On Jan. 14, Middle Tennessee was struck by a rare class of cold snap, leaving roads frozen over and burying Nashville in over nine inches of snow. Flurries, sleet and temperatures hovering around zero kept most Nashvilliains inside their homes for the better part of the week.
Contributor vendor Cynthia Pritchard was far from her new apartment, though — she took refuge in the Village at Glencliff’s respite care offices, volunteering to stay onsite and ensure its residents were taken care of during the storm.
“It was a week and two days I was there, it was just so I could make sure none of the pipes in the house froze up,” Pritchard said. “I stayed with the two [residents] that were staying there, to make sure that they didn’t turn the water off all the way, in case of emergency to call an ambulance, and to make sure that they had food and everything.”
Pritchard said it was “[her] way of giving back” to an organization that helped her when she needed shelter.
“To me, it wasn’t nothing special … it was just helping out people that were froze in.”
This sort of individual care was the backbone of a citywide response to the harsh conditions, as volunteers, nonprofit workers and Metro staffers pulled long hours and took to icy roads to keep Nashville’s various shelters operational.
Harriet Wallace, Metro Social Services’ communications director, said that the city’s overflow shelter locations never hit full capacity or had to reject anyone in need of a roof overhead as the weather passed — even if it took opening a second location and staying open for over a continuous week of 24-hour days.
“There’s always been a plan in place for opening additional shelter sites as needed. When the primary shelters — Room in the Inn and the Rescue Mission — started to fill a lot of their beds, and when the overflow shelter started to feel the impact of people needing to come in from the cold, we did need to utilize that,” Wallace said.
“That’s the important part of planning … that you anticipate any needs that may arise and you plan accordingly. That’s what we did as a city,” she said. “There was no strain, there was no stress, there was no pivot, there was no ‘uh-oh, we didn’t anticipate this, let’s figure this out as we go,’ it really was, ‘let’s just do it and go.’”
“Was it easy? Of course not, that is a lot to take on, especially for the social services staff … [having to] stay for eight or nine days straight in the shelter, not knowing if their pipes burst, not being able to walk their dogs or feed them, not even take a shower or sleep in their own bed.”
Cold Patrols, made up of OHS employees and partner outreach teams, sought out people without shelter during the cold snap. Nashville’s Office of Emergency Management helped move in additional beds and blankets as numbers started to peak. Collaboration from WeGo and Nashville Mobility Solutions allowed for free transportation to the shelters that best suited their needs, and collaboration from the nonprofit SAFPAW ensured that guests at the overflow shelter did not have to fully separate from their pets.
“Was it a lot? Absolutely. But we were prepared for it,” Wallace said. “And everyone is OK, everyone was safe; even their fur babies.”
Nonprofit shelters like Room In The Inn and Safe Haven Family Shelter also remained active all week, implementing all-hands-on-deck strategies and taking the opportunity to enjoy the cold weather.
Jennifer Reason, chief operating officer for Safe Haven, echoed Wallace’s sentiments that preparedness was essential to providing necessary coverage. But with the volatile and persistent conditions, various shelter advocates and members of the leadership team were clocking in and out all hours of the day to keep the shelter staffed, she said.
“All of our families are fine, but we have to be able to staff [our on-site shelter]. So that’s been the hardest part, is staff being able to relieve each other of shifts and get home and sleep, and get back with all the weather conditions,” she said. “We’ve planned ahead of time for meals, we even got sleds ahead of time to make sure our families had access to fun, but it’s the staffing piece of it that’s been the hardest.”
While staffing plans were made ahead of time just the same, the sheer volume of ice and snow made certain contingencies untenable as travel went from cumbersome to dangerous.
“I think we got quite a bit more snow than what we anticipated,” said Reason. “Some of those people who had been very confident that they could make it in for their shift, when the time came, they really weren’t.”
Melanie Ober, Room In The Inn’s community development director, agreed that the week was a blend of careful preparation, collaboration and long shifts.
“The biggest thing is just planning for the worst and praying for the best case scenario, you know. Nashville doesn’t have the infrastructure to handle clearing the back roads and all those kinds of things,” she said. “We know that some of our partnering congregations and volunteers who live outside of the city may have challenges in getting in. We planned that they would have to cancel or may not be able to make it. Our managers and leadership just sat down and planned out the different days.”
They also made sure to remain consistent with their typical fare of services and make time for art classes, board games, movies and other recreation to help pass the snow days.
“In a weather event like this, you don’t want to induce more chaos,” Ober said. “That’s what our community deserves. They’re already in crisis, they’re unhoused. They’re looking to stay warm and safe and have overnight shelter. That’s kind of our goal — not just provide a safe space, but to provide those engagement opportunities throughout the day.”
“For a group of people who are already experiencing trauma, the chaos is their norm. The chaos of the streets. Anything we can do to bring relief … we want to make sure they have opportunities if they choose.”
Ober noted that despite the opportunities for togetherness, so many organizations working so intensely to meet the needs of Middle Tennessee’s homeless community is not reflective of a contented, flourishing Nashville. A lack of affordable housing stock and supportive services for those recovering from chronic homelessness make this labor necessary. In addition to shelter solutions, other volunteers were spanned out across the city on their own missions to get the folks still outside living in encampments propane and necessary supplies to stay alive.
Any successes in sheltering folks amid the cold snap are to be commended, but the affected people deserve permanent homes — not fleeting shelter.
“None of this is happy,” she said. “I think that’s the thing that is hard. At Room In The Inn especially, we really believe that people deserve better. They deserve better than to have to sleep outside in a tent or on a park bench, or to pile into a huge room with lots of bunk beds.”
“That is safety and we are doing our best, and that’s what our partners are doing as well, but we want them to be in housing. We want them to have that stability and that community. This is not the endgame. Our priority right now is safety, but we believe in and are working towards better for them.”