In My Place, Episode 2: Housing First

In part two of our housing series, In My Place, we continue our discussion on what cities like Nashville can do to prevent and end homelessness while caring for our neighbors who are still unhoused.

In this series, thanks in part to support from Pinnacle Financial Partners, we talk to national and local guests about everything from best practices to worst failures and hear from people who intimately know the complexities of having nowhere to go. Today’s episode focuses on the Housing First philosophy. What is it? Who does it work for — and not work for?

Today’s guests:

• Jeff Olivet, executive director, United States Interagency Council on Homelessness
• Deirdre Nicole Childress, director of communications, trauma services and case management, Gideon’s Army
• India Pungarcher, advocacy and outreach specialist, Open Table Nashville
• David Langgle-Martin, Chief Housing Officer, Park Center
• Paula Carlson, expert through lived experience, current resident In Park Center’s supportive housing. She says, “When you’re homeless, you lose everything and then you start from scratch one. And you have to decide what to do first. Do I look for a house? Do I need a vehicle — and then come up with the money to do it?”

Further in:

• Overview Episode of In My Place
• Episode 1: Homelessness Facts and Faces
• United States Interagency Council on Homelessness