Do You Love to Make Good Things Happen?
We're looking for an experienced apartment turnover coordinator. You must have impeccable organizational skills, a great eye for detail (we wouldn't want an inspector to catch something you missed), and the ability to communicate clearly and professionally. In addition to inspecting apartments, coordinating contrators and supply deliveries, you will be responsible for keeping our databases current so that our leasing team can coordinate move-ins. If you're interested, please check out the job description and, if you think you meet the qualifications, we hope you'll complete our online employment application. We are an equal opportunity employer and operate a drug-free workplace. Please--no phone calls or e-mails. We will contact the most qualified applicants for interviews.
Nashville Registry Week
Tuesday, May 28 through Tuesday, June 4 marks Nashville Registry Week--a time when volunteers will comb the streets in the early morning hours to interview homeless individuals and assess how medically vulnerable they are. Using this information, the community will prioritize housing placements with the most vulnerable being housed first. This initiative, launched by the Metropolitan Homelessness Commission and drawing from the 100k Homes Campaign, is the first of many steps toward ending chronic homelessness in Nashville. A public briefing will be held on Tuesday, June 4 at 10:30 a.m. at the Downtown Library to launch the How's Nashville campaign and discuss the registry week findings. We hope to see you there!
Women's Health Week November 12 - 17
The Clinic at Mercury Courts, located at 411 Murfreesboro Pike, will be celebrating Women's Health Week in 2012 by providing free well woman exams and $25 pap tests. Appointments are required, and cash or checks are accepted. Please call 615-259-5124 today! Everyone is welcome, and we hope to see you there!
Nashville's Urban Housing Solutions Awarded Bank of America Grant
Supports affordable housing for people in need, stabilizes communitiesNASHVILLE – Urban Housing Solutions (UHS) of Nashville has received a grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to help fund affordable, permanent housing and related services for people in need.
"Urban Housing Solutions was selected as a 2012 grant recipient because of its commitment to providing affordable housing in our community," said John Stein, Bank of America Tennessee president. "The UHS grant is part of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation's national initiative to support nonprofits whose mission is to build and rehab affordable housing and provide other services intended to revitalize neighborhoods."
UHS owns and operates 26 properties with 880 apartments in the Nashville area. Residents include those who were homeless, the mentally ill and physically disabled, individuals living with HIV/AIDS, people in recovery from drug and alcohol addiction, and other low-income individuals and families who simply need an affordable place to live.
Among additional services are those offered in a newly opened medical clinic at UHS’ Mercury Courts apartment community. The clinic is operated by the Vanderbilt School of Nursing.
"Because our residents often need more than housing to succeed, we provide them with comprehensive services and programs," said Rusty Lawrence, UHS’ Executive Director. "We are very grateful to Bank of America for providing these funds. Last year's grant was used to build out space at our former headquarters to house a medical clinic to provide primary care – a badly needed service for the people who live in UHS apartments."
The Nashville grants are part of a recently announced $22 million in Bank of America housing-related grants that will impact low- and moderate-income communities in 34 states.
In addition to housing non-profit grants, the bank also provides support to our communities through its Workforce Development and Critical Needs programs. Local Nashville Workforce Development grants have been awarded and Critical Needs grant process opened last week.
Supporting housing nonprofits is one component of Bank of America’s community focus on housing, jobs and hunger – three areas that are critical to stimulating the national economic recovery. Bank of America recently issued a request for proposals for nonprofits providing education, job training and workforce success programs and will issue a similar request related to critical needs, including hunger later this year. The company continues to focus on low- and moderate-income communities that have been hardest hit in the economic downturn.
In Memory of Deborah Holland
Our property manager, Deborah Holland, passed away on Thursday, January 19. She began her career with Urban Housing Solutions in 2001 when we bought the Budget Lodge where she worked. In addition to property management, Deborah also made sure our leasing office was decorated for the holidays year-round, baked and decorated amazing cakes (she made one for the resident Christmas party that was complete with Santa and his reindeer), and shared the preserves she canned at the end of every summer. Her office, which she shared with her husband, was a testimony to her green thumb--an entire wall was nearly covered with plants--and we don't mean the artificial ones! Our staff, our contractors, and our residents will miss her sweet spirit for years to come. Her memorial service was held on Wednesday, February 1 at 1:00 p.m. at Trevecca Community Church. You may download the slide show by clicking here.Breaking New Ground in Chestnut Hill
On October 11, the UHS project development team was joined by students and faculty from Tennessee State University, representatives from MDHA, The Housing Fund, the Trimble Action Group, and the Metro Police Department to celebrate the official groundbreaking of 1219 1st Avenue South, a unique redevelopment project spearheaded by UHS and designed in conjunction with TSU students and faculty.
Funded through Housing 4 Nashville’s Neighborhoods (housing4nashville.com), this project reinvents the typical fourplex apartment by maximizing the building’s aesthetic appeal while minimizing its environmental impact. The smart design is based on a winning submission from a team of TSU architecture students. The 1219 1st Avenue South project is actually part of a larger revitalization strategy in Chestnut Hill that involves several community partners and will bring both acquisition and rehab of existing apartment buildings and new construction to vacant infill properties. In all, this collective effort will invest over $8 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in the neighborhood and will create or improve over 130 apartments and townhomes. Look for more photos from the groundbreaking on our Facebook page!
Want to Donate Your Car to a Great Cause?
Urban Housing Solutions is now accepting vehicle donations! On average, over 70% of the sales value will be returned to further our mission--providing affordable rental housing and supportive services to low-income residents of the Nashville area. The vehicle doesn't have to be running, and you don't have to pay for the tow! If you're ready to make your donation, just visit our vehicle donation page or call toll-free at 1-866-322-1778.
148 New Places to Call Home
After months of negotiations and careful planning, we signed the closing papers on Neely Meadows on January 13, 2010! Neely Meadows, located at 600 Cheyenne Blvd. in Madison, was under receivership. Thanks to a $3.2 million stimulus grant from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency and a low-interest loan from Pinnacle Financial Partners, we were able to bring the property out of receivership and take our total number of affordable apartments to over 750! Neely Meadows features spacious one- and two-bedroom apartments, a pool, and washer/dryer connections in all units. Please call (615) 726-2696, ext. 110, 118, or 133 to set up your application appointment for one of these great apartments! The rent is just $475 for the one-bedroom units and $575 for the two-bedroom units.
John Overton H.S. Students Pay a Visit
Students from John Overton High School's Leadership Class visited our Mercury Courts residents on October 8th. They brought food and spent the afternoon with our residents--learning more about what it was like for them to be homeless, touring one of our vacant apartments, and even being visited by one resident's new puppy.
Trevecca Filled the Pantry!
Trevecca Nazarene University's Physician Assistant Program has been working with our Health Matters Program since 2008. This year, faculty challenged each of these 40 students to collect 50 pounds of canned goods in exchange for dinner at the university president's house. They collected over 4,000 pounds of food--more than double their goal! Thanks to Trevecca, we've been able to fully stock our main pantry, as well as provide over 100 food boxes to residents in need. Thank you!Access, Adherence, and Advocacy--Keywords for June 18th Health Disparities Conference
Nearly 60 Nashville stakeholders joined forces at the Downtown Library to discuss the current state of healthcare for the poor and what can be done to improve it locally. The conference featured:
- A moving and inspiring keynote address by Erie Chapman, CEO of the Baptist Healing Trust and author of Radical Loving Care
- A panel discussion including:
- Mary Bufwack, CEO of United Neighborhood Health Services
- Ronda Switzer, Executive Director of Interfaith Dental Clinic
- Sean Muldoon, Director of Client Services at Nashville CARES
- Luvenia Butler, Director of the Tennessee Division of Minority Health and Health Disparities Elimination , Tennessee Department of Health
- discussion groups for substance abuse, chronic diseases/HIV/AIDS, mental and behavioral health, and primary health care
If you're interested in joining e-mail work groups for substance abuse, chronic diseases (including HIV/AIDS), mental and behavioral health, and/or primary health care, please call or e-mail Traci Patton, UHS Health Advocate at 726-2696, ext. 142 or . The conference was sponsored by the Baptist Healing Trust and the Human Rights Commission. And, as we heard from Erie Chapman, "Namaste" (the light in me greets the light in you).