaps in services; • Trust and collaboration increase when providers work together in a transparent manner through CE implementation; • Data collection through CE, if done in a safe and protected manner, provides a more accurate picture of homelessness and identifies local gaps in resources; • CE data can help advocate for policy changes and resources; and • The consistency of a solid CE process based on input from people with lived experience and expertise allows for building trust and breaking down silos.

Each community is taking a slightly different approach in how they implement CE. It is challenging, as diiv sternman pointed out in a blog post titled The Promise of Coordinated Entry on endhomelessness.org. Our local CoC has the opportunity to continuously improve the process to ensure we are not leaving people behind or caving too much to the current political pressure from all levels of government to make homelessness invisible rather than preventing and ending it.

VENDOR WRITING

Little Match Box Girl

BY DANIEL H., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

The Little Match Box Girl project is based on a fairytale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, which was first published in 1845. Wendy has for years dedicated her life to comfort and aid those less fortunate. I will let her tell the story and her purpose to keep the tradition of helping those in need as only she can tell it.

The story is about a poor girl who sells matches, but fails to sell any. On New Year’s Eve as people walk by laughing and talking on their way home to parties and families no one stops. She is basically invisible to them.

Finally, she lights one of her single matches to keep warm. She sees a vision of food and warmth. She goes longer, she’s cold again.

She lights another one. She sees a vision of her mother coming to find her, and the third one she sees her long dead grandmother.

Then she freezes to death on the streets, cold and alone.

So, a lot of people say, “You will see signs of people who are homeless on a corner. Sometimes their signs will say, ‘Am I Invisible?’”

From that idea our project, The Little Match Girl, got started. We make little decorated match boxes. Some of them are matches, some of them are sewing kits, some of them are jewelry, some of them are hidden treasures, some of them are little antique pins. They are all kinds of things. We sell them and a hundred percent goes to local

programs who serve people experiencing homelessness.

This year’s recipients will be The Contributor and The Village at Glencliff, which is a program of micro housing, created for people who have just been released from a hospital and have no place warm an safe to go home. The third place is Community Care Fellowship, a project of the United Methodist Church that serves two meals a day and lets people experiencing homelessness do laundry and take a hot shower.

The match boxes are $10 each or three for $25. They will be sold every Sunday in December until Christmas at the West End United Methodist Church. You do not have

to be a member to come. There are lots of other charities selling nice things. All the money, not the proceeds, but 100 percent of the purchase price goes to this project.

I will be at West End United Methodist Church on Sundays in December to sell the matchboxes. I get there at 7 in the morning before services start, and stay until the last morning service I cover, which is until about 12:30 p.m. So, I hope people will come, and will do something nice for people in this cold season.

I, Daniel H., personally challenge people to come out and help beat her last year’s donations of $10,000. You can make a difference to others.

Security Guard

BY LESHIKA

The security guards they misstreat the homeless people and that's not right to do to people that live on the street How they talk to the homeless people it's not good Yeah mine own familar friend. In whom I trusted. Which did eat of my bread hath lifted up his heel against me Psalm 41:9

ARTWORK BY HOWARD P., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

These Numbers Don’t Lie

BY MICHAEL M., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

HUD reported that there were 653,000 homeless persons counted in 2023, an increase of 12 percent from the previous year.

Florida: 30,756, up 18.5 percent; New York: 103,200 up 39.1 percent; California: 181,339 up 5.8 percent with 68 percent outdoors/ camping; Wisconsin: 4,861; Tennessee: 9,215; Colorado: 14,439; Oregon: 20,142. The HUD budget for 2024 is $278.37 billion, and is requesting $104 billion additional funding for affordable housing investments. Can we divide 653,100 into $278 billion? What number do we get when we do that? For a smaller example: New York City receives a $3.5 billion slush fund from HUD each year for assistance to the 100,000 homeless.

There are 375,000 vacant housing units in

NYC. Divide 100,000 into 3.5 billion and it comes to $28,000 per year for each homeless person. And so if we care to do the math, we could have solved the homeless crisis last year! And hopefully Trump, by executive order will solve the problem in 2025. And then we can use that money to build two and four year vocational schools, and build the 10,000 low income housing units we need in each state. The total shortage of low income housing units the US is 7.3 million units. If one third of our nation’s homeless are able to work, then there is our labor force to build those units. Hopefully the next four years will be spent rebuilding the dignity of those Americans who are homeless and build a bright new day for all of us.

Shopping List

BY MAURICE B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

Life is full of many marvelous eye candy wants and desires, but also magnificent nurturing necessities. We must find the self accountability to make the correct equations in this social atmosphere of life.

Building means to build-up self confidence and self awareness to elevate in levels and degrees in life. To destroy means to destroy any and every thing that enters one's self harmony of peace.

On the shopping aisle of life, prices surely differ according to people, places and things and all circumstances and situations where the different and difficult activities associated with the governance of a country or area especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power. Politics is something that's not on everyone’s to do or to

November 20 - December 4, 2024 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 5

get done list, but life is full of political aspects especially when it's looked at from the sight of choices that individuals make.

The enormous mindsets have their ways of playing universal concepts of a state of tranquility, security and harmony in the absence of violence and conflict. Fulfilling self confidence within peace means everyone does the best shopping that's possible while life goes on, even as hard times do not discriminate they only intimidate, bully and eliminate. Some people go from rich to poor and some people go from poor to rich and the one thing they have in common is that they are unhappy still. A reason to continue to turn another corner and proceed to the next aisle in hopes to find a form of comfort that was added to the shopping list.

FEATURE

Planning a Centennial Celebration: Waffle Shop Turns 100

BY ERIN BELL, WAFFLE SHOP STEERING COMMIT TEE MEMBER

Thursday, Dec. 5th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Benefiting homeless ministries outreach.

The $15 ticket includes: • Waffles, along with grits, a choice of Hattie B’s Hot Chicken or Puckett’s country bacon, or turkey hash made from the original Waffle Shop recipe, and a choice of Frothy Monkey Coffee or spiced tea • A free guided tour of the church’s beautiful historic Egyptian Revival sanctuary and an organ recital with an opportunity to participate in singing Christmas carols • Shop at the church’s gift shop which includes homemade baked goods and other holiday merchandise such as festive tins filled with Goo Goo Clusters • A chance to bid on wonderful items at the Silent Auction such as luxury hotel stays, sports tickets, and more Purchase tickets online at: dpchurch.com Tickets will increase to $20 the day of the event.

Free parking for patrons at Nissan Stadium and free shuttle service provided by Old Town Trolley Address: The Downtown Presbyterian Church 154 Rep. John Lewis Way N.

Event Sponsors:

For an event like the Waffle Shop to stand the test of time, it needs more than a good waffle recipe. Th is year, the Waffle Shop steering committee has been dually focused on the present and the past. As in any other year, we have spent time planning the menu, securing sponsors, coordinating volunteers, and collecting donations for the silent auction and holiday bake shop. However, centennial events are rare and precious opportunities.

Since we celebrated No. 95, the anticipation for No. 100 has been building incrementally.

The time and energy put into celebrating the legacy of Waffle Shop on such an historic occasion reflect the longstanding efforts of keeping the tradition alive.

The Waffle Shop began in 1924 when the Women of the Church, a Presbyterian women’s group, hosted the fundraiser at what was then the First Presbyterian Church. At that time the Women of the Church were fully responsible for budgeting, decorating, preparing the meals, and running the Waffle Shop.

Over time, the women and other members of The Downtown Presbyterian Church have continued to host the annual Waffle Shop, traditionally on the first Thursday in December.

The plans for this year’s event have the blueprints of the past all over them. For the menu, we have added turkey hash as a side option.

If there were to be a Waffle Shop cookbook, it would be incomplete without the original recipe for turkey hash. Legend tells of a time when the ladies of the church would spend several days preparing enough turkey hash to feed the Waffle Shop crowds. While the overwhelming majority of people attending Waffle Shop these days are excited for Hattie B’s Hot Chicken and Puckett’s country bacon, a few of our loyal fans will be delighted to see a turkey hash option on the menu.

Planning for 2024 also led us on a bit of a deep dive into the traditions of Waffle Shop.

Over the past year, we have sorted through dozens of local newspaper articles, visited the Tennessee State Library and Archives for vintage photos, and collected various bits of memorabilia along the way. We have probed many of our church members for their favorite memories. What we have learned is that the resounding theme of Waffle Shop is community. After all, it’s an event held for the Nashville community in support of the Nashville community.

Waffle shop is Nashville’s longest-running nonprofit fundraiser. From its very first year, the funds raised have been used to aid the less advantaged members of our community. The Downtown Presbyterian Church currently allocates the proceeds from Waffle Shop to its Fish & Loaves meal ministry. Each Saturday morning the church’s fellowship hall is open to anyone in need. The meal ministry currently averages 150 guests each week. Through the support of local churches and a partnership with Hands on Nashville, about 20 volunteers prepare and serve a free sit-down meal each

PAGE 6 | November 20 - December 4, 2024 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

Saturday from 8:30-10:30 a.m. Along with the meal, volunteers distribute essentials such as sample-size toiletries, socks, and underwear.

Saturday mornings also provide a wonderful opportunity to help connect our guests with Nashville’s many nonprofit organizations. By partnering with dedicated organizations who have built up expertise and effectiveness in their given field, we strive to meet our guests’ needs beyond the meal and essentials we provide. Using the funds raised from Waffle Shop, DPC provides a space where anyone in need can be welcomed, nourished, and assured they matter. If you would like to learn more about this vital ministry, email dpcbreakfast@gmail.com.

Our committee has also been thinking about the future of this endeavor: Centennial celebrations are rare at any time, possibly more so these days. Many of our planning meetings have been spent discussing ways to help our guests savor this particularly unique experience and remember it for years to come.

To start, we have extended the event an hour, until 2 p.m. We want guests to take their time enjoying the waffle brunch and still experience everything we have to offer. Dr. William Taylor, DPC’s organist and Director of Music, will perform a short organ recital and lead attendees in singing a few familiar Christmas Carols. We have created a slideshow of photos from Waffle Shop through the years which will play in the chapel for the duration of the event. A limited number of commemorative prints from Hatch Show Print will be on sale in the gift shop.

We hope that this year’s Waffle Shop will be everything that it always is: a wonderful meal, an incredibly important fundraiser, a chance to get a jump start on holiday shopping and a can’t-miss opportunity to snag some of the best baked goods in Nashville. Above all though, we hope to create a truly unique event, the memories of which will linger long past Dec. 5, 2024.

The steering committee is dedicating the 2024 Waffle Shop to the members who founded The Downtown Presbyterian Church in 1955, committing to its historic preservation.

We wish to extend our particular appreciation to Jimmy Cheshire and Ridley Wills for their unwavering support of and participation in the Waffle Shop for more than 50 years.

For a tradition to continue for 100 years is quite an accomplishment. Thousands of volunteers have served waffles to tens of thousands of Waffle Shop attendees over the past century. Many of whom now attend with their children and grandchildren. While we certainly hope there are more Waffle Shop fundraisers to come, we are proud of the Waffle Shop legacy as it exists today. Join us on Dec. 5 from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. for a centennial celebration you won’t want to miss!

Tickets for Waffle Shop are on sale now at dpchurch.com.

VENDOR WRITING

MyBaby4Me: An Organization That Helps Mom’s-To-Be With Their Unique Needs

BY NORMA B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

While I was out exploring nature at Radnor Lake State Park, I met Lorraine Brown.

She and her husband Ed (a retired pediatrician) came to Tennessee on a mission from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints to help primarily disadvantaged Black women have a more successful outcome to their pregnancy as a part of the non-profit organization MyBaby4Me. Why is this SO important? Black women have a higher maternal mortality rate than women of other races. In fact, the U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among high-income countries.

Just how prevalent is this problem in our area? The maternal death rate among Black women is 3-4 times higher than women of other races. Perhaps even more astonishing is the fact that up to 84 percent of these deaths are preventable!

MyBaby4Me is a non-profit organization that was created to change that. How? MyBaby4Me assists expectant and new mothers offering various types of support to increase the chances of a healthy outcome for mother and baby. Although the program is primarily focused on Black women, it is open to ALL women in their target area of the 37208 zip code.

Their ultimate goal is to lower the mortality rate of moms and babies in Tennessee.

In 2023, Tennessee ranked 11th in the country in infant mortality. One recent report from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF. org) dated Oct. 2024 stated infant mortality rates are as high as 54.9 per 100,000 live births among the Black community. In an effort to lower these staggering statistics, each new mom who enters the program is asked about their access to prenatal care. If they have no access to this vital care, MyBaby4Me helps to get them insurance, find a medical provider, and schedule appointments for them to get the care they need.

Their care and concern DOES NOT end there. They also conduct home visits to further determine a family’s needs and to gain insight into the mother's healthcare history to assess their potential for premature birth and other needs.

MyBaby4Me also has educational classes that they say serve as the primary line of defense against maternal and infant mortality. The classes cover a variety of topics from budgeting to meal prep, etc. MyBaby4Me believes that educated mothers will be able to recognize and respond to risks to their own health and their baby's health.

These classes are held at The Mcgruder Family Resource Center at 2013 25th Ave., Nashville, Tn 37208 at the following times: • Mondays from 4-6 p.m.

• Thursdays from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

• Every third Saturday of the month from 9-11 a.m.

During these classes expectant and new parents learn: 1. How to care for ALL members of the family 2. How to build relationships with others who have a similar experience.

That in turn leads to a happier healthier outcome for moms, babies and families. On that note, something I thought was unique to the program is that they encourage prospective fathers and other family members to attend.

There are additional benefits to attending these classes too. Every mother who attends receives a small bag of groceries, a gift card to buy groceries, and a bag of diapers and wipes.

These items are given as incentives to moms who attend the entire class and are given once a week. You can even enjoy a hot meal while you’re there! If transportation is an issue, assistance is available with that too!

Other assistance offered to those in the program include: • Help for those with food insecurity • Help creating home safety and security • Though they have limited resources, they also offer emergency financial assistance with rent, utilities, and other expenses.

MyBaby4Me is also supported by the following partner agencies: • The Metro Nashville Health Department • Meharry and Vanderbilt Universities • St. Thomas Hospital • The Tennessee Justice Center Hannah Dudney, an OBGYN with the Tennessee Department of Health, visits My-

Baby4Me monthly to discuss maternal health issues including postpartum depression. They also educate participants on the affects of substance abuse and drug use as well as providing smoking cessation techniques.

All of this is done to further educate those in the program about issues that may arise in the family, and to ensure the birth of healthier babies which leads to happier families, which in turn, helps the new parents be the best they can be, and ultimately to achieve the best possible

November 20 - December 4, 2024 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 7

outcome not just for mom and baby, but ALL members of the family.

If you know someone who could benefit from the services they provide, why not check them out? They are ALWAYS looking for new clients!

If you’d like to donate by cash or check, or make a donation in kind ie (a non-monetary offer of goods and services), or if you have items you’d like to donate that need to be picked up, please call: 1-385-530-4900.

PIECES OF POETRY - 38

A Dream?

Written by Chris Scott Fieselman, Vendor #0015

“I Have A Dream” I sell the paper,

I Am... I Am... I Am...

Because?

They still think,

I’m giving something back.

My life has meaning.

I’m trying to help too many Lost Souls, Helplessly living with lack.

“The Eagle’s Nest Foundation” Is a statement.

The problem will not disappear.

But I believe that we as a nation, Should provide for, The Life of a Pioneer.

With nowhere else to go but?

Right Now... Right Here...

An offer and an option, Should be perfectly clear.

A sanctuary safe place, With nothing to fear.

How do you wipe away so many tears?

Services rendered and arts and crafts.

Something worth working for and going after.

If we take care of each other, We’ll all have enough.

If you take care of your Brothers and Sisters,

THEME: TH A N KSGI V ING ACROSS 64. Make them meet 1. As opposed to Ave. 5. *Male turkey 8. *The National ____ DOWN Show 1. Coalition 11. Suggestive look 2. Emmet Brickowski's 12. Transversus abdominis brick location 3. Zig or zag 13. Milan's La ___ opera 4. Make wet house 5. Safari hat 15. Curved molding 6. Mountain nymph 16. Welcoming sign 7. "Cobbler, cobbler, ____ 17. Crossword entries my shoe" 18. *Skillet-cooked batter 8. Repair a sock 20. Bristles on grass 9. Cutlass or Delta 88, for 21. Talked like a pigeon short 22. Scepter's partner 10. "Now we're cooking 23. A way to steal gas with ____" 26. With two maxima, in 12. "La cerveza m s fina" statistics 13. Bunch of #42 Across 30. All Nippon Airways 14. *Football regulars on 31. Tip of lion's tail Thanksgiving 34. Body, breath and mind 19. They're made for walkworkout ing 35. Garments 22. Tin Man's remedy 37. Singer Benatar 23. "The Forsyte ____," pl.

38. Unethical loaner's practice 39. Copycat 40. *Pie nuts 42. Honey maker 43. Like Old Glory 45. Time for an egg hunt 47. "As if!"

48. Battle of the ____, a.k.a.

Ardennes Offensive 50. Moldy appetizer 52. *Green bean ____ 56. *Thanksgiving football regulars 57. Cream-filled cookie 58. Chieftain in Arabia 59. Poem at a funeral 60. Of two minds 61. Not ever, poetically 62. Oui in French 63. Ensign, for short

24. Not suitable in certain circumstances 25. Fruit-cutting device 26. 2nd letter of Greek alphabet 27. Skeptic's MO 28. Come to terms 29. Extra sweatshirt, e.g.

32. Hightailed it 33. Cul de ____ 36. *Prepping a turkey 38. Cell phone bill item 40. Teacher's favorite student 41. Infamous Baby Face 44. Verse 46. Tranquil 48. Noble one 49. Internet patrons 50. Digestive aid 51. Fish eggs, pl.

52. ____ d'Ivoire 53. Bad luck predictor 54. What Pinocchio did 55. Makes mistakes 56. Bovine hangout

I Am / I Can’t

Written by Chris Scott Fieselman, Vendor #0015

The Good Lord will take care of you.

They’re all that important.

And loneliness, Is their only best friend.

I Am... I Am... I Am...

And who really gives a damn?

I really feel sorry for them.

They’re sorry their life, Didn’t turn out quite like, The way that they had planned, And everyone else is their biggest problem.

I Am... I Am... I Am...

Still hanging on.

Still wondering why?

Still wondering till when?

With so few who even bother, To try to understand?

Their holding out their heart, When their holding out their hand.

And the easiest word in the world to say is can’t.

I Can’t... I Can’t... I Can’t...

I Am... I Am... I Am...

And which one’s more important?

I don’t give a damn who it offends?

That’s all that really matters,

Where has Common Courteousy went?

In a Community.

The money I get is what God wants me to have?

Someplace to learn and earn

It’s up to me to choose how it’s used?

And turn your life around.

And how it’s eventually spent?

Something better coming,

And figure out how I can use it,

That’s yet to be found.

All it takes is to find a place, That we as a people can believe in, And can all call Common Ground.

“I Have A Dream” I dare you to take on the challenge...

To help my fellow man?

Lazy, greedy and selfish, And claiming that they’re helpless, Or doing the best that they possibly can, When they’re trapped in this environment, And what can I do for them?

I Am... I Am... I Am...

I Can’t... I Can’t... I Can’t...

Fun and Games Saturday Night Written by Chris Scott Fieselman, Vendor #0015 I dare you and I challenge you, On a Saturday Night.

I’m right there and I am not scared, And yes (I guess), I am (Kind of), Looking forward to a fight.

Even BINGO, Would have something to offer, right?

Fun and games on a Saturday Night, To take on Sunday Morning.

It’s important to have something, To look forward to, And know something Fun is coming.

Even something would be better than nothing.

But that’s up to you to decide.

That’s why I dare you and I challenge you, To fun and games on a Saturday Night.

PAGE 8 | November 20 - December 4, 2024 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

That’s when they start talking, Cause and Effect, And is the Effort worth the Expense?

It’s easy to make an enemy, It takes work to earn a friend.

It’s all a piece of the puzzle, Everything that happens.

There’s a reason why your paths have crossed, And a reason it happened right then.

The cards that you play, And the things that you say, When you may never pass this way again.

We need good people to be an example, Of what good people are supposed to be?

With so few who understand.

I Am... I Am... I Am...

I Can’t... I Can’t... I Can’t...

Which one’s more important?

The New Christian Year Selected by Charles Williams (1941)

Charles Walter Stansby Williams (1886–1945), the editor of the following selections, is today probably the third most famous of the famous Inklings literary group of Oxford, England, which existed in the middle of the 20th century, and which included among its ranks the better-known and longer-lived Oxford Dons J.R.R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. First published in 1941, this series of profound quotations, encompassing all walks of life, follows the sequence of the themes and Bible readings anciently appointed for contemplation throughout the church's year. It is hoped that the readings reproduced here will prove beneficial for any who read them, whatever their place in life's journey. — Matthew Carver

26th Wednesday after Trinity

27th Monday after Trinity

MAN’S last and highest leave-taking is leaving God for God. St Paul left God for God: he left everything he could give or take of God, every concept of God. In leaving these he left God for God since God remained to him in his essential self; not as a concept of himself, nor yet as an acquired thing, but God in his essential actuality. This is no case of give and take between himself and God: It is the one and perfect union.

Eckhart: Sermons and Collations.

WHEN our Lord says, “Except a man hateth his father and mother, yea, and his own life, he cannot be my disciple,” it is because our best tempers are yet carnal and full of imperfections of our fallen nature. The doctrine is just and good, not as if father and mother were to be hated, but that love, which an unregenerate person or natural man has towards them, is to be hated as being a blind self-love, full of all the weakness and partiality with which fallen man loves, honours, esteems, and cleaves to himself. This love, born from corrupt flesh and blood and polluted with self, is to be hated and parted with, that we may love them with a love born of God, with such a love and on such a motive as Christ has loved us.

William Law: The Spirit of Prayer.

26th Thursday after Trinity VIEW every part of our redemption, from Adam’s first sin to the resurrection of the dead, and you will find nothing but successive mysteries of that first love which created angels and men.

William Law: The Spirit of Prayer.

WHEN the house of sensuality is at rest, that is, when the passions are mortified and concupiscence quenched, the soul begins to set out on the way of the spirit, the way of those who progress and of proficients, which is also called the illuminative way.

St John of the Cross: The Dark Night of the Soul.

26th Friday after Trinity ASSURE yourself . . . that all creatures be, as it were, nothing to that soul which beholdeth the Creator: for though it see but a glimpse of that light which is in the Creator, yet very small do all things seem that be created; for by means of that supernatural light, the capacity of the inward soul is enlarged, and is in God so extended, that it is far above the world: yea, and the soul of him that seeth in this manner is also above itself; for being rapt up in the light of God it is inwardly in itself enlarged above itself, and when it is so exalted and looketh downward, then doth it comprehend how little all that is, which before in former baseness it could not comprehend.

St Gregory the Great: Dialogues.

26th Saturday after Trinity HE says to men, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” We are said to love, so is God: we are said to know, so is God: and much to the same purpose. But God loves like Charity, knows like Truth, sits in judgement like Equity, rules like Majesty, governs like Authority, guards like Safety, works like Virtue, reveals like Light, stands by us like Affection.

St Bernard: On Consideration.

BLESSED be God that he is God only, and divinely like himself.

Donne: Life, by Izaak Walton.

Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Trinity CHARITY is the great channel through which God passes all his mercy upon mankind. For we receive absolution of our sins in proportion to our forgiving our brother. This is the rule of our hopes, and the measure of our desire in this world; and in the day of death and judgement the great sentence upon mankind shall be transacted according to our alms, which is the other part of charity. Certain it is, that God cannot, will not, never did, reject a charitable man in his greatest needs and in his most passionate prayers; for God Himself is love, and every degree of charity that dwells in us is the participation of the Divine nature.

Jeremy Taylor: Holy Dying.

27th Tuesday after Trinity GOD does not lead all His servants by one road, nor in one way, nor at one time; for God is in all things; and that man is not serving God aright, who can only serve Him in his own self-chosen way.

Tauler: Sermons.

THE impossibles of the lower nature are the commonplaces of the higher.

Eckhart: The Book of Benedictus.

27th Wednesday after Trinity

EVERYTHING in the Church is done to create love, in love, for the sake of love, and by love.

St Francis de Sales: On the Love of God.

27th Saturday after Trinity WOE to wills opposed! Surely they only bring upon themselves the penalty of their own reluctance. What penalty is so severe as to be ever choosing what shall never be, ever refusing what shall never cease to be? Is there any hell like a will under his necessity of choosing and refusing, so that whichever way it moves misery must be as constant an attendant as perversity? As long as eternity shall last it will not get its choice; and what it refuses it shall no less through eternity endure. And such a will meets with its due deserts; he who is never disposed for what becomes him, should never attain to what delights him.

St Bernard: On Consideration.

First Sunday in Advent GOD is intelligible light.

Aquinas: Summa Theologica.

GOD is that which demands absolute love.

Kierkegaard: Fear and Trembling.

THE beginning is faith, the end is love. And the two blending in unity are God, and all else follows on these, ending in perfect goodness.

St Ignatius: Epistle to the Ephesians.

A SAINT once said: “With whomsoever thou rejoicest, and whomsoever thou sorrowest, with him wilt thou also be judged.”

Tauler: Sermons.

A NOBLE lover does not rest in the gift, but in Me above all gifts.

Thomas à Kempis: Imitation of Christ.

TO love any one is nothing else than to wish that person good.

Aquinas: Summa Theologica.

CONSOLE thyself, thou wouldst not seek Me, if thou hadst not found Me. Pascal: Pensées.

27th Thursday after Trinity

HOW admirable is thy Justice, O thou First Mover! Thou hast not willed that any power should lack the processes or qualities necessary for its results!

Leonardo da Vinci: Notebooks.

A BROTHER asked an old man, saying, “How shall I be able to avoid despising my brother?” The old man said unto him, “We and our neighbor are two faces. Now if we provide the mirror of prayer we shall see the beam in our own eye, and we shall also see in the mirror the face of our brother polished and pure.”

The Paradise of the Fathers.

27th Friday after Trinity A CERTAIN man used to say, “It is right for a man to take up the burden for those who are near to him, whatsoever it may be, and, so to speak, to place his own soul in the place of that of his neighbour, and to become, if it were possible, a double man; and he must suffer, and weep, and mourn with him, and finally the matter must be accounted by him as if he himself had put on the actual body of his neighbour, and as if he had acquired his countenance and soul, and he must suffer for him as he would for himself. For thus it is written: ‘We are all one body,’ and this (passage) also affordeth information concerning the holy and mysterious kiss.”

The Paradise of the Fathers.

Feast of St. Andrew THE Church was created before all things, and for her sake the world was framed.

Hermas: The Shepherd.

IF you have the unity (of the Church), whoever possesses anything in that unity possesses it also for you.

St Augustine: On St John.

1st Monday in Advent GOD is Love; and He cannot deny Himself.

Doctrine in the Church of England, Report of the Commission.

WHEN God was made man, the innermost heart of the Godhead was put into man.

Eckhart: Sayings.

FROM all bodies together, we cannot obtain one little thought; this is impossible, and of another order. From all bodies and minds, we cannot produce a feeling of true charity; this is impossible, and of another super- natural order.

Pascal: Pensées.

1st Tuesday in Advent THE will to all goodness, which is God Himself, began to display itself in a new way, when it first gave birth to creatures. The same will to all goodness began to manifest itself in another new way, when it became patience and compassion towards fallen creatures. But neither of these ways are the beginning of any new tempers or qualities in God, but only new and occasional manifestations of that true eternal will to all goodness which always was and always will be in the same fulness of infinity in God. William Law: The Spirit of Love.

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MOVING PICTURES

'The Apprentice' turns Trump’s origin story into a sensational fairy tale

BY JOE NOLAN, CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR Ali Abbasi’s new fi lm The Apprentice opens with a montage of nighttime street scenes in New York City in the 1970s. The shots cut in a blinking barrage of neon images set to a propulsive punk rock soundtrack — it’s one part Taxi Driver and one part The Decline of Western Civilization. What a way to start a film about the rise of an ambitious young real estate developer named Donald John Trump. Abbasi tells Trump’s story with dynamic handheld footage complete with old school zoom shots and remarkable street photography. In the day Trump’s story and the crumbling facades of pre-Giuliani New York City blend together like grit and grime.

But, at night, Trump spends his evenings at an exclusive club where he meets his great mentor who teaches him about power: how to get it; how to use it; how to keep it.

Sebastian Stan plays Trump as hapless one minute, powerfully sincere the next. He can’t stop talking about himself on a date, but he’s willing to be humiliated if it means saving his father’s business. Abbasi’s movie recalls pictures like Oliver Stone’s Nixon and W. Both of those movies paint portraits of political personalities who garnered both love and hate during their careers. These films are successful, in part, because Anthony Hopkins’ Richard Nixon and Josh Brolin’s George W. Bush imply familiar characteristics of their real life roles without becoming SNL imitations of them. The actors make their historical characters feel real and that makes them empathetic. The Apprentice’s title echoes Trump’s hit television show, but here it refers to the relationship between Trump and his mentor, Roy Cohn. Cohn was a lawyer and a U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor who rose to prominence as an anti-communist crusader. Jeremy Strong is incredible as Cohn and I’m hoping that Stan, Strong and writer Gabriel Sherman all get a bright spotlight this awards season. The acting and writing in The Apprentice is so strong I found myself rewinding bits just so I could hear a repeat of a great quote or keep savoring a particularly carnivorous line reading. Director of photography Kasper Tuxen captures it all with the

inventive use of 1970s 16mm news cameras for the film’s first act, before transitioning to broadcast video cameras to recreate the slick look of 1980s television.

The Apprentice’s journey to the screen has been as fraught as the 2024 election season.

The movie faced significant challenges during its production and distribution phases. Abbasi encountered a lengthy dispute over the final cut of his film, and despite receiving an 11-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival, The Apprentice struggled to find a U.S. distributor. Many major Hollywood studios and streaming platforms, including Warner Bros, Paramount, Universal, Netflix, and Amazon, declined to distribute the film in the run-up to the Nov. 5 election. There were also looming legal threats from Trump himself. The Apprentice was released in theaters on Oct. 11, but it disappeared almost instantly with no marketing budget. The film's troubles highlight the forever challenges of bringing politically charged content to mainstream audiences, along with the complexities of film distribution in this post-pandemic, post-writers’ strike landscape.

The fi lm’s difficult roll-out is a shame, because the most remarkable thing about Abbasi’s picture is that I can see it appealing to all the voters who participated in this year’s presidential election. Crestfallen Kamala Harris voters will see a vulgar braggart, an uncouth outsider, a slimy predator, while the president’s supporters will see a loyal patriot, a tenacious winner, a no-nonsense American dreamer. I hope this film’s great performances, script and lensing win it a big buzz during this awards season, along with the audience it deserves.

Finally, there could be a thing folks can agree on.

We’re participating in NewsMatch, a national matching-gift campaign that drives donations to nonprofit newsrooms.

www.thecontributor.org/donate Through Dec. 31, NewsMatch will match your donation, inluding new monthly donations 12x!

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ABBY R. RUBENFELD Attorney at Law

The Apprentice is a currently available to rent and buy on all video on demand platforms --Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/ songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.

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November 20 - December 4, 2024 | The Contributor | NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE | PAGE 11

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