It’s a warm afternoon at Nashville Launch Pad, and a team of volunteers is working to prepare a brand new community garden behind their Mobile Housing Navigation Center, where a group of unhoused young adults currently live. “This volunteer team is a cool one,” says Corrine Elise, Launch Pad’s Associate Director of Engagement and Administration. “Today we have a staff member, board member, Community Ambassador, AmeriCorps volunteer, community member, and former shelter guest working together.” It’s a perfect illustration of the diverse community that Launch Pad nurtures with the young adults who find shelter, solace, and a sense of belonging there.
Volunteers work together to weed Nashville Launch Pad’s new community garden beds.
Nashville Launch Pad operates out of spaces across town to create a network of temporary, safer, street-free sleeping shelters for unhoused young adults which are open and affirming to LGBTQ+ individuals and their allies. They currently do this in three ways: through an Emergency Shelter program, a Mobile Housing Navigation Center, and an Independent-Supported Living Program.
Their Emergency Shelter runs nightly from November 1 through April 1 and is designed to meet an immediate need for young adults, offering a bed, a shower, and a hot meal. This program is supported by a network of church hosts, with the only requirements to host being that the space must affirm LGBTQ+ individuals, be on a bus route, and include access to a kitchen and showers. All staff and volunteers are trained in trauma-informed care and all work to create a welcoming, secure, and healing environment for guests.
Volunteers serving meals during Emergency Shelter.
“During shelter season, volunteers and guests eat meals together, building community with one another before settling in for the night,” explains Corrine. “We encourage emergency shelter volunteers to not only spend time organizing resources behind the scenes, but to make intentional time to enjoy dinner with guests who come in.”
Nashville Launch Pad is also a Mobile Housing Navigation Center, a federally funded initiative developed by Community Care Fellowship and the Metro Council. Currently, six sites across the city operate as Mobile Housing Navigation Centers, providing up to 20 people each with "immediate stabilization and intensive support services" to help individuals work toward the ultimate goal of obtaining housing.
Volunteers help paint the Mobile Housing Navigation Center last fall to prepare for guests.
Launch Pad’s Mobile Housing Navigation Center has space for 15 young adults to stay for free of charge for 90-120 days while they obtain identification, secure employment, and in some cases, find permanent housing solutions. The program just launched in December, but so far has provided an important temporary solution for folks who have previously utilized Launch Pad’s Emergency Shelter. They also prioritize providing homemade, nourishing meals for their guests. Currently, they are supported not only by The Nashville Food Project — we share between 20-30 meals each week, depending on their need — but also Arnold Myint of International Market.
Arnold Myint of International Market.
“General pressures on any young adult to succeed in society is stressful enough, and I feel that food should not be a daily burden when considering the tools we need to ‘make it in the world,’” says Arnold, who has prepared weekly meals for Launch Pad for several years. “The way I see it, by dedicating a weekly meal for Nashville Launch Pad, the organization can shift their allocation of funds to other fundamental needs so individuals can focus on opportunities to better enrich their lives. Food is my love language and by sharing a meal, I hope the LGBTQ+ youth in this program know that, from a distance, we are cheering them on.”
Some of the guests that Nashville Launch Pad hosts are ready to transition into longer-term housing, living independently in community with other young adults. Launch Pad’s Independent-Supported Living Program, or ISLP, provides the setting for this. The program offers apartment-style accommodations where formerly unhoused young adults can take up to six months to focus on employment, education goals, permanent housing solutions, and more. Guests live among a small group of other adults ranging from ages 18-26, selecting residents based on an interview process when spots become available. This setup is intended to foster community and provide an environment where everyone feels safe and affirmed.
Nashville Launch Pad’s Independent-Supported Living Program provides apartment-style housing.
Nashville Launch Pad supports the young LGBTQ+ population in the city on purpose. Young adults who are part of this demographic are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their heterosexual, cisgender peers. While this is a staggering statistic, Nashville Launch Pad is ensuring that homeless LGBTQ+ youth have an affirming space to sleep now and pathways to stable, long-term housing when they’re ready for it. The difference that makes is immeasurable, and the fact that former shelter guests are spending their Wednesday afternoons volunteering at Launch Pad is certainly a testament to the rich community they cultivate.
“Our work is all about building trust,” says Corrine. “If this can be a place where our guests can find peace, then we’re doing something right.”
There are lots of ways to get involved with Nashville Launch Pad! You can support their Amazon Wishlist, sponsor a “Welcome Home Kit” for guests graduating out of the program and into permanent housing, or volunteer with their new community garden initiative. In addition, Nashville Launch Pad’s annual breakfast, Biscuits for Beds, is coming up on June 1 — right in time to kick off Pride! You can grab tickets here.