Forbes: Aiming To Break The Cycle of Homelessness in Nashville
Originally published in Forbes
“Nashville, Tenn. is known for more than music these days. The Nashville metropolitan region has been named one of the fastest-growing areas in the nation for 2024. The swift growth has been accompanied by stressors afflicting the city’s infrastructure, including its housing supply. Nashville news outlets have reported the city’s chronic homeless population grew by 43% between March 2023 and the same month this year.
According to an estimate by the city’s 2021 Affordable Housing Task Force, Nashville needs to add more than 53,000 new housing units this decade. Some 18,000 of those residences must be affordable, according to the task force.
The positive news? Music City’s efforts to break the cycle of chronic homelessness by adding affordable housing are bearing fruit. Multiple housing initiatives for chronically homeless people have broken ground or been completed in the city within the past year.
Prominent among them is the $35 million Strobel House, a permanent supportive housing and services center in Downtown Nashville, intended to provide housing for chronically homeless individuals.
Commissioned by the Metro Government of Nashville and Davidson County, the five-story building delivers 90 residential units, one large community space and terrace areas for residents on each of the five floors. The needs of residents it’s intended to support spurred a set aside of 20% of units as accessible.
Health support
Reducing the numbers of homeless on the streets of downtown Nashville, Strobel House also provides its residents with essential services. These include on-site counseling, a health clinic and case management. Specific services offered are medical aid, addiction treatment, mental health support, career assistance, independent living skills, vocational services, peer support services and social activities. Referrals can be made as needed to off-site supportive services. Strobel House’s holistic strategy helps ensure residents garner the kind of comprehensive support needed to rebuild their lives.
Named for the late Father Charlie Strobel, a Nashville native who devoted his life in the priesthood to community service, Strobel House was unveiled in July. It is divided into two components. One half is reserved for people enduring chronic homelessness, while the remainder is set aside for unhoused veterans, young adults and LGBTQ+ people.
Strobel House is managed by the nonprofit organization Depaul USA, and the Office of Homeless Services refers residents to its supportive housing. Bell & Assoc. served as the contractor for the project, while Moody Nolan, based in Columbus, Ohio and staffing a Nashville regional office, was the project architect.