3 minute read
VENDOR WRITING
The Next Step
BY VICKY B.
It feels right to take the next step after being approved for disability and the plus of having health insurance. It really feels like nothing can go wrong. But we all know it will. It’s Murphy’s Law. Lately I’ve been thinking about Hermitage and the people and friends I’ve missed since living in Nashville. I’m scared and afraid of getting in over my head, but my need to be back home in Hermitage is so much greater. With a monthly income, I would qualify for a different type of affordable housing in private run apartments than I do in MDHA housing. It would be on a sliding scale, but you have to show the ability to pay your utilities each month. I can finally do that. I can finally go home to Hermitage. I like Nashville and it’s housing and I love my apartment, but they are not my people. Their behaviors are different. I was embarrassed when I got back from shopping with a friend and she had to witness the hate and vile words being shouted at me in the lobby on a weekly basis. Yes, it’s time. If not for my health, for my dog Faith and my self’s mental well-being. I absolutely love my apartment. It's perfect for me and Faith. It’s a safe place that we’ve made into our own home. But I hate where I live. The sirens running up and down 28th Ave N all night long waking me from my sleep, stirring up faith as well. Nightly “pops” ring out consecutively then car tires start to race off. It’s not shocking anymore where one would run to the window to see what’s going on, it’s no surprise anymore and that breaks my heart. It’s time to go. I will keep searching and hoping that landlords check out the new incentives for landlords where they can finally feel safe and secure renting to a person through a government voucher. If you haven’t done so, please check out www.lowbarrierhousingcollective.org to find out how landlords can rent secure and confidently to homeless and poor people. If you know a landlord, please pass this on. No, we’re not looking for landlords to solve the homeless situation, we’re looking for a step up with confidence. I remember a landlord once that said he’d never take Section 8 vouchers because, “[he'd] had enough of the government telling him what to do.” OK, I get that. When you get tired of seeing that person asking for change at the corner, know that you can help that. You can be the stepping stone that person needs and you have what that person needs, housing.
FROM THE BOOKSHELF
Jen A. Recommends
Dying of Whiteness by Jonathan M. Metzl
I discovered this gem in an excerpt from Isabel Wilkerson's, Caste. Dr. Metzl (of Vanderbilt University) details the stark statistics behind what's killing white people in America. He explains how the abolishment of gun laws in Missouri, the failure to implement the Affordable Care Act in Tennessee, and drastic tax cuts in Kansas have led to great peril for their citizenry. (Here in Tennessee, the governor and legislature continue to dial up the misery for Tennesseans by refusing to implement the ACA and by loosening gun regulations this past year to make it easier to die an unnecessary, violent death in the state.) In Dying of Whiteness, Metzl explains how we are constantly manipulated and hoodwinked by our "leaders" with "them versus us" rhetoric to make bad choices. Though the text is a little heavy on charts and graphs, as well as focus-group speak, it's an interesting examination into why so many white folks make decisions out of prejudice and irrational fear that betrays their own self interest.
