IN THE ISSUE
History Corner
A Few Questions
Dr. Anidolee MelvilleChester
Writing 13
Vendor
Contributor vendors write in this issue about Casserole Carli, grief, harrassment and seasons of homelessness.
Moving Pictures
HOW TO PAY A VENDOR WITH VENMO
Any vendor of The Contributor can accept VENMO as payment. Technology is a barrier to those experiencing homelessness. Many of our vendors don’t have phones or bank accounts, or use online commerce. Thus we simplified the VENMO process by using one account for all vendors. This means YOU MUST IDENTIFY YOUR VENDOR when using VENMO. Here is the skinny on how to do it right.
#1 You must have a VENMO account. Sign up at www.venmo.com if you haven’t already.
#2 SCAN THE SQUARE QR CODE in the top left corner of the cover of this paper using your phone or tablet camera. Then press the button that appears once it has been recognized.
#3 CLICK the blue “Pay or Request” button on the screen with The Contributor yellow and black logo.
#4 TYPE in the amount you wish to pay. The paper costs $2. Tips are welcomed. Vendors get all the money you send and can pick it up the next business day at our office.
#5 Most importantly, TYPE YOUR VENDOR’S NAME AND BADGE # in the “What’s this for?” box. Then hit the PAY button. Their name and 4 digit badge # should be written on the front cover of the paper below the QR code. You must
identify them to insure they will get the money. First name, last initial and 4 digit badge # will ensure that a vendor with a similar name doesn’t get confused for your vendor. You can also leave feedback in this field. But always identify the vendor. If they didn’t write their name or badge # on the cover of this paper, please describe where they were and what they looked like. This usually can identify them.
#6 HIT THE PAY BUTTON.
#7 The FIRST TIME you pay anyone using VENMO you will be asked to enter the last 4 digits of their phone number. Type 6829 in this field. Our phone number is (615) 829-6829. Or, you can scroll down and skip this step. (VENMO wants to protect you from sending money to the wrong person with a similar name. The next time you pay a vendor using our account, you won’t be asked to verify again.)
#8 ALWAYS TAKE THE PAPER HOME WITH YOU. When vendors sell out, the satisfaction of having a business that sells out its products begins to sink in! Vendors who sell out, come back to our office to buy more. This helps our vendors meet their sales goals. And, it is there that we can meet with them, give them their VENMO payments or mail and work on solving their barriers to housing and life’s goals.
#9 Friend us on VENMO and leave feedback. Open the app and click on “Me” at the bottom. Then select “Transactions” to see your payments. Click on the payment to The Contributor in your transaction list and then click on our icon at the top of the screen to see all of those transactions between us. On this page you can “Friend” us and click on the speech bubble icons of all your payments to leave feedback on your experience. Constructive feedback and praise help encourage our vendors to do their best.
Heatwaves pose disproportionate risk to people experiencing homelessness
People experiencing homelessness have, by the age of 43, an average state of health equivalent to that of an 85-year-old with a home
BY VOLKER MACKE
For years, the beginning of spring marked a great sigh of relief in German local authorities’ social services and public order departments if nobody had frozen to death over the winter. Winter emergency aid programs, including night cafes, cold weather buses and soup kitchens, were initiated to ward off the worst risks to people experiencing street homelessness, often — though not always — with success. But now, the climate crisis has brought new dangers.
“Heat is just as dangerous as cold,” says Berit Pohns, spokesperson for the National Federation for the Homeless in Germany (BAG W). The nationwide umbrella organisation of major homelessness aid providers such as Caritas, Diakonie, Paritätische and AWO is currently increasing the pressure on
politicians to focus on the dangers of long, warm summers in addition to the almost established winter emergency aid.
“We have called on local authorities to take greater account of people experiencing homelessness in their heat protection plans,” says Pohns. “We are still of the opinion that there is not enough focus on protection against heat.”
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach presented an initial heat protection plan for Germany in the summer of 2023. However, it was largely concerned with recommendations for action, particularly for so-called vulnerable groups, including elderly people, young children and people experiencing homelessness. His recommendations: drink plenty of water, keep your home cool, stay in the shade,
avoid exertion, eat light food.
But for people living on the streets, shelter and shade are in short supply. Many people sleep rough in the concrete jungles of city centres, close to aid facilities. Most of the shade available is on private property, from which people can be excluded by barriers or security services, leaving them exposed to the sun.
The health of people on the streets is already a cause for concern: after analyzing many individual health studies from over 30 countries, a group of scientists led by London-based public health researcher Robert Aldrigde came to the conclusion that people experiencing street homelessness have an almost 12-fold higher risk of heat-related death than the general population.
“The extreme health inequalities
identified require intensive cross-sectoral policy and service interventions to prevent exclusion and improve health outcomes for people who are already marginalised,” the report states.
BAG W is calling for free drinking water for people on the streets in every city in Germany as the first and most important action in providing heat relief.
“In addition, cool rooms must be made accessible. At present, the problem is not being tackled systematically enough. This is what we would like to see,” says Pohns. “If a person experiencing homelessness is cooling off or seeking shade in a park, underground or public building, they should not be evicted.”
Courtesy of Asphalt / INSP.ngo
PHOTO COURTESY OF REUTERS/GUGLIELMO MANGIAPANE
Clarksville: Queen City of the Cumberland
BY RIDLEY WILLS II
When I was a child, Clarksville was still called “The Queen City of the Cumberland” because it was such an important market for corn, flour, cotton and particularly burley tobacco. Large tobacco warehouses stood on the hillside beside the Cumberland River, navigable to Clarksville 12 months of the year. Conversely, during low water, the largest steamboats could not reach Nashville because the water at Harpeth shoals was often only three feet deep.
I have always had an interest in Clarksville and Montgomery County because of ancestral connections there. In 1793, a direct ancestor of mine, Maj. Evan Shelby, a brother of Isaac Shelby, the first governor of Kentucky, lived on the Red River near Clarksville. That year, he and others were murdered by Native Americans as they fled their homes for Fort Nashboro.
In 1837, my great grandfather, Jesse Ely, was born in Clarksville. He grew up there, where he and his family were members of the Baptist Church. During the Civil War, Jesse was a private in the Confederate Army. In 1863, he was captured by Union soldiers on Signal Mountain, Tennessee, and sent by steamboat to Rock Island Prison in Illinois on the Mississippi River. He was confined there until the end of the war, when he moved to Nashville, dying there in 1897.
In 1940, when I was six years old, Clarksville was a town of 11,831 people, who, in the summertime, enjoyed watching Clarksville’s Class A Kitty League baseball team (Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee) play the Evansville Aces, the Paducah Indians, the Jackson Suns and others. On Sundays, Montgomery County citizens enjoyed having picnics and dancing in the mouth of Dunbar Cave which Roy Acuff owned. Dunbar Cave is now a state park.
In 1940, Jackson, then the fifth largest city in the state, was more than twice the size of Clarksville with 24,332 citizens. Chatta-
nooga, the third largest city in the state, was more than ten times the size of Clarksville with 128,163 people. It advertised itself as “The Dynamo of Dixie.”
After World War II, Clarksville grew rapidly with its industrial base expanding with communication and technology industries. Fort Campbell, which is more in Tennessee than it is in Kentucky, has greatly contributed to Clarksville rapid growth — 55% of the soldiers there live off base. Twenty-four percent of the students in Montgomery County today are military dependents. In recent years, multiple companies have announced plans for massive investments in Clarksville that have promised to bring over 3,500 jobs in the next three to five years. Clarksville has successfully recruited high-tech industries, many of which are in an industrial park immediately off I-24. Downtown, the Nashville Predators and Clarksville have teamed up to build a multi-purpose recreational building. Naturally, it has an ice rink and is also the home of the Austin Peay Lady Govs basketball team. A block away, on North First Street, Clarksville based Milan Industries announced in 2024 that they will build an eight-story mixed use residential and retail building with a gym, club room and rooftop pool overlooking the river.
Nearby, on Commerce Street, is the Queen Ann-style Custom House Museum and Cultural Center, the second largest general purpose museum in the state. A few blocks from there, on College Street, fast-growing Austin Peay State University has an enrollment of approximately 10,000. In 2024, Clarksville’s population was 186,449, almost identical to Chattanooga’s population of 186,612. When the 2030 U.S. Census is taken, Clarksville will almost certainly be the fourth largest city in the state, followed by Chattanooga or fast-growing Murfreesboro, whose 2024 population was 162,190.
Learn More About Homelessness Prevention
BY JUDITH TACKETT
During the past few months, I’ve been spending a lot of my working time diving into the topic of homelessness prevention.
I read about prevention programs. I participated in webinars. I joined a learning cohort. I interviewed a few people. And finally, I co-produced a radio show on homelessness prevention, which you can catch on the This Is Nashville Podcast online at wpln.org.
At the end of 2022, I already designated a column to the topic of Diversion and Prevention, but since then the conversation seems to have heated up. With COVID dollars starting to run out while our homelessness population still has increased by 9.3 percent over the past two years (per our local Point In Time Count), it’s easy to see why there is interest in stemming the flow into homelessness.
Let’s begin with what homelessness prevention is.
Over the past few years, I’ve been engaged in discussions about different definitions of homelessness prevention, eviction prevention, and diversion. In my last column, I outlined the National Alliance to End Homelessness’ explanations as follows:
• Homelessness prevention serves extremely vulnerable people who are about to lose their housing;
• Eviction prevention serves low-income people who have received an eviction notice; and
• Diversion serves people who have lost their housing and are facing imminent entry into shelter or sleeping outside.
But now, the conversation about homelessness prevention seems to have broadened. Here is a definition Stephen Gaetz & Erin Dej of the Canadian Observatory of Homelessness offer in their Homelessness Prevention Framework:
“Homelessness prevention refers to policies, practices and interventions that reduce the likelihood that someone will experience homelessness. It also means providing those who have been homeless with the necessary resources and supports to stabilize their housing, enhance integration and social inclusion, and ultimately reduce the risk of the recurrence of homelessness.”
They suggest that homelessness prevention should include interventions that benefit individuals as well as target broader structural reforms.
Community Solutions is a national nonprofit that leads a movement called Built for Zero to support communities in their quest to end homelessness. Community Solutions has created its own homelessness prevention framework and is distinguishing Housing Insecurity, Homelessness Prevention and Coordinated Homelessness Prevention as follows:
• “Housing insecurity is a measure of how close a person or family is to being homeless, determined by factors such as being behind on mortgage or rent, making multiple moves, living in a shelter and experiencing homelessness.”
• “Homelessness prevention refers to policies, practices and interventions that reduce the likelihood that someone will experience homelessness. It also means
providing those who have been homeless with the necessary resources and support to stabilize their housing, enhance integration and social inclusion, and ultimately reduce the risk of the recurrence of homelessness.”
• “Coordinated Homelessness Prevention (“Coordinated Prevention”) [is] a community-wide approach that uses common risk screening criteria to identify people who are housing insecure, including people at greatest risk for literal homelessness, and then offers immediate, coordinated access to Housing Problem Solving and prevention-related resources, including prioritized access to assistance for people with more urgent prevention needs.”
Community Solutions is working with Nashville providers on veteran homelessness (since 2018), family homelessness (since 2022), and recently added communications assistance, encampment strategy support, and coordinated prevention to the list. Facilitators from Community Solutions do not take the lead. Rather, they convene local leaders and help them form core coalitions around each focus area, then help evaluate data and offer support to develop strategies to set concrete goals that will drive the overall homelessness numbers down.
For example, they help manage and evaluate the quality of our By Name lists, which allow us to know everyone in our community experiencing homelessness in as close to real time as possible. The goal is to examine who enters the homelessness system, who exits, who returns, and who becomes “inactive,” which means no provider has been able to connect with them for at least 90 days.
Looking at the data is helpful to understand why homelessness prevention must be at the forefront of our conversations if we truly want to end homelessness. In a recent meeting of Nashville providers, which focused on seeting strategic goals to address family homelessness, we examined data Community Solutions shared with us based on the Family By Name List. Granted, we may not have reached the highest data quality yet with the data I present here, but it is strong enough to give us a solid indication of what’s happening in Nashville.
We learned that in 2023, the average monthly inflow (meaning families who became homeless and ended up on the By Name List) was 80 families. At the same time, the average monthly outflow was 79.6 families. But we also know that 37 of the 79.6 families were placed in housing. For the remaining families, they were marked as “inactive” in the database because we could no longer reach them. They basically disappeared. Some may have found housing on their own; others may have moved to another area; and some may show back up in the database at a later time. If they reappear, they’re taken off the “inactive” list and are considered homeless in our community again.
Another category when we’re looking at the “inflow” of homelessness are those families returning from housed situations. The monthly average last year was seven fami-
If you want to learn more about homelessness and eviction prevention, listen to the In My Place episode of June 25, 2024, on WPLN.org.
lies who returned after being assisted with housing. Those seven families each month are definitely candidates for prevention services because we know where they were housed. We could also talk to them to find out what caused their renewed homelessness and then examine if a little extra support could have made a difference.
Let’s discuss what prevention services could look like. When I spoke with Chad Bojorquez, Chief Program Officer of Destination: Home, a nonprofit based in San Jose, Calif. Bojorquez said the Homelessness Prevention System in Santa Clara County focused mainly on three prevention strategies: temporary financial assistance, legal support and case management and other services.
The average cost of preventing homelessness is approximately $7,400 per household over an extended period of time. And that is the prevention cost in one of the highest rental markets in the country! That average prevention cost is definitely lower compared to what it would cost the community if the same household would have become homeless. In other words, providing services while people are homeless including moving them from homelessness to permanent housing costs significantly more than preventing it to begin with.
Here is my attempt to put this into perspective. In 2023, the National Alliance to End Homelessness updated their cost of homelessness fact sheet. There they outline that based on federal grant programs, the annual cost of an emergency shelter bed is about $8,067 more than the annual cost of a federal housing subsidy. In other words, the cost difference alone is more than it would have cost to prevent homelessness in the highest rental market in the country. Clearly, prevention costs anywhere in the U.S. are lower than the cost to end homelessness.
And we have not even spoken about what the disruption of losing stable housing does to people emotionally, mentally and physically. A single mom with lived experience educated me recently about the emotional, mental, and physical toll an eviction notice can take on a person. She said she did not understand why our community is not more invested in prevention.
“Why is it that we have to wait until we already have a late fee on our record before we can even access some rent assistance programs?” she asked and added that usually people know days before the first of the month that they will not be able to pay their rent.
Tennessee has also just toughened their eviction laws. Tenants used to be able to delay their eviction for 15 days by either requesting a continuance or disagreeing with the charge that they are behind in rent. Starting on July 1, that delay was reduced to seven days. People
now have one week less to either come up with the money they owe, negotiate a deal with their landlord, get a lawyer or find and relocate to a new apartment. If they want to appeal an eviction, they have to deposit a year’s worth of rent. Based on the average rent in Nashville, that comes easily to $14,000-$15,000. If renters who are evicted had that money, most of them likely would not have been evicted in the first place. Bojorquez, the leader from Santa Clara County, said since 2017, their homelessness prevention effort helped more than 7,000 unique families. Then when COVID hit, their prevention system was already in place, which enabled them to assist another 25,000 families during the pandemic. Currently, they have about 800 households enrolled in prevention programs and are aiming to serve another 1,700 new households this year.
Destination: Home serves as the backbone to build the prevention system and has been coordinating with 19 direct service providers. They consider themselves an incubator of innovative programs. Now that the Santa Clara homelessness prevention system is established, Destination: Home is moving local coordination over to the county government. They believe with this move they can sustain the effort long term.
But Destination: Home is not done yet with homelessness prevention systems. Bojorquez shared that they are currently in the preliminary stages of talks with the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness to explore whether their organization can enter into a partnership to identify 10 communities across the country and help them develop their own homelessness prevention systems.
I told him that I wanted to stay in touch with him to talk about Nashville when it was time. But keep in mind, our community is already working with Community Solutions to support us in establishing a coordinated homelessness prevention system.
I am hopeful that we will soon manage to connect some of the pieces we already have in place, such as the Eviction Right to Counsel project that is co-led by the Legal Aid Society and the Nashville Hispanic Bar Association. Metro Council recently approved another year of funding to keep the program going. An early independent evaluation conducted by an organization called Stout estimated that approximately 30 percent of the households participating in Eviction Right to Counsel would have likely ended up homeless if not for the program.
And as a final word, Bojorquez said they partnered with the University of Notre Dame to conduct a randomized control trial over three years and found that vulnerable households who don’t receive immediate financial assistance are three times more likely to become homeless than those who received prevention support. In addition, Santa Clara’s homelessness database (their Homeless Management Information System) shows that only 7 percent of the households that had received prevention assistance showed up as homeless two years after leaving the prevention program. Prevention works and is necessary if we are serious about ending homelessness.
Q&A with Dr. Anidolee Melville-Chester
Dr. Anidolee Melville-Chester has served as the Division Director of Behavioral Health and Wellness with the Metro Public Health Department for about 15 months. She is passionate about building a community wide, collaborative system of care that looks at all aspects of health and well-being centered on the needs of Davidson County residents.
Melville-Chester holds a PhD and a master's degree in public administration. Her background is in program management, program administration, clinical counseling, teaching and supervision. She is a strong advocate for underserved, under-insured populations.
“I started out doing this work as a nurse,” Melville-Chester said. “I’ve done it as an advocate. I’ve done it as an educator. I’ve done it with Children’s Services, with United Way, with Corrections, and now with Metro Public Health.”
She committed to moving her work forward by being intentional about creating a system of care based on data and analysis that helps ensure funding and resources are being allocated to meet the need.
You have been the Division Director of Behavioral Health and Wellness with the Metro Public Health Department for a little over a year. What does your job entail?
Behavioral Health and Wellness is just what it says. It really looks at what drives individuals’ behavior. How do we get them from where they are to a place of wellness? When you think of an individual, most people approach individuals as “they're broken, they need fixing.” But when you look from a clinical place at an individual, you look at the fact that they're not in concert with their health. So, the goal is to get individuals back to a place of wellness where they're functioning well — physically, financially, academically, environmentally, socially and personally. We look at the individual in a holistic way. My job entails looking at programs that address the needs of the community whether it's violence prevention, suicide prevention, opiate use and misuse, lack of clinical services, the needs of the unhoused, gaps in service to the youth and young adult population, creating safety for all Nashvillians and residents of Davidson County — just examining what all that looks like. Then the question is, how do we create a system of care in Nashville-Davidson County that strengthens individuals from where they are to where they need to be so that we’re a healthier community because we have healthier individuals.
Who are the main partners you work with in Davidson County and what are your top priorities for the next five years?
We have a plethora of partners covering health, mental health, schools, universities, the Mayor’s Office, hospitals, police, etc. It is a cross section of partners, all the individuals who work on addressing the wellbeing of individuals residing in Nashville-Davidson County.
One of our major priorities is looking at our youth serving population and the impact of suicide, violence and substance use on that population. That’s huge. The other priority is making sure we have linguistically and culturally appropriate and culturally relevant services for the community.
BY JUDITH TACKETT
The next thing is making sure that we have behavioral health services and clinical health services available to the community. Right now, the waiting time for individuals to access a clinician is very lengthy. Metro Public Health is bridging that gap by having clinical and counseling services available in all of our clinics. We will be online with that in late July [or] early August. We're going to have services for all of our communities, including those who speak languages other than English. The beauty of this is that there are no criteria to access services beyond the fact that you need someone to talk to.
A big part of our messages is, “Hope is available to everyone who needs it.” We want to make sure the community knows we hear you. We hear you when you say there's a lack of services in the community, and we want to respond to those needs. [For example], we know a big part of that is not having available beds in Davidson County for individuals who either overdose or individuals who need treatment. Our priority is to focus on creating more beds for individuals to have detox and treatment when they're involved with a substance.
The priority is a healthier Nashville and Davidson County over the next five years. A community where violence is decreased, a community where suicide is decreased, a community where we can see some decrease in opioid use and emerging drug use in Nashville-Davidson County.
We realize at Metro Public Health that we cannot do this alone. So, we look to our partners in violence prevention. We currently have community partners that have been working diligently to assist us with this. We have the Urban League. We have the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee. We have The Contributor. We have Raphah and Rocketown and Creative Girls Rock, individuals in the Somali community, and Neighborhood Health, just to name a few.
We'll also be putting together a community board of 18-to-24-year-olds to inform the work.
One of our priorities is, “Nothing for you without you.” We want to hear the voice of those individuals that can tell us, “Listen, here is what’s happening, here is how to go about that.” To that end, we are working diligently to ensure that we have an advisory board of that age group to advise us on our community violence prevention and intervention work. We want this age group to know that if they’re interested in working with Metro Public Health to help us with this work, we welcome them to contact us.
(To do so, call the Metro Public Health Department’s main number at 615-340-5616 and ask for the Behavioral Health and Wellness Division).
As part of your job, you are also overseeing daily operations of Opioid Prevention Services. Are there gaps you would like to see filled in the prevention space?
The prevention space I believe is going to look a little different than what may have been seen in the past. Looking at the research, looking at the data, and looking at creative voices through a study that was conducted for us over a two-year period, [we know] that having clinical services and resource linkages is key to opioid prevention.
What prevention services look like right now is outreach and education leading to case management services linking to counseling and therapeutic services. We will have that available for our Spanish-speaking community, our English-speaking community, our Arabic-speaking communities and many others. I think doing that is going to strengthen the efforts of our prevention.
We're the recipient of a three-year grant from the state and [work] with the state to pilot and implement an opioid care system over the next three years. We’ll be looking at research, data, bed management services, and medication assisted treatment. We’ll also be focusing on our unhoused population, individuals who are incarcerated and coming out of that system, and [explore] what it is going to take to engage people so that we are decreasing repetitive use. We’re in partnership with our hospitals, with our police, with our treatment serving communities such as the Samaritan Recovery Community, Mental Health Co-op, and others that we will engage to help us in this work.
It’s about prevention, intervention, treatment, and stabilization of housing, moving individuals from unhoused to respite care, to transitional housing into permanent housing. That is key to ensuring the well-being of individuals. And so, we'll be working with the unhoused population, working with our homelessness coalition and our division there to ensure that we're working together to strengthen services and to strengthen our collaboration and to strengthen care in Nashville-Davidson County.
How much was the three-year grant from the state?
About $2.1 million per year over three years.
Prior to joining Metro, you worked for several years as the Deputy Director of Clinical Services of the Tennessee Department of Corrections. In your view, what opportunities do governments have in improving healthcare in correctional settings?
The Department of Corrections worked diligently to create both physical and behavioral healthcare services in our prisons across the state. Individuals — we call them inmate patients — that are in the system are able to access medical care for the needs that they have within the prison system. Now, when you operate medical care from the prison system, there are always adjustments that you need to make beyond when you're out in the free world. I believe [the] quality of care from the Department of Corrections has improved. I saw those improvements when I was there as a staff person. Attention is being paid to individuals, whether they're diabetic or have cardiac issues. The Department of Corrections has also created a dialysis center where individuals are able to [receive dialysis] right there in the clinical setting. That's a big improvement in healthcare. Their partnership with Nashville General Hospital and their partnership with major hospitals across the state helps to make sure that if individuals’ needs cannot be met within the prison system, they are being met in clinical settings across the state. There is always improvement that can be made with healthcare — whether in a correctional setting or in a public health
setting. But I do believe that with the resources that the Department of Corrections has, they're doing everything to strengthen those healthcare services in the settings that they have.
At the Metro Public Health Department, we oversee behavioral health and medical services in the jail system here in Nashville-Davidson County. We're always looking at those services and have cultivated a strong partnership with the Sheriff's Office to ensure that quality services are being rendered to inmate patients and that we are following the standards for health and behavior health services in the jails [as outlined by the] National Commission on Correctional Healthcare.
So, both entities try their very best to work on ensuring that the standards that are set nationally for prisons and jails are being maintained as it relates to healthcare services. Do we get it right all the time? No. But what I admire and what I've seen working is that they're doing continuous quality improvement to ensure that those services are rendered in the best interest of the inmate patient.
How much of a connection to homelessness and housing insecurity do you see in your daily work?
As an individual, as a resident, all you have to do is drive through Nashville and you can see homelessness. But I think working with The Contributor, working with our individuals that are addressing homelessness, working with the Mission, doing our outreach and education in the community, all that gives us the connection to begin to address the needs of the unhoused population.
We are increasing our outreach and education to the unhoused population. One of the things we have to address from a public health and a citizen’s perspective is to have Naloxone, [a medication used to rapidly reverse opioid overdose], available for the unhoused population so that if they get into trouble, they’re at least able to have access to that.
When I started here in Behavioral Health and Wellness 15 months ago, there was just a staff of seven. Currently, we have a staff of 15, and we will grow to a staff of almost 40 by the end of August and September. We have really taken a look at what the needs in Nashville-Davidson County are, we have allocated funding to support services in the community, and we are making sure there is access for those who need it.
Strengthening our community partnerships, increasing our resources, and increasing outreach and education services, is going to get us where we need to go in the next three to five years. I will say that we have support from our Mayor, who is passionate about this work. Also, the Mayor's Office is passionate about the work of safety, passionate about the work of mental health services, passionate about the work of the unhoused population and services to the youth serving population. And our leadership here in Metro Public Health has the same passion, our Board has the same passion, and that's amplified with the passion that you guys have at The Contributor – so when we have all of these entities working together and we're not working in silos, I think we have the best chance of leveraging our resources and stabilizing our community.
LA NOTICIA
“The Contributor” está trabajando con uno de los principales periódicos en español La Noticia para llevar contenido a más lectores en Middle Tennessee. Nuestros vendedores de periódicos han pedido durante mucho tiempo que nuestra publicación incluya contenido que apele al interés de residentes de habla hispana en nuestra comunidad.
“The Contributor” is working with one of the leading Spanish-language newspapers La Noticia to bring content to more readers in Middle Tennessee. Our newspaper vendors have long requested that our publication include content that appeals to the interest of Spanish-speaking residents in our community.
En una acción significativa que afecta a miles de inmigrantes, el Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de los Estados Unidos (USCIS) anunció una extensión de los Documentos de Autorización de Empleo (EAD) para los beneficiarios de Estatus de Protección
Yuri Cunza
Editor-In-Chief @yuricunza
Temporal (TPS) de El Salvador, Honduras, Nepal, Nicaragua y Sudán. Esta extensión, que se prolonga hasta el 9 de marzo de 2025, proporciona una estabilidad muy necesaria para aquellos que dependen de estos documentos para empleo legal en los Estados Unidos.
El anuncio fue un alivio para muchos titulares de TPS que han estado esperando ansiosamente actualizaciones sobre su estatus. USCIS confirmó que las personas afectadas recibirán un Formulario I-797, Notificación de Acción, informándoles sobre la extensión. Este paso asegura que los beneficiarios de TPS puedan continuar trabajando legalmente y apoyando a sus familias sin interrupción.
Para mantener sus beneficios de TPS, los beneficiarios actuales de estos países que aún no se han vuelto a registrar bajo la última extensión deben presentar el Formulario I-821, Solicitud de Estatus de Protección Temporal, dentro de los períodos actuales de re-registro. El Departamento de Seguridad Nacional (DHS) previamente extendió estos períodos para proporcionar tiempo suficiente a los aplicantes para cumplir con los requisitos de re-registro.
Los períodos de re-registro son los siguientes:
*El Salvador: Hasta el 9 de marzo de 2025
*Honduras: Hasta el 5 de julio de 2025
*Nepal: Hasta el 24 de junio de 2025
*Nicaragua: Hasta el 5 de julio de 2025
*Sudán: Hasta el 19 de abril de 2025
Aunque los plazos para el re-registro varían según el país, los EAD para todos los beneficiarios de TPS afectados se
Conoce tus derechos:
¿Que hacer en caso de una redada?
1. Mantenerse callado
2. Sólo dar nombre y apellido
3. No mentir
4. Nunca acepte/lleve documentos falsos
5. No revelar su situación migratoria 6. No llevar documentación de otro país
7. En caso de ser arrestado, mostrarla Tarjeta Miranda (llámenos si necesita una)
Basados en la Quinta Enmienda de la Constitución, los derechos de guardar silencio y contar con un abogado fueron denominados Derechos Miranda luego de la decisión de la Suprema Corte de Justicia de Estados Unidos en el caso Miranda vs. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, de 1966.
extienden uniformemente hasta el 9 de marzo de 2025. Esta uniformidad simplifica el proceso tanto para los empleadores como para los empleados, asegurando que la autorización de trabajo permanezca consistente en todos los casos.
La extensión de los EAD bajo TPS no es solo una medida burocrática; es un salvavidas para miles de individuos que han construido sus vidas en los Estados Unidos. Muchos de estos beneficiarios huyeron de sus países de origen debido a desastres naturales, conflictos armados u otras circunstancias extraordinarias que hicieron inseguro su retorno. TPS les proporciona refugio temporal y la capacidad de trabajar, permitiéndoles contribuir a la economía estadounidense y apoyar a sus familias tanto aquí como en el extranjero.
La extensión se alinea con los esfuerzos continuos de los grupos de defensa y los partidarios de la inmigración que han pedido soluciones más permanentes para los titulares de TPS. Mientras que la extensión proporciona alivio temporal, muchos están instando a los legisladores a considerar medidas más duraderas que ofrezcan vías de residencia permanente para aquellos que han vivido y trabajado en los EE. UU. durante muchos años. Mientras tanto, la extensión de los EAD por parte de USCIS hasta marzo de 2025 es un desarrollo bienvenido, ofreciendo un sentido de seguridad a los beneficiarios de TPS mientras continúan navegando las complejidades del sistema de inmigración estadounidense. A medida que se re-registran y renuevan sus documentos, estos individuos pueden estar seguros de que seguirán autorizados para trabajar, contribuyendo al diverso tejido de la fuerza laboral estadounidense.
Envíenos sus sugerencias por e-mail: news@hispanicpaper.com
Para aquellos que necesitan re-registrarse para TPS y renovar sus EAD, las instrucciones detalladas están disponibles en el aviso más reciente del Registro Federal relativo a la designación o redesignación de TPS de su país. Este aviso detalla los pasos necesarios para completar el proceso de re-registro y asegurar los beneficios proporcionados bajo TPS.
615-582-3757
Por
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Expands Working Documents for TPS Beneficiaries Until March 2025
Fotos: John Partipilo para La Noticia Newspaper Nashville
An Educated Electorate
A Tennessee think tank looks to provide information in a low-voter-participation state
As Tennessee's 2024 elections get closer and closer, think tank ThinkTennessee is using a five-part voter education series to offer guidance on election laws in the state and how folks can actively participate in their government.
In August and November, voters in the state will cast ballots to determine several offices in municipal, state and federal elections as well as a transit referendum in Nashville. As folks choose representation for president, roles in the Tennessee General Assembly and more, ThinkTennessee is looking to give voters the most information they can ahead of voting day.
“While federal laws set certain national regulations for elections across the country, elections are administered at the state level and states have significant latitude in determining various voting and elections policies,” the organization says. “As a result, policies regarding voter registration eligibility and how voters can cast their ballots vary from state to state.”
By Amanda Haggard
The organization’s new series, which was released in June, is made up of five policy briefs offering an overview of voter registration, casting ballots, absentee voting, restoring voting rights and election integrity.
This is how the five briefs are described:
• Part I: Voter Registration: This brief describes what Tennesseans should know about voter registration, including who can and cannot register, when, where, and how to register, and when to update one’s voter information.
• Part II: Casting Ballots: This brief describes the various types and timing of elections in Tennessee. It also describes where, when, and how ballots may be cast, as well as the do’s and don’ts of polling place procedures.
• Part III: Voting Absentee: This brief describes who is and is not eligible to vote absentee in Tennessee, as well as
how to request and cast an absentee ballot. It also provides an overview of how absentee ballots are reviewed and counted once cast.
• Part IV: Restoring Voting Rights: This brief describes who is eligible to have voting rights restored and the process for doing so in Tennessee. It also details how to register to vote once voting rights have been restored.
• Part V: Election Integrity: This brief describes the steps and processes Tennessee uses to ensure the integrity of elections, including the verification of voter eligibility, in-person ballots, and absentee ballots.
Think Tennessee formed this grouping of briefs as an outcropping of its 2022 After Action Election Report. That report looked at Tennessee calls to a national election protection hotline, information shared by county election administrators, and exam-
ples from other states to identify potential voter education efforts and strategies to help with voter turnout in subsequent elections. It turns out some folks really wanted help with how to vote, not just who to vote for.
“The voice of Tennessee voters will be critical this year,” said ThinkTennessee President Erin Hafkenschiel. “However, as the evidence in our 2022 After Action Election report showed, many Tennesseans are not aware of our state’s specific election laws and procedures, like when the voter registration window closes or what systems are in place to maintain the integrity of our elections. This series will provide critical answers to those questions and more, ensuring that every Tennessean who is eligible to cast a ballot can do so and trust that their vote will be counted as cast.”
Hafkenschiel answered a few questions about the series and how voters can learn more about elections on a local level.
Download the full report here:
Can you talk a bit more about the 2022 After Action Election Report and how those conclusions formed the basis for this project?
Our election after-action reports take a look at Tennessee’s elections after each federal election cycle. As part of the analysis, we review quantitative data on voter registration and turnout rates, voters’ participation methods (e.g., Early Voting, on Election Day or absentee), and the competitiveness of the races on the ballot. These quantitative data sources are important because they tell us what happened during an election, but they do not tell us why.
So, to round out our analysis we also review more qualitative forms of data, like news reports about how the elections went, a survey (which we administer) among Tennessee election administrators, and data from calls to a national election protection hotline. According to our research, Tennessee voters made 221 calls during the November 2022 election cycle. Most callers (61.1 percent) sought information on basic voting and election questions — whether they were registered, where their polling place was, or inquiring about the status of their absentee ballot — while 43.3 percent reported a challenge — not being able to cast a ballot because they hadn’t registered to vote in time or not being able to cast an absentee ballot because they had registered online and not yet voted in person. Thus, following our last two after-action reports it was clear to us: if we want to increase civic engagement and participation in the state of Tennessee, voter education needs to be a priority. What is the organization's overall goal with
these materials? Are you tracking any data to see how they're being utilized?
Tennessee has consistently trailed most other states on both voter registration and turnout rates. Unfortunately, this last election cycle (2022), we were dead last in turnout (51st) and 42nd in registration. The question on so many peoples’ minds is “why?” and “what can we do to change that?”
At ThinkTennessee, we work to both explain why we aren’t always seeing the outcomes we hope to see in Tennessee and build pathways for change through education, engagement, and advocacy. The 2024 Voter Education Series is a prime example of that work in action.
Our primary goal with this series is ensuring that Tennessee voters understand what they need to know about registering and when, how, and where they can cast their ballots. These materials are specific to 2024 — with this year’s deadlines — and are relevant to voters in all 95 counties. We have worked hard to ensure their accuracy and accessibility, including through the production of large-print and text-only versions of the document on our website for Tennesseans with print disabilities, as well as Arabic and Spanish translations, which are forthcoming.
We also hope that the series benefits the people and organizations around the state who are working to increase civic participation through voter registration drives and get out the vote (GOTV) efforts. We consulted with many of these partners during the production of the series, as well as local election administrators, to inform the development of the materials and make sure
that Tennesseans in all communities across the state have the information they need to vote. While we are not tracking downloads, we are measuring success by the number of our partners who are requesting the materials, presentations about them, and ultimately by how many more Tennesseans (hopefully!) show up to the polls on Election Day!
Are there pieces in addition to the report that are working toward this kind of voter education?
Some county election commissions put together materials and host trainings or voting machine demonstrations to help inform voters and familiarize them with the election process. We’d encourage all voters to connect with their County Election Commission to find out what kind of information they have available and to answer any questions they have about the process.
What resources could be added for Tennessee residents to make them understand their voting rights and responsibilities?
Tennessee has a rich civic history, from casting the decisive vote to ratify the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote to being the setting for so many key moments in the civil rights movement. However, as the data we’ve shared shows, our state has somehow fallen behind when it comes to civic participation. At ThinkTennessee, we believe that Tennesseans deserve better and that we can rediscover the state’s voting culture and commitment to robust civic engagement. We will need to see shifts at the indi-
vidual and structural levels to get there. The voter education series will help with that individual side, but there is a role for institutions to play as well. For instance, local libraries and museums can host community conversations or more formal civic education curricula, and our government can change policies to make voting and elections even more accessible for Tennesseans.
If you could pick one piece of information to call out from the report, what would be it?
Every voter should know that voting is county-based. If you are registered here in Davidson County, you vote in Davidson County. We heard a story from an election official about a would-be voter who came to their office upset because they tried to vote but couldn’t. They were a student at a school in that county, but they were registered in a different county where they had lived before. They were under the impression that because they were registered, they could vote. Which seems reasonable, unless you know that voting is county and not state-based. Every county has a County Election Commission with an election administrator who oversees the process for that county. They are the best source for all the information you could possibly want to know about voting in your county.
Download the full report here:
Cops like to Harass the homeless
BY JULIE B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR
Me and a friend were sitting outside a restaurant downtown today and one of the cops around here got attitude with me and told me we couldn’t sit there. What are we doing by sitting there? I asked him where he wanted us to sit at if not there? This is
how the cops treat us. Like criminals for sitting down. They harass us from daylight to dark. The next time they come up to me, I’m going to start filming what they say and how they say it to us so Nashville can see how the homeless are really treated.
Remembering Vanessa
BY JIM B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR
It’s been several years since Vanessa passed and it’s been a struggle day by day. Jelly Roll just put out a song called, “I’m not OK” that fits the feeling perfectly. It hits so close to home for anyone who has lost someone they were close to. I want to keep Vanessa’s memory alive and I know a lot of vendors knew her and loved her so I want to make sure they remember her.
I don’t know what some people do in this situation. It’s been a struggle day by day for me. I look at her Facebook page every once in a while. We had a cat named Camelot that her aunt now takes care of. I still keep in contact with her family and that also helps keep her memory alive.
I just don’t know how my grandfather lasted as long as he did. He waited 4 years after my grandmother passed and they were married over 30 years. I know he took it hard.
Vanessa loved life so much. She would give someone the shirt off her back. I saw her do it. She never met a stranger, she really didn’t. If she liked you she liked you and if she didn’t she didn’t. There was no in between with her. If she liked you she’d do anything to help you. And if she didn’t, she’d avoid you like the plague. She was very active in our church. We were always helping with Room in the Inn in the winter. I don’t know how else to explain it, but she just loved people. And not just people, but she loved animals. When we were selling hot dogs downtown and she’d see a dog go by, she’d want to go pet them. She tried helping everyone she could.
We met in 2012. Her husband Randy passed away in 2016 and for a while there she was lost. We ran back into each other in 2017 and were together in June and she passed away December 7, 2017. If you’re going through grief, I suggest you find a support group. Be it a church or a trusted friend.
Find someone you can go to at all hours. No one is ever alone when it comes to grief. I thought for a while there I was alone, and then my church stepped in and told me they didn’t care if something was going on, to call them if I needed something. It’s rough, but I’m getting through it day by day. You have your good days and your bad, but even then, your good days are never that good. You’ve got to get support. That’s the only way you’ll get through this is support. Sometimes grief counseling helps, sometimes it doesn’t. The first two weeks after she died I stayed drunk, but after that I said, “Nope, I can’t do this anymore. I can’t turn into an alcoholic.” So I picked myself back up and went to work.
I just want people who knew her to keep her memory alive. Even if that’s talking with others who knew her, or taking a day to just go hey this day’s for her. That might mean doing something for others or listening to someone talk or helping someone with food.
Seasons of Homelessness
WRITTEN BY NORMA B., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR
The needs of the homeless are the same as everyone else
Food, clothing, and shelter cover the basics
Other needs arise with the changing of the seasons
In the winter months exposed to the elements, they need a way to keep warm
Extra layers of clothes, blankets, and hand warmers can help in this regard
But where do you store such things when they’re NOT being used?
And why is it so hard?
Because no one wants an encampment in their back yard
The Spring is the rainy season here,
So ponchos and umbrellas are very much appreciated
Anything to help keep dry is a welcome sight
For ANYONE who spends much of their time outside
The Fall is usually a pleasant time of year in Tennessee
It’s not too hot and not too cold
Often the temperature is just right!
It’s a perfect time for camping, There is one problem though,
It is illegal here in Tennessee to camp on public property
In fact, it’s not just a crime, it’s a felony!
So where are all the homeless to go?
No one seems to know
Nor do they have an answer to this problem that is SO prevalent in our area and continues to grow
Yet there seems to be plenty of money for other things
Sports teams and stadiums designed to lure people here to spend their money
And boost the local economy
But what happens to those who actually live here who DON’T share in all this prosperity?
It seems that the priorities are mixed up a bit.
I wonder if that would be the case if someone with the money and power to make a change knew and loved a person affected by homelessness?
It’s a question worth consideration don’t you think?
Either way, It’s a hot button issue to be sure, which is fitting as we will discuss next, the needs of the homeless during the hottest time of the year-Summer.
Air you can wear is quite common around here
For that reason ANYTHING to help keep cool is greatly prized
Those battery powered fans that spray a fine mist and cooling towels are ALWAYS welcome
We recognize the relief such simple things can provide
But honestly, hydration is key to survival on these hot days and nights!
As for food, lighter fare is a refreshing treat
Crackers and sandwiches, even a salad or a piece of fruit are often preferred to hot or heavy meals that can be difficult eat in the scorching heat
Please keep these things in mind as you strive to help those you meet on the street and others in need.
As stated in the outset, these things are the BASIC needs of not only the homeless, but EVERY living thing.
In order for you to do the most good for the individuals you meet, no matter the season
it will require that you take time to get to know them,
To be discerning as to their needs.
If you make the time, I’m sure you will find you have more in common that what divides,
That their needs are not that different from your own
And you will DEFINITELY lead a more fulfilling life, as you strive to help others through their difficult times
ART BY CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR AARON S
THEME: THE 4TH OF JULY
62. MTV's "____'d" (20032015)
63. Like Willie Winkie 64. "Team" homophone DOWN
1. Fighter pilot
2. Toothy groomer
3. Operatic solo 4. Openings
5. Between once and thrice
6. Viva voce
7. Maroon's home
8. *As opposed to Patriot
9. Lab culture
10. Type of salmon
11. Short for ensign
13. Not sympathetic 14. Potentially allergenic glove material
19. Tubs
22. Farm cry
23. *Number of stars on Old Glory
24. "The Waste Land" poet
25. Heads-up
26. Wedding cake layer
27. 2-dotted mark
28. Stradivari competitor
29. Moisten, as in a turkey
32. 500 sheets
33. *Largest Fourth of July pyrotechnics display loc.
36. *Celebratory combustible
38. Highly skilled
40. Break bread
41. Come into view
44. Even smaller than #7 Down
46. Dined elsewhere (2 words)
48. Use a shoe polish
49. Grimace in pain
50. Hindu Mr.
51. Before long, to Shakespeare
52. Think, arch.
53. Part of a seat
54. World's longest river
55. Upper limit
58. Jodie Foster's "____'s Island"
Mumz Song
WRITTEN
BY CHRIS SCOTT FIESELMAN
Who I am and the man I’ve become, Is all because of what my Momma’s done. She raised me right and taught me well. Instilled in me a piece of herself. Taught me that it’s better to give than receive. Life is worth living, have Faith and Believe. No matter what happened, How things turned out. I always tried to make, My momma proud.
Cause, Momma didn't raise, No stupid kids. I catch on fast, And I learn real quick. When you haven’t got a lot, Make the most of it...
Cause, Momma didn't raise, No stupid kids.
Momma did the best she could, With what she had. Looking back my childhood wasn’t all that bad. Times we had to do without, there wasn’t enough. No matter what we lacked, we always had Love. Clipping out coupons and shopping “Goodwill.” Barely getting by but paying the bills. We had our fair share of sibling rivalry, But that was all a part of being a family.
Cause, Momma didn't raise, No stupid kids. I catch on fast and, I learn real quick. When you haven’t got a lot, Make the most of it...
Cause, Momma didn't raise, No stupid kids.
There’ll always be room at her table, And everybody calls her Mumz. A whole lot of folk are grateful for, Everything that she’s done. I can take whatever life throws my way, Because of what I’m made of. Remember this every day, Be Grateful for A Mother’s Love.
Cause, Momma didn't raise, No stupid kids. I catch on fast and, I learn real quick. When you haven’t got a lot, Make the most of it... Cause, Momma didn't raise, No stupid kids.
They said “take me there, I dare you!” So, what was I supposed to do?
Tell you about, how to find a way out, Of whatever you’re going through? I’m giving as much as I can possibly give, As long as The Good Lord gives me to live. If only I could get through to you - but... There are some things that I can’t do... There are some things that I can’t do...
Magic Happen
When you haven’t smiled in quite a while, And this world has got you down. Let me help you try to see, The Magic that you haven’t found. Let’s spend a little time together. Let’s have ourselves a little fun. Things are going to get better. The best is yet to come...
I want to make that Magic Happen, in your life... When the darkness closes in, I’ll shine the light... And when you doubt that you’ll get through it, I’ll be there, to cheer for you...
I want to make that Magic Happen, in your life... I want to make that Magic Happen, in your life...
This world is full of Miracles, That happen all the time. All it takes is Faith to see, They’re not that hard to find. Let’s take A Magic Carpet Ride. Let’s Catch A Falling Star. Let’s make our way to Paradise. It’s really not that far...
I want to make that Magic Happen, in your life... When the darkness closes in, I’ll shine the light... And when you doubt that you’ll get through it, I’ll be there, to cheer for you...
I want to make that Magic Happen, in your life... I want to make that Magic Happen, in your life...
Now, when the show is over, And we go our separate ways. If I should cross your mind sometime, Through the course, of your day. Remember that, I’m out there somewhere, Thinking about you too. And God has something special planned, That He can only do through you...
I want to make that Magic Happen, in your life... When the darkness closes in, I’ll shine the light... And when you doubt that you’ll get through it, I’ll be there, to cheer for you...
I want to make that Magic Happen, in your life... I want to make that Magic Happen, in your life...
WRITTEN BY CHRIS SCOTT FIESELMAN
HOBOSCOPES
CANCER
So it turns out that maybe I overly identify my own experience as “the human experience.” I guess not everybody has had the advantages I’ve had (a working hatchback, a cousin at the apartment leasing office, and a Certificate of Astrological Competence from Professor Conundra’s School of the Future). It’s a stark realization, Cancer, that my life is so different from so many others. Still, I think it’s worth sharing our experiences and telling what we’ve learned — and even how it all makes us feel. We might be very different, Cancer, but we might find out our joys and sorrows slant the same.
LEO
Sounds like my neighbor bought more fireworks than he could use up in one night. As soon as the sun goes down it’ll start again. Booms, pops, fizzles, and thuds. Every 20 minutes or so, there’s a long pause and I think “that must have been the last one.” But sure enough, he’s got more. It’s a little bit like the crashes and bangs of outrageous fortune you’ve been under fire from this month, Leo. Just when you think they’re over, here comes another round. But like my neighbors stash, this onslaught won’t last much longer. And while the blasts keep coming, maybe we should all get together, grill some veggie dogs, and talk it over.
VIRGO
When I moved here I used to go to that coffee shop where you could get a refill for 50 cents on, like, an honors system. They would just set out a fresh pot next to a cup where you could drop in a couple of quarters and then fill up. I heard that place is going out of business, but I don’t think it’s because of the honors system. I think trusting people to do the right thing keeps us all alive. It’s the fear and doubt that make you scramble to get more than you need. Anyway, Virgo, if you want another round it’s on me. If everybody we look out for each other, everybody gets enough.
LIBRA
Look at that mossy log out there with all the turtles on it. Six of’em lined up with their necks stretched out, trying to soak up some sun. And everything was going great until one more turtle showed up and, yep…I can see it now, that log’s gonna tip over. They’re all going in! The temptation, Libra, is to blame the 7th turtle for shaking up such a serene scene. But much like Rose’s post-Titanic door-raft, I think there was room for one more if everybody would have just scooted over a little bit. Who are you making room for this week, Libra?
SCORPIO
The wasps are building a nest on the edge of my front porch. It’s kind of amazing to watch them making little paper hexagons and then they cover them up and a new wasp pops out all ready to fly around. And we’ve been getting along so far. No threats of stings from them. No threats of spray from me. I’m just watching them work on their little nest and complete their little interconnected waspy tasks. Honestly, Scorpio, it makes me feel a little lonely. Where’s my hive of interdependence? If you’re missing yours, Scorpio, give us a buzz. We’re probably due for a crafting party.
SAGITTARIUS
It’s hot, Sagittarius, and you need a pool! Everybody knows that the most efficient way to cool down in the summer is to purchase a home with a large backyard and then dig it up to put in a giant concrete bowl that you fill with heavily chlorinated water. If that’s not in your budget this summer, Sagittarius, you can get a large ice-cold Sloshee at the Wash-n-Win for just ninety-nine cents! Whichever option you choose, Sagittarius, I think you deserve more than a moment of refreshment today.
CAPRICORN
You know that feeling when you fall asleep while frantically scrawling equations onto the wall of the living room because you’re absolutely certain that you’ve got the answers to all the big problems but then when you wake up and your eyes finally focus, you can tell that it’s all just mathematical nonsense? Well, maybe that’s just me, Capricorn. Still, I just want to remind you that if you notice the things you were so sure about before don’t seem to make sense anymore, don’t be shy about setting those things aside. If you need to start over, there’s always more space on the wall in the den.
AQUARIUS
The guy in front of me in line at the donut shop says “it’s not so much the heat, it’s the humidity.” I guess in some ways he’s right, Aquarius. If it weren’t so humid the air wouldn’t feel so heavy in every breath and the sweat might evaporate off my arms and forehead and cool me down a little bit. And I guess getting specific about our own barriers to contentment is better than the sweeping generalizations we often default to. But remember that if you’re in line at the donut shop you are already getting closer to a moment of relief. So don’t forget to focus on the donuts in your life, Aquarius, as well as the humidity.
PISCES
What if I’m losing my edge, Pisces? I thought I could sit down, consult The Stars, and reason out just what you need in your life, but what if I’m just not that good anymore? I know, it’s strange to spell out my anxieties in the middle of your horoscope, but I think it’s important to be honest about what gets between me and completing a task. It might be the same for you, Pisces, and whatever doubts or fears or distractions you encounter, the important thing right now is that you finish this one. That’s the only way you get to start on the next.
ARIES
In the late 17th century Sir Isaac Newton, working at home in England, discovered calculus. Before that, nobody knew what came after Algebra II. The even more remarkable thing, Aries, is that some time in that same decade in Germany, Gottfried Liebnitz also discovered calculus. And, sure, it’s amazing that they both independently invented the same mathematical field at the same time. But I’m more interested that they were asking the same questions to which calculus was the answer. Whatever questions you're asking lately, somebody else out there has the same ones. Maybe you’ll get to an answer together.
TAURUS
If you’re coming to the cook-out tonight, Taurus, could you pick us up some buns? That’s probably all we still need. Well, buns and maybe some charcoal. I thought I had a bag, but it was empty. Any condiments or chips you’ve got around the house would also be very welcome. And, if it’s not too much trouble, could we just have it at your place, Taurus? This may be your moment to be a host and a hero. Or it may be a good time to practice saying “no.”
GEMINI
The birds really seem to like the big puddle that’s seeping out of the water panel in the front yard. They’ve been splashing around out there all day just cooling off and getting clean. My landlord was less excited about the situation but he’s hoping it’s the water company’s broken valve and not his. I’ve mostly been a neutral party in this debacle, though I do like watching the birds flick water off their wings and shake their little wet heads more than I like watching my landlord scowl at the man from the water company while they debate the source of the leak. Just because there’s a problem Gemini, doesn’t mean you have to be the one to solve it. But do speak up for the birds if you get the chance. Their opinions are so seldom considered.
Mr. Mysterio is not a licensed astrologer, a trained mathematician, or a diagnosed spheksophobe. Listen to the Mr. Mysterio podcast at mrmysterio.com Or just give him a call at 707-VHS-TAN1
The New Christian Year
Selected by Charles Williams
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—but he was arguably the most precocious and well-read of this eminent and intellectually fertile group. He was also known to have influenced Dorothy Sayers, T. S. Eliot and W. H. Auden. Lacking a proper degree unlike his fellow Inklings, this genius Cockney-speaking author, editor, critic, and playwright was eminently well-versed in both philosophical and theological writings of the remote past as of the present day (the mid-20th century) and used this familiarity to good effect in his poetry, supernatural fiction and his lesser-known devotional selections designed for the spiritual benefit of the faithful in the Church of England. 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, beginning with Advent (i.e., December) and ending in November, and reaches far beyond the pale of the philosophical and theological discussions of his day. It was under his hand, for instance, that some of the first translations of Kierkegaard were made available to the wider public. 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
6th Wednesday after Trinity
FOR there is no pride, but that it may be healed through the meekness of God's Son; there is no covetize but that it may be healed through His poverty; no wrath but that it may be healed through His patience: nor malice but that it may be healed through His charity. And moreover there is no sin or wickedness, but that he shall want it and be kept from it, the which beholdeth inwardly and loveth and followeth the words and the deeds of that man in whom God's Son gave Himself to us into example of good living. Wherefore now both men and women and every age and every dignity of this world is stirred to hope of everlasting life.
Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ, (trs. by Nicholas Love).
6th Thursday after Trinity
WHOEVER has admitted this tyranny of pride within suffers this loss first of all, that from the eyes of his heart being closed, he loses the equitableness of judgement. For even all the good doings of others are displeasing to him and the things which he has done, even amiss, alone please him. He always looks down on the doings of others, he always admires his own doings; because whatever he has done he believes he has done with singular skill; and for that which he performs for desire of glory, he favours himself in his thought; and when he thinks he surpasses others in all things, he walks with himself along the broad spaces of his thought and silently utters his own praises.
St Gregory: On the Book of Job
6th Friday after Trinity
HOW many maggots remain in hiding until they have destroyed our virtues. These pests are such evils as self-love, self-esteem, rash judgement of others in small matters, and a want of charity in not loving our neighbour quite as much as ourselves. Although, perforce, we satisfy our obligations to avoid sin, yet we fall far short of what must be done in order to obtain perfect union with the will of God.
St Teresa: The Interior Castle
6th Saturday after Trinity
OTHER sins find their vent in the accomplishment of evil deeds, whereas pride lies in wait for good deeds to destroy them.
St Augustine: Epistle. THE impossible is still temptation. The impossible, the undesirable, voices under sleep, waking a dead world, so that the mind may not be whole in the present.
T. S. Eliot: Murder in the Cathedral
Sixth Sunday after Trinity
THY word remaineth for ever, which word now appeareth unto us in the riddle of the clouds, and through the mirror of the heavens, not as it is: because that even we, though the well beloved of thy
Son, yet it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. He looked through the lattice of our flesh, and he spake us fair, yea, he set us on fire, and we hasten on his scent. But when he shall appear, then shall we be like him, for we shall see him as he is: as he is, Lord, will our sight be, through the time be not yet.
St Augustine: Confessions
7th Monday after Trinity
HOLD fast this short and summary saying—"Leave all, and you shall find all; leave your desires and you shall find rest." Give your mind to this, and when you have put it into practice, you shall understand all things.
Thomas à Kempis: Imitation.
BEING to ourselves what God ought to be to us, He is no more to us than we are to ourselves. This secret identification of ourselves with God carries with it our isolation from Him.
Barth: Epistle to the Romans
7th Tuesday after Trinity
I HAVE a mind to draw a complete character of a worldly-wise man . . . He would be highly-finished, useful, honoured, popular—a man revered by his children his wife, and so forth. To be sure, he must not expect to be beloved by one proto-friend [best friend], and, if there be truth or reason in Christianity, he will go to hell—but, even so, he will doubtless secure himself a most respectable place in the devil's chimney-corner.
Coleridge: Table Talk
7th Wednesday after Trinity
IT is the sign of a reasoning soul when a man sinks his mind within himself and has dealings in his heart. St Seraphim of Sarov.
THE enthusiasm for goodness which shows that it is not the habit of the mind.
Patmore: The Rod, the Root, and the Flower.
7th Thursday after Trinity
ABSOLUTE poverty is thine when thou canst not remember whether anybody has ever owed thee or been indebted to thee for anything; just as all things will be forgotten by thee in the last journey of death.
Tauler: Sermons.
7th Friday after Trinity
I AM no companion for myself, I must not be alone with myself, for I am as apt to take as to give infection; I am a reciprocal plague; passively and actively contagious; I breathe corruption, and breathe it upon myself; and I am the Babylon that I must go out of, or I perish.
Donne: Sermons
7th Saturday after Trinity
LORD, I perceive my soul deeply guilty of envy . . . I had rather thy work were undone than done better by another than by myself! . . . Dispossess me, Lord, of this bad spirit, and turn my envy into holy emulation; . . . yea, make other men's gifts to be mine, by making me thankful to thee for them.
Thomas Fuller: Good Thoughts in Bad Times.
TO thee, O God, we turn for peace . . . but grant us too the blessed assurance that nothing shall deprive us of that peace, neither ourselves, nor our foolish, earthly desires, nor my wild longings, nor the anxious cravings of my heart.
Kierkegaard: Journals
WHAT did He, in loving us, love, but God in us? not who was in us, but so that He might be? Wherefore let each of us love the other, as that by this working of love, we make each other the habitations of God.
St Augustine, quoted in Aquinas: Catena Aurea.
Seventh Sunday after Trinity
IF you have no will but to all goodness, everything you meet, be it what it will, must be forced to be assistant to you. For the wrath of an enemy, the treachery of a friend, and every other evil, only helps the Spirit of Love to be more triumphant to live its own life and find all its own blessings in an higher degree. Whether therefore you consider perfection or happiness, it is all included in the Spirit of Love and must be so, for this reason, because the infinitely perfect and happy God is mere love, an unchangeable will to all goodness; and therefore every creature must be corrupt and unhappy so far as it is led by any other will than the one will to all goodness.
William Law: The Spirit of Love
8th Monday after
Trinity
LOVE and the good life are needful to right belief. Wycliffe: Quicunque Vult
THOU hast not commanded us continency alone, that is, from what things we should refrain our love: but justice also, that is, which way we should bestow that love: and, that it is not thy will to have us love thee only, but our neighbor also.
St Augustine: Confessions
8th Tuesday after Trinity
BEG our Lord to grant you perfect love for your neighbour, and leave the rest to Him. He will give you more than you know how to desire if you constrain yourselves and strive with all your power to gain it, forcing your will as far as possible to comply in all things with your sisters' wishes, although you may sometimes forfeit your own rights by so doing. Forget your self-interests for theirs, however much nature may rebel; when opportunity occurs take some burden upon yourself to ease your neighbour of it.
St Teresa: The Interior Castle
Casserole Carli
WRITTEN BY KEITH D.,
CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR
Every two weeks at The Contributor paper release meeting, a delicious breakfast casserole is served to the vendors, usually by a cheerful smiling staff member. So, here's a little ditty about:
Casserole Carli
Does not ride a Harley But still, she's so gnarly... DUDE!!!
Till This Day
WRITTEN
BY DANIEL
K., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR
We See the light. A beacon breaking through the night. To brighter dawns and better days. Let us forget the past, for the shadow cast.
A flame did spark and a brand new start
Victory Songs in different rhymes Ubuntu Chant. OLE OLE
Every heart needs to be unbound, unchained and forever free.
Forgetting What I Never Had
WRITTEN BY SEAN L,
CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR
It was gone before I got it, lost in the shuffle of time; Opportunity kept a’knocking guess I didn’t hear the chime.
I let it slip away, now, I wonder where it’s been; Yet my confidence still lingers, like a whisper in the wind.
As I walk down familiar streets seeing shadows of the past, the signs had always been there; I must’ve ran too fast.
Forgotten dreams and missed chances, reminders of old days; They’ll always travel with me as I navigate life’s maze.
BY DENNIS T., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR
COMIC
‘The Bikeriders’ power shifts a poetic portrait of men and motorcycles
The Rolling Stones’ Altamont Free Concert in 1969 is often cited as the end of the peace-and-love, flower power dream of the 1960s. The show was anticipated to be a “Woodstock West.” Instead it resulted in widespread property damage, numerous stolen cars, scores of injuries, a drowning in an irrigation canal, two deaths due to hit-and-run accidents and the murder of Meredith Hunter, who was stabbed to death by the Hells Angels motorcycle gang members that were hired as the concert’s security crew. The chaos of the event shed a light on the dark side of the libertine hippie lifestyle, but also on the violent, criminal subculture of motorcycle gangs.
The new film The Bikeriders is based on Danny Lyon’s 1968 photobook of the same name. Lyon rode, partied with, interviewed and photographed motorcycle clubs in the Midwest from 1963 to 1967.
America’s motorcycle subculture was born after World War II when American pilots returned home and organized riding groups when they found it difficult to transition back into domestic peacetime living. Or at least that’s a romantic legend that gangs like the Hells Angels have spread. It’s that myth that Lyon believed in and even managed to capture on film before he saw the camaraderie found in fraternities of free roving men on motorcycles transformed by racism, hard drugs and violence. The Bikeriders film relates the history of the golden age of motorcycle clubs, beginning with working class racing groups and ending in outlaw orders bent on chaos.
The Bikeriders stars Tom Hardy as Johnny Davis, a Chicago trucker and family man who’s inspired to start a motorcycle racing club after seeing Marlon Brando in The Wild One on television.
BY JOE NOLAN, FILM CRITIC
Hardy’s own performance is Brando-esque, playing Johnny as an inarticulate enigma who values loyalty and isn’t above fisticuffs and knife fighting to defend his place as the leader of the Vandals. Benny Cross (Austin Butler) is a younger mem -
ber of the group. He’s quiet and known for his poker face cool. He’s fiercely dedicated to Johnny who sees Benny as his natural successor. Benny meets Kathy Bauer (Jodie Comer) and woos her by parking his motorcycle outside of her red brick
row house and refusing to leave.
In a sense Comer is the star of The Bikeriders — the whole film is framed around Kathy’s interviews with Lyon (Mike Faist). On screen and in voice over, Kathy’s Chicago accent and rapid fire narration are some of the more unforgettable elements of this movie. The Bikeriders doesn’t really have a dramatic plot and Benny’s character is barely a character at all. Instead this picture reads like a documentary — Lyon’s book brought to life and roaring by at 24 frames-per-second. And it mostly works because the acting of the main cast is strong, and they’re supported by greaseball turns from Damon Herriman, Michael Shannon and Norman Reedus. And writer-director Jeff Nichols’ marshaling of costumes, design and — especially — music sets his characters firmly in his thoroughly believable mid-century Midwest.
The Bikeriders is a movie about inarticulate men who express themselves through horsepower and horseplay. It’s a portrait of a silent brotherhood of brooding boomers who find something bigger than jobs and bills and the expectations of polite society in the rush of wheels over roads. In The Wild One , Marlon Brando responds to the question “Johnny, what are you rebelling against?” with the answer “What have you got?” The Bikeriders doesn’t arrive at many answers either. But it’s a ride worth taking.
The Bikeriders is currently in theaters.
Joe Nolan is a critic, columnist and performing singer/ songwriter based in East Nashville. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.
