An investigation into Nashville's unregulated approach to homelessness that has no definition and isn't working
Independent Investigative Journalist • Nashville Scene's Best Metro Watchdog 2025 • Former Nashville Mayor's Office Employee
That's the question I'm realizing I should be asking. The term appears nowhere in federal housing policy. No HUD guidance defines it. No academic literature references it. No other city in America uses it.
Yet Metro Nashville budgeted $2.4 million to expand it.
Where will this taxpayer money go?
Federal Standard
Metro Nashville's Approach
One system has federal oversight and documented accountability. The other has a $2.4M budget and no definition.
What I've found instead: families moved between private properties with promises that fell apart. Payments made outside established oversight. A pattern emerging from financial records that raises more questions than answers.
Access all documents, financial records, and updates as this investigation unfolds in real time.
Why did the Office of Homeless Services pay nearly $100,000 to an affordable housing provider over one year while that same provider filed eviction proceedings against 33 tenants?
What happens when families are placed in housing under a program with no federal definition and no coordinated entry requirements?
How does a "non-traditional" approach operate outside the systems designed to track and protect vulnerable populations?
Where will $2.4 million in taxpayer funding go?
What happens to families when the funding runs out or priorities change?
Who will track outcomes for the 100 families the mayor's budget plans to serve?