Thank you for joining us at the table in 2024

A letter from OTN's Executive Director Allie Wallace.

Dear Friends,

As we near the end of our 14th year as an organization, our team has been reflecting on all the places this last year has taken us. We’ve been in encampments building relationships, distributing supplies, and connecting individuals to needed services and resources. We’ve been present at lease signings for our friends moving into housing and the all too exciting moment of someone being handed keys to their very own place. We’ve spent countless hours at the DMV and social security office. We’ve spoken on panels and webinars, canvassed the nooks and crannies of downtown on Nashville’s coldest nights, and chanted at a rally on the steps of the Supreme Court in D.C. We’ve been to these places and more because of our commitment to journey alongside our friends experiencing homelessness. 

One of those friends, Jacque, was housed in February of this year. Jacque said that after having to roll up her sleeping bag for years, she was thrilled to wake up and be able to make her own bed. A simple task many of us bemoan or don’t even bother with, Jacque was thrilled to begin her day this way. Another friend, Brian, now works catering jobs around town since receiving his ServSafe Food Handling Certification. We first housed Brian back in 2017 and continue to support him to this day.

I share these things with you because you are a part of our friends’ journeys. When you give to our organization, you are choosing to be a part of a mission that provides housing, healing, and hope to some of the most vulnerable individuals in our city. You are choosing compassion and care over cruelty and callousness. You are making a tangible difference in someone’s journey to housing and stability. We could not go to all of the places we’ve been this year without your support.

Our team has experienced difficult moments this year. We continue to bear witness to the inhumane conditions our friends are forced to live in for the lack of affordable housing. We lost incredible members of our team this summer because the funding just wasn't there. We stood in solidarity with our friends at Old Tent City and watched years of creativity, hard work, and craftsmanship be bulldozed and dismantled in a matter of hours.

But despite what has been one of our most difficult years, we have never been more committed to our work alongside those experiencing homelessness. Regardless of one’s feelings on the outcome of this year’s election, there will be legislation and policies at the federal level that have the potential to impact our ability to provide the services, support, and resources our friends need. We are staying informed and preparing for whatever may come.

I’ve been reminding myself of the roots of our name, and it is what will guide us in this next year. When others want to dehumanize and exclude, we step in and say you are welcome here; you are safe at this table. In a world that seems to be building increasingly smaller tables, we invite you to our open table. We invite you to take a stand for dignity and inclusion. We already have a chair waiting for you.

We invite you to join in on our mission by making a gift to the work of this organization. I write this letter with a profound sense of appreciation for the community of people that continue to sustain our work. It would not be possible without you.

With Gratitude,

Allie Wallace

Executive Director