Tag: beyond-the-bridge

$25 = One Step Closer to a Lifesaving Rental Subsidy

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By Brad Durham

When I first met Chris and Stephanie, they were living in a tent and now they live under a bridge — places that, for the last decade or more, has been their address. For 10–12 years they have slept in tents and under bridges. There is no emergency housing available to them now, and without a rental subsidy, permanent housing is simply out of reach.

Chris called me on Monday, June 8, asking for help to move he and Stephanie into an apartment. Over several decades, I’ve learned how to search for housing for people who are unhoused. The tool that actually gets people inside doors is a rental subsidy paired with supportive services. That’s why I’m writing: to explain why funding a rental subsidy for Chris and Stephanie is the most effective way to help them.

Earlier this year I helped organize a free screening of the documentary Beyond The Bridge at the Park Theater. The film shows how permanent supportive housing works — an evidence-based model that provides stable homes plus services tailored to tenants’ needs. After the screening, a Town Hall meeting launched a roundtable to plan how we might use this model in our community. Chris and Stephanie are exactly the kind of neighbors this evidence-based solution will help.

Together, Chris and Stephanie receive $1,788 a month in SSI. I am currently negotiating an apartment for $875 per month plus utilities. To bridge the gap we need a rental subsidy of $6,000 for one year ($500 per month). I am raising $10,000 total so we can also fund professional training for the supportive-services team and cover additional apartment expenses.

Any donation helps. If 400 people give $25, we will reach the $10,000 goal and give Chris and Stephanie a real chance at a safe, stable home. Thank you for considering a gift that will change lives.

LINK TO MAKE A DONATION:

https://app.moneydolly.com/fundraiser/eY1oae2R/participant/1411180/order?utm_source=app&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=share_qr_code
This is how an apartment will change Chris and Stephanie’s life:
  • They will have a place to use the bathroom.
  • They will have a kitchen to store and prepare food.
  • They will have a bed to sleep on.
  • They will not get wet when it rains or snows.
  • They will not overheat and exhaust themselves when it is hot outside.
  • They will not freeze when the temperature is cold outside.
  • They will not wake up every day wondering where they will stay that night.
  • They will have weekly visits in their apartment to help them manage their food, budget, healthcare, etc.

Dr. Sam Tsemberis is a pioneering figure in the development of permanent supportive housing, championing the Housing First approach as a superior alternative to traditional emergency and transitional housing. His innovative model is grounded in the belief that housing is essential for individuals experiencing homelessness. Below, Dr. Tsemberis and his Pathways Housing First Institute core principles are highlighted. The initiative to support Chris and Stephanie moving into permanent supportive housing is firmly rooted in his successful model.

Dr. Sam Tsemeberis, founder of the Pathways Housing First Institute.

Having a safe place to live creates the conditions for recovery, and people thrive when they are met with respect and trusted to make their own decisions.

The Five Principles

(From the Pathways Housing First Institute website.)

Consumer Choice

Choice in housing and services emphasis self-determination.

Separation of Housing and Treatment

Immediate access to housing without treatment or sobriety as prerequisites. 

Provide Services to Match Needs

Program provides or coordinates services.

Recover Oriented Service Philosophy

Ongoing, positive, hopeful, Affirming support.

Social Community Integration

Supporting a life in the community like everyone else.

The Pathways Housing First model has been implemented in over 100 cities across 20 countries, supporting more than 100,000 individuals worldwide and demonstrating an 88% housing retention rate across programs.

Milwaukee was featured in Beyond The Bridge…a good example of permanent supportive housing.

Before adopting the Housing First model, Milwaukee recorded 327 people experiencing homelessness during their annual Point-in-time (PIT) count. After 3 years their PIT count was just 17, the lowest for a city that size in the United States.

Link: https://www.pathwayshousingfirst.org

SAINT FRANCIS PROJECT – an initiative to develop permanent supportive housing.

Every community we filmed that solved this had to decide first that people like Chris and Stephanie deserved a clean slate, not a judgment. McMinnville can make that same decision today.

Tim and Don

A Bigger Vision Films

MATCH GOES BEYOND THE BRIDGE

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By Brad Durham

Under a bridge in McMinnville. Photos by Brad Durham.

McMinnville Action To Create Housing (MATCH) hosted the film Beyond The Bridge at the Park Theater earlier this January to raise awareness about the need for permanent supportive housing for our unhoused neighbors. Recently, board members of MATCH assisted two unhoused men in moving into permanent supportive housing.

Both men agreed to be interviewed and shared their stories in the hope that other unhoused individuals will be inspired to pursue permanent supportive housing. Below are some photos of their previous unhoused environments alongside their new permanent homes.

Dewayne has experienced health problems related to his heart and back. Members of the First United Methodist Church have assisted him with transportation to a heart doctor in Cookeville and have provided additional support for his healthcare. There is a good possibility that Dewayne will be driving a bus for UCHRA later this year, as truck driving was his former job.

Rob has worked odd jobs and is attending a job fair soon. Having an apartment with a bathroom and kitchen will help him stabilize and become more consistent in his job search. Rob went to rehab a year ago and returned to McMinnville 100 days sober. He had no place to live and returned to sleeping under the bridge. He was arrested for not reporting to probation during his rehab. After providing documentation, Rob was released from a brief stay in jail and returned to the streets.

Both Dewayne and Rob hope that their stories will encourage the public to support fundraising efforts by MATCH to develop permanent supportive housing for other unhoused individuals in McMinnville.

MATCH PLANS TO HELP 10 MORE INDIVIDUALS

MATCH plans to place 10 of our unhoused neighbors into permanent supportive housing within one year. These plans include fundraising to create 10 rental subsidies to help individuals like Dewayne and Rob afford a home. Another aspect of MATCH’s plans includes hiring two full-time staff members: one will be a supportive services coordinator (case manager), and the other will be a housing search specialist (housing navigator).

MATCH is committed to building a coordinated, data-driven system that addresses both housing instability and the underlying factors preventing individuals from achieving long-term stability. Please stay tuned for upcoming fundraising activities by MATCH to support these initiatives.

McMinnville Action To Create Housing (MATCH)

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By Brad Durham

WHAT IS MATCH

Recently, the McMinnville Action To Create Housing (MATCH) hosted the documentary film Beyond The Bridge at the Park Theater on January 22, 2026. I founded MATCH and invited people to join the Board to assist the poorest of the poor in McMinnville—our homeless neighbors. My vision for MATCH is to operate as a 100% volunteer effort focusing on three areas: advocacy, managing resources, and developing programs.

OUR FIRST ACTION

Our first action as a nonprofit was to advocate publicly for permanent supportive housing for the unhoused in our county by presenting the film Beyond The Bridge and hosting a Town Hall Meeting afterward. What is permanent supportive housing? It is an evidence-based solution to homelessness that quickly places a homeless person or family into an apartment, usually owned by a private landlord. Two key components are the supportive services that follow the individual into permanent housing and a rental subsidy that helps address the issue of housing affordability.

The Town Hall Meeting featured City Mayor Ryle Chastain, County Executive Terry Bell, UCDD/UCHRA Executive Director Mark Farley, Regional President of Ascension Saint Thomas Neal Kelley, and Sheila Fann, the Executive Director of HOME. I served as the moderator in my role as president of MATCH. Ninety percent of the questions came from the audience of 250 people.

ROUNDTABLE

The clear message from the Town Hall Meeting was that the mayor, county executive, executive director of UCDD/UCHRA, and the regional president of Ascension were all interested in sitting at a roundtable to develop and implement a public policy for creating permanent supportive housing. MATCH successfully advocated for permanent supportive housing in a forum that was free and open to everyone in McMinnville.

Town Hall Meeting after Beyond The Bridge. Panel and Moderator.

SPONSORS – SUPPORTERS

Our presenting sponsor, Ascension Saint Thomas River Park, donated $10,000 to help us create awareness and foster community involvement. Other sponsors included Ben Loman Connect, Security Federal Savings Bank, Youngblood and Associates, The Local, St. Matthews Episcopal Church, First United Methodist Church, the Southern Standard, and over 100 private citizens. Roland Advertising provided free billboard promotion for the event.

TWO OTHER POINTS OF FOCUS

MATCH has two other major focuses: resource management and program development. These are issues we wish to discuss at the roundtable with elected officials, regional and local service providers, business leaders, and private citizens. We have met individually and as a group with our police chief, the sheriff, the District Attorney, public defenders, and judges to discuss collaboration in addressing the disproportionate burden our unhoused neighbors create in these areas. There is a term often used to describe the pattern that the homeless follow—from hospitals to law enforcement, to courts, and then to jail—known as “frequent fliers” or “frequent users.”

Tent in Downtown McMinnville during the past two years…

Scene from Beyond The Bridge – Houston police outreach worker to the homeless.

CONSERVE PUBLIC RESOURCES

MATCH aims to conserve limited public resources by leading our homeless frequent users from this cycle by helping them transform into permanent supportive housing. To achieve this, we need to manage funding resources at the local, regional, state, and federal levels to develop full-time staff who can assist the homeless in navigating their way to permanent supportive housing.

Various levels of funding to support permanent supportive housing.

REPLICATE THE DOCUMENTARY FILM

If we had presented a great science fiction film like Star Wars by George Lucas and said we wanted to replicate the Rebel Base and Storm Troopers in McMinnville, you would think we were crazy! Yet, we showed a documentary film presenting an evidence-based positive solution to homelessness at the Park Theater and expressed our desire to replicate it in McMinnville.

BEDFORD FALLS VS POTTERSVILLE

Let me use another film analogy: Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life, which many of us enjoy watching each Christmas. I am asking everyone throughout McMinnville and Warren County: Do you want McMinnville to be a Pottersville or a Bedford Falls?

CALL TO ACTION

There is something each of us can do to support the poorest of the poor in our community. You can become a positive advocate for permanent supportive housing, contribute your skills, resources, and compassion to help.

Watch this video and contact MATCH if you want to be part of the solution to homelessness in McMinnville by helping develop permanent supportive housing for our homeless neighbors.

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH FILMMAKERS TIM HASHKO AND DON SAWYER

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BY BRAD DURHAM

Left to right: Don Sawyer and Tim Hashko

MATCH (McMinnville Action To Create Housing) is bringing the film, Beyond The Bridge to the Park Theater on January 22, 2026. A Town Hall Meeting will take place immediately after the film. The filmmakers, Tim Hashko and Don Sawyer will be in McMinnville the day of the film and at the screening for various meetings. This interview serves as an introduction to them and their experiences in making the film.

BD Newsletter: Why did you make the documentary film, Beyond The Bridge?

Tim Hashko and Don Sawyer: Most documentaries about homelessness focus on how sad, lonely, and what a pathetic state people experiencing homelessness are in. This is true. But what needs to happen to fix the situation? We thought that if America can successfully keep a space station orbiting the earth for many years now, America can also successfully solve homelessness. We just didn’t believe solving homelessness is beyond the capability of this country, so we set out on a journey to discover the solution for ourselves. 

BD Newsletter: What is the most common reason towns have not developed a strategic plan to solve homelessness? What is the common denominator in these towns?

Tim Hashko and Don Sawyer: There are two very common reasons communities struggle when it comes to creating an effective strategic plan to address homelessness. First, in most communities, there is a deep, unspoken belief that homelessness is an intractable problem that can never be solved. If you don’t believe you can solve the problem, then you will never solve the problem – a fundamental principle when pursuing any goal. Second, most communities (sometimes inadvertently) set their homeless response systems up to serve their local government, service providers and the housed public. In other words, the welfare of these groups are prioritized over the welfare of the people experiencing homelessness. For many communities the priority of their homeless response system is to get the homeless population out of sight and out of mind instead of meeting them at their need and leading them out of homelessness – when this is the objective of a homeless response system, it will always end in failure.

Have you seen a difference in the approach and resources committed to solving homelessness in small and large cities? In other words, have you seen small towns practice the same plans large towns use?

Tim Hashko and Don Sawyer: The scale is different, but the fundamentals are the same. Large cities tend to have more resources and more complex systems, while small towns often assume those models do not apply to them. What we found is that the core strategies that work in big cities also work in small communities when they are adapted to local conditions. In fact, small towns often have an advantage because relationships are closer and change can happen faster.

Don Sawyer interviewing Rob Robinson, a prominent
community organizer, activist and formerly homeless.

BD Newsletter: What is the number one reason you want people to see your film?

Tim Hashko and Don Sawyer: To change perspectives on people experiencing homelessness, and to learn why homelessness exists in this country. Then, we want people to see that homelessness is solvable by deploying the blueprint we show in the film, which applies to every community no matter how big or small a community is. Ultimately, we’d like people to understand that if they want different results in their efforts to address homelessness, they will have to band together as a community to make it happen – everyone has a role.

BD Newsletter: Why should a private citizen, service provider, business person, and elected officials see this film? On the other hand, is there anyone in McMinnville who should not see Beyond The Bridge?

Tim Hashko and Don Sawyer: Homelessness affects the entire community, and solutions require participation from everyone. The film gives private citizens a clearer understanding of what actually works, service providers a framework for stronger collaboration with other organizations, business leaders insight into how they can help, and elected officials examples of effective leadership grounded in results rather than theory.

There is no one who should not see this film. It is not political and it does not promote a single ideology. It presents evidence, lived experience, and real world solutions, and invites the whole community into a more productive conversation.

Please plan to attend this event—admission is free! By reserving a ticket, you’ll secure your spot and receive a convenient reminder, ensuring you don’t miss out on this exciting experience. Click on the link below to reserve your ticket today.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/beyond-the-bridge-a-solution-to-homelessness-film-conversation-tickets-1977519276389?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

A COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTION TO THE HIGH COST OF HOMELESSNESS

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By Brad Durham

         Three alarming facts about the high cost of homelessness have been discussed recently in a local McMinnville group of homeless service providers and volunteers. Number one: the homeless live about 30 years less than Americans who live in a home. Number two: It cost the taxpayers less to place a homeless person into permanent housing than to keep a person in the Warren County jail for a year. Number three: The homeless are a portion of the self-pay patients who are uninsured or underinsured, costing Ascension Saint Thomas River Park Hospital several million dollars a year in charitable health care.

         Dale Humphrey, President and CEO of Saint Thomas River Park Hospital, informed the group earlier this month that homeless men die about 30 years earlier than their peers who live in a home. Clearly, anyone who lives on the street, under a bridge or in a tent for an extended period of time pays the highest price of homelessness. Being homeless without proper housing is not healthy. While the homeless’ illnesses may not be much different than the non-homeless population, the homeless illnesses are usually much more severe and typically managed worse due to difficulty in cleanliness, nutrition, access to follow up care, and access to proper medication. Humphrey stated that stress is obviously a contributing factor. 

    Dale Humphrey also informed the group that the hospital has $7 million in charitable health care per month, and a significant portion of that charitable health care is contributed to the McMinnville homeless population.

Left to right, President and CEO, Dale Humphrey and Sheriff Jackie Matheny, Jr.

         During the February meeting, Sheriff Jackie Matheny, Jr. spoke to the group and stated that at least 12 of the 258 inmates in the Warren County Jail were homeless. Sheriff Matheny also confirmed that the minimal cost to the taxpayers to keep someone in the local jail is $41 dollars a day. Taxpayers pay more to keep someone in the Warren County jail than taxpayers pay to keep someone in subsidized, affordable housing. See the image below for a detailed illustration.

* The cost of arrest, investigation and legal fees are estimated.

SUBSIDIZED PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING…A COST-EFFECTIVE SOLUTION

    A local nonprofit or city/county government can apply for HUD funding to provide permanent supportive housing for the homeless. HUD offers rental assistance that pays 70% of the rent on privately-owned apartments. The subsidy for an $800 apartment would be $560 a month. That is $18.60 per day, which is 45% of the cost to keep someone in the Warren County jail.

         Common themes from both Sheriff Jackie Matheny. Jr. and Dale Humphrey were the high rates of recidivism and recycling of the same homeless population through the jail and hospital. Placing people who are experiencing homelessness into permanent supportive housing can extend lives — in addition to saving taxpayers and the local hospital a lot of money. All of this begs the question of how to develop a cost-effective solution to homelessness in McMinnville.

BEYOND THE BRIDGE: A POSITIVE SOLUTION TO HOMELESSNESS PROMO

         Readers of this newsletter are encouraged to see the film, Beyond The Bridge. The film is a documentary about solutions to homelessness. The filmmakers traveled over 40,000 miles and studied positive solutions to homelessness. The film highlights solutions in two cities. Beyond The Bridge is showing at Otter Creek Church on West End in Nashville at 6:00 PM on Thursday, April 3. Tickets are free and must be reserved online. This is a link to information about the film and tickets:https://asolutiontohomelessness.com

    Full disclosure, I have been promoting a plan to create affordable housing for 10 homeless people in McMinnville. I am personally looking forward to learning more about positive solutions to homelessness from Beyond the Bridge and the discussion after the film. Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell and the filmmakers will be at the event.

         For more information, please attend the monthly homeless meetings in McMinnville. The next meeting will be Friday, April 25, at 11:00 AM, at St. Matthews Episcopal Church.