To work with people from all walks of life to provide the shelter, food, education and support necessary to assist homeless families in the Nashville area to become self-sufficient.

History

St. Patrick's was founded in 1984 by a group of 40 churches to address the increasing need for emergency shelter for homeless families in the Nashville community. The shelter was originally housed at St. Patrick's Catholic Church and moved to the current facility in 1991.

Program Highlights

St. Patrick's is the only 24-hour shelter in Nashville where homeless families can stay together. In the current facility on 3rd Avenue South, St. Patrick's can accommodate five families at a time. The qualifications to be accepted are simple, candidates must:

· Be a family unit, consisting of one or two parents and at least one minor child;

· Be drug and alcohol free;

· Be in an emergency situation;

· Have never resided at St. Patrick's before;

· Be willing to accept certain responsibilities at the shelter and abide by the house rules.

Each family is provided a private room with a double bed for the parents and bunk beds for the children. The shower and bathroom facilities are shared, as are the laundry room, common living room and dining area. The basic needs of residents are met, and they have access to any lacking necessities, such as baby food and formula, clothing and toiletries.

While living at St. Patrick's, adult residents that are not caring for infant children are required to look for employment (with the assistance of the staff) and to save 75% of their income to apply toward personal indebtedness and to begin the transition to independent living.

The average length of stay at St. Patrick's is 45 days.

St. Patrick's emphasizes the importance of the family unit to the residents and provides various training and counseling programs. Programs include training in the family budgeting, educational tutoring, assistance in locating permanent housing and life skills counseling. The common goal is to empower the residents to leave the facility and to maintain independence.

Last year St. Patrick's helped 189 individuals through their time of crisis.

The Organization

The Board of Directors is comprised of 13 leaders from the Nashville community who support and lead the functions of the shelter through a variety of committees.

The Shelter Programs are run by Executive Director, Sam Hollis, a Volunteer Coordinator and a group of over 300 dedicated volunteers.

St. Patrick's is run on a very lean operating budget (approximately $125,00 per year) and relies prodominantly on gifts from corporations, churches and individuals in the community.