For Nashville’s unhoused, finding traditional work can range from difficult to impossible. Job options are narrow without a lengthy resume, and working a long shift leaves little time to address survival needs when one is coming home to a tent or car.
In theory, government benefits exist to close the gap and foster upward mobility. But between staggering application wait times, frequent denials, unreliable systems, and program setups that discourage and punish continuous participation, homeless Nashvillians have found that these benefit programs demand a lot in return for meager payouts — if you can get them at all.
Michael Wallace, a vendor for The Contributor, began working on an SSI application nine months ago. In that time he endured an extended bout of homelessness through a winter storm, moved into a new apartment after a monthslong search and attended many, many doctors’ appointments.
Wallace’s health conditions make finding and holding traditional work difficult. The Contributor’s SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery specialists, Ree Cheers and Andrew Terry IV, have helped him build a history of medical records, which are necessary to demonstrate that he needs the income.
And because he hadn’t been to the doctor for as long as he could remember, they were starting from square one.
“It’s been awhile since I went to the doctor, it’s been years,” said Wallace. “Sometimes it is [frustrating], you don’t know what the doctors are gonna do … it can be a hassle if you want to do something that day, say you have to be at the doctor at 1, but you want to do something, you gotta forget that. When I moved into [my apartment], I missed an appointment … telling me [the results of] a CT scan.”
The work Wallace can do, selling The Contributor, demands a lot of time investment and still takes a toll on him physically, he said. The frequent doctor visits cut into his selling time. Co-pays and bus fares cut into the money he’s able to make.
And despite all the work, disability income simply isn’t enough.
Wallace expects that if he is approved for SSI within the coming weeks, his routine will stay largely the same. His income-based rent will balloon in response, and his food stamps will be reduced; while his finances will be more stable and flexible, the money won’t necessarily transform his day-to-day life.
“I’m still gonna be the same. I’m still gonna do my normal functions.”
Cynthia Pritchard, also a vendor for The Contributor, emphasized this point. She’s also waiting for a decision to be made on her SSI case — and while she’s hopeful for an approval, one step forward in a particular program can feel like two steps back in other areas.
“What are they gonna do after I get my disability? They’re gonna cut me way off low on the food stamps, and I’m still gonna have bills, and I’m still gonna have to pay rent and my light bill. Then how am I supposed to buy groceries for myself,” she said. “It’s hard. Anyone going through it without [an agency] helping, it’s stressful … I try not to deal with it, because I do have anxiety issues.”
Pritchard said it feels as though government assistance programs are so complex, meager, and sluggish in an attempt to deter people from bothering to apply. The onus of showing assistance is necessary is placed on those asking for it, rather than on the agencies providing it.
“It was even harder trying to get food stamps as a young woman trying to take care of my kids,” she said. “It was a song and a dance. It’s like, when you go up there to apply for it, their attitude is, they don’t think you need it and they don’t want to give it to you. It’s like any other government business.”
Under current laws, SNAP recipients who are considered able-bodied are only eligible for more than three months of assistance if they work 80 hours a month. If one is mistakenly marked as able-bodied, they’ll have to provide documentation arguing their case; potentially meaning more time spent on doctors’ appointments and multi-hour waits that, if one is homeless, could be spent on finding a safe place to sleep or finding a way to get dinner for the night.
Bobby Duke, another Contributor vendor, said the heaps of paperwork and processes make tackling these things alone seem impossible.
“My experience is just stressful. I signed up for [assistance applying for disability income], probably goin’ on two years now, I ain’t heard nothing. You can imagine how I feel,” he said. “I just got all my COPD and stuff confirmed. That’s supposed to be enough to get it … so far, I haven’t heard nothin’ on it. And food stamps, I was out of food stamps almost five months, I just got them back this month. Today’s a real bad day, I feel horrible. An hour, two hours max I can work out there. And you’re steady running to the doctor back and forth.”
Duke said he wouldn’t be able to fill out an application on his own, and that the whole process was confusing from the outset.
“I don’t know where to start. I see it online, some people could .. but I had to have help,” he said.
Agency assistance is a necessity for a lot of homeless individuals trying to work within the system; as Pritchard put it, many of those who become homeless do so because they tried to be compatible with society and it didn’t suit their needs.
This sentiment was echoed by Sandra Mooney, consumer engagement coordinator for the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. Mooney said numerous barriers prevent services like SNAP, SSI/SSDI and TennCare from being accessible, whether that’s money needed to secure identity-verifying documents, computer access needed to apply and quickly follow up on communications, or a lack of education or motivation which renders the task of applying simply too daunting.
“To even have internet capability — and this is strictly opinionated here — I don’t know if that’s always factored in with the electronic systems, or how to connect to these portals, because it requires internet or WiFi capabilities. That is a huge barrier for a lot of our homeless or unhoused individuals throughout Tennessee. Some of those systems, they time out. If you’re not logged in, or answer within a certain amount of time, you have to start over,” Mooney said.
These barriers take up more than just time, Mooney said. They can drain a person’s motivation and pull focus from their survival needs.
“When you have individuals who are homeless due to transitioning for domestic violence purposes or safety, spending that time in front of a computer and the system’s shutting down, it really requires the support of an individual helping. You’re really trying to keep that individual calm, you’re trying to help that individual focus on that day. It’s a major barrier … it’s not always person-centered or client-friendly. The language is not user-friendly to a lot of the population as well.”
The maximum monthly payout on SSI, currently $943 for an individual, is not a livable amount of money — especially not in this city. While gentrification and gluttonous development have made Nashville a hostile environment to renters in general, finding stable living with just an SSI check can take even more waiting and assistance than getting that check in the first place.
Nashville’s median rent in 2024 is $2,285, according to Zillow.com. Since SSI’s maximum individual payout doesn’t even scratch the lower end of that spectrum, anyone living alone on a disability check or less needs income-based housing or a housing choice voucher to make their rent affordable. Waiting on a voucher can take months to years — if the waitlist is open — and income-based housing can only be applied for in narrow windows where there are openings. Once you do finally come up on an apartment’s waitlist, you will need extensive documentation verifying your identity, citizenship, and income to apply for a room; and sometimes, only a week or less to secure it.
If you need wheelchair accessibility, your options are fewer. If you are on the sex offender registry, your options are fewer. If you have a felony on your record, your options are fewer. And with a limited number of income-based apartments in the city, more people dependent on SSI means fewer beds to go around.
Homelessness leaves Nashvillians dependent on services to get back on their feet, and the limitations and deficiencies of these systems don’t foster the independence that might prevent them from needing help. They stake a person’s right to food, safety and shelter on their ability and willingness to work. Rather than assist first and assess whether it’s necessary later, these systems put the burden on those suffering to prove they deserve their rights.
The common thread between applying for any sort of government assistance is a deluge of paperwork and a long wait. A lot can happen in the months and years it takes to secure assistance, whether housing, disability income, or food stamps.
One hundred and eighty one people died living on this city’s streets in 2023. How many of them were waiting to have their survival needs met? How many in-progress applications have crawled to a decision after their deaths? For those who have a little luck and the time to wait, these programs can be enough to stabilize their situations. For those who don’t, they offer too little, too late.