Tag: mcminnville-action-to-create-housing

HE WAS HOMELESS OFF AND ON FOR ELEVEN YEARS UNTIL TODAY (8-29-26)

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By Brad Durham

John’s (not his real name) basement apartment for $500 a month.

When I first met John (not his real name) on April 17 of this year, it was at a McDonald’s. The free Wi-Fi and a place to sit for a while provided a port in the storm of his homelessness. John told me he was exhausted from walking day and night, with nowhere to stay and desperately searching for work. Even when someone offered him a tent, he didn’t have a place to safely pitch it. Yesterday, McMinnville Action To Create Housing (MATCH), a nonprofit committed to helping our unhoused neighbors secure permanent supportive housing, assisted John in paying a month’s rent for his new apartment.

ENDED HIS OWN HOMELESSNESS

John is 32 years old. Due to unfortunate circumstances—some of which he acknowledges were of his own making—he bounced in and out of homelessness for the past 11 years. His determination to find work and address back child support payments ultimately motivated him to find both a job and an apartment. All John needed going into September was $500 to cover his first month of rent in a basement apartment.

A few weeks ago, he started working at an industry in McMinnville. Without a place to stay, he slept right outside on the property. Fortunately, he knew someone nearby, within walking distance of his job, who agreed to rent him a basement apartment after he spent two weeks sleeping outside the building.

Where John slept overnight before working a full shift — without a sleeping bag or cushion,

HOW MATCH HELPED

MATCH is covering his first month’s rent OF $500, which will enable John to address the child support payments he struggled to make while homeless and looking for work. Moving forward, John will be able to pay his full rent and child support. In September, he has a court date concerning the child support payments, which he has significantly reduced since starting work a few weeks ago. He hopes to catch up on these payments, allowing him to continue working and paying his rent.

UCHRA PROVIDES SUPPORT

John credits UCHRA with providing support.

John credits a member of the UCHRA staff for providing essential supportive services. He said, “I meet with a lady every Tuesday about child support. She works with UT and UCHRA. When I was homeless and searching for a job, she communicated with the court about my efforts. She is my advocate, a professional who documented my job-search progress. She provided me with gift cards each week for food and gas. She even helped me purchase a new bike for $286! When I had nothing, she helped me get through the week.”

John is the second unhoused neighbor in McMinnville that MATCH has assisted in moving into housing in the past week. This initiative is part of an evidence-based solution to homelessness presented by MATCH in the film BEYOND THE BRIDGE, earlier this year at the Park Theater.

HOMELESS SUMMIT IN OCTOBER

MATCH plans to host a Homeless Summit in October to jumpstart collaboration and fundraising aimed at developing both supportive services and a housing search team, along with private rental subsidies. Everyone in McMinnville will be invited to the Homeless Summit, with the date and location to be announced soon.

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.