Vine Street Christian Church is committed to serving the Nashville community. For decades, we have been in ministry partnership with Room in the Inn, and for many years with organizations like Open Table Nashville, Luke 14:12, Westminster Home Connection and others, supporting them through community ministry grants as well as through hands-on volunteer work. In 1985, visionary Vine Street leaders launched what is known today as Insight Counseling Centers, bringing to fruition our dream of providing spiritually informed and psychologically sound counseling to Nashville residents of all income levels.
We are happy to continue this rich tradition of community ministry with a grant of $44,214 from the Hallie Warner Fund to support a new initiative to create a Financial Empowerment Network with personalized services for older adults in Davidson County. Recipients of the grant are AgeWell Middle Tennessee and United Way of Greater Nashville, who will use it to fund a six-month planning process, starting in January, that includes a series of focus groups with older adults, convening community nonprofits, faith communities and volunteers who serve older adults, and developing a collaborative network to provide individual financial empowerment counseling, along with benefits enrollment assistance and community resource navigation.
“Economic insecurity among older adults is a huge issue throughout our cities and nation, and while there are some sector-specific efforts, such as affordable housing and transportation, there have been very few, if any, local efforts to look more holistically at economic security. We want to create a better way to work alongside low- and middle-income older adults to help improve their financial stability,” said Grace Sutherland Smith, executive director of AgeWell Middle Tennessee.
“Too many seniors in our communities are living on fixed incomes and struggle to make ends meet with rising costs of living,” said Brian Hassett, president and CEO of United Way of Greater Nashville. “We’re honored to partner with AgeWell and Vine Street Christian Church to relieve some of that burden on older adults in our neighborhoods and to ensure that they remain supported, independent and thriving.”
We know that Hallie Warner, the fund’s original donor, would be very pleased with this collaboration between AgeWell and United Way to develop a coordinated program that responds to a great need facing older adults in our community. Her will stipulated that her gift be spent to aid “the needy elderly in our community.”
“We speak with older adults daily who are faced with economic insecurity and don’t have enough money to meet their everyday needs,” said Smith. “They need more affordable housing, or they need help with food assistance or need in-home care and cannot afford it. Building upon United Way’s successful Financial Empowerment Center model, bringing together agencies that help with benefit enrollment, and planning with older adults, we want to provide a welcoming and dignified solution for those who are struggling financially.”
We are excited about this initiative and grateful for the opportunity to help launch it. We will keep you informed about opportunities to participate in focus groups, and about the project’s development in 2023.