Church of Scientology Community News: A Pilgrimage for Jobs, Equity and Fairness

The Nashville Church of Scientology supports the good works of others. Today’s highlight: the upcoming pilgrimage being organized to promote jobs, equity and fairness.

The Pilgrimage for Jobs, Equity, and Fairness intends to bring attention to Nashville’s forgotten and disinherited communities. It is planned for July 21-23 and will be a 2 ½ day walk through distressed communities in Nashville. The pilgrimage is being modeled after Gandhi’s Salt March and the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965.

According to the Facebook page for the event, “the Pilgrimage attempts to draw attention to unemployment and poverty, and the urgent need to do something about these crises.”

Organizers are asking that the Nashville Mayor and Metro Council adopt a county-wide program to require that large developers hire residents from low-income communities to work on publicly-funded projects. The Pilgrimage will highlight the concerns of public housing residents, residents with HIV/AIDS, immigrant workers, labor, youth and other groups.

Those planning to participate will walk 22 miles, documenting anti-poverty programs coordinated by community groups. Some participants will be permanent marchers who will walk the entire route through 12-14 neighborhoods and spend the night in those communities, while other participants are temporary marchers who will only walk part of the route.

Activities will be kicked off with a press conference at Martin Luther King, Jr. Bridge in North Nashville on July 21 at 4pm and will end on July 23 at 4:30pm with another press conference, held at 1 Public Square.

The event is sponsored by the Economic & Equity Development Coalition, the Nonviolent Resistance Movement and Social Justice Committee, the Urban EpiCenter, and the Tennessee NAACP State Labor & Industry Committee.  For more information or to see daily updates of the pilgrimage, visit  movementmatters.com.

Church of Scientology Community News: A Voice is Formed

The Nashville Church of Scientology supports the good works of others. Today’s highlight: a new initiative called A Voice.

A Voice: For the Reduction of Poverty is a new and emerging grassroots alliance of Nashvillians committed to reducing poverty in the community.  According to the website nashvillevoice.org, “Because more than 117,000 of the 635,000 residents of Davidson County live in poverty, we believe that it is both a moral and economic imperative for us to advocate for programs and opportunities that will help lift them out of poverty and place them on a road towards reasonable prosperity.”

According to the 2011 census of Davidson County, the median household income dropped from $50,164 in 2007 to $43,556 in 2011. In 2011, 30.5% of those living in Davidson County under age 18 lived in poverty. The 19.3% poverty rate for all people in Davidson County is higher than the U.S. rate of 15.9% and higher than the Tennessee poverty rate of 18.3%.

A Voice is striving “to create a well-educated and clearly articulated communal voice that speaks loudly to the need for a dramatic reduction in poverty.” It hopes to accomplish its goals by educating people about issues and realities related to poverty and by raising a collective voice to urge elected officials and public-policy makers to provide substantive economic relief for those living in poverty. 

Organizers are asking that more people join the coalition by signing up on the website.

“The reality is that too many among us are struggling just to feed their families, pay their living expenses, and find relief from the high cost of medical care,” according to nashvillevoice.org.

Organizations already actively participating in A Voice include the Martha O’Bryan Center, Nashville Metro Social Services, Room in the Inn, the Interdenominational Ministers Fellowship and others.

For more information about A Voice, visit nashvillevoice.org.

Church of Scientology Community News: Safe Haven Re-Opens Its Doors

The Nashville Church of Scientology supports the good works of others. Today’s highlight: the upcoming grand re-opening of the Safe Haven Family Shelter.

“Family homelessness: It’s not what you think,” are words that pop up, along with ads, on the website for Safe Haven, a shelter-to-housing program in South Nashville. With 28 years experience in changing the field of family homelessness with its proactive programs, Safe Haven will soon double its capacity and spread that help even further.

Safe Haven is planning a Grand Re-Opening for mid-Summer to celebrate the much anticipated expansion project of the shelter on 3^rd Avenue South.  Not even a year after the ground breaking ceremony on October 2, 2012, Safe Haven will be ready to open its recently renovated doors to residents before school is back in session.

“Expanding and renovating will help us keep more families together while ensuring their dignity and empowering them to achieve self-sufficiency,” said Executive Director Joyce Lavery.

Safe Haven houses an average of 38 families, including 57 children, each year. After the renovation, the shelter will be able to serve at least 100 families, including more than 150 children, annually. The program has demonstrated success for nearly three decades, with almost 85 percent of Safe Haven’s residents departing from the shelter with stable employment and secured housing.

Safe Haven is a unique shelter-to-housing program in Middle Tennessee that accepts the entire homeless family. The staff works to keep families together and provide comprehensive services that empower them to achieve lasting self-sufficiency. Safe Haven Family Shelter’s comprehensive approach is one of service and compassion. More information can be found at www.safehaven.org.