Judith Tackett

Geese or big ducks?

A high percentage of rural Tennesseans use SNAP, as funding set to dry up • Tennessee Lookout The sudden end of SNAP funds will be felt across Tennessee but many rural counties have the highest participation rates in the food program.

1 in 5 rural Tenneseans in many counties receive food stamps.

America, the country of plenty, will allow its people to go hungry.
The shutdown is the result of the fact that the elected officials are incapable of governing. Maybe it's time to vote for those who can govern.

Opinion | In Trump’s America, Are We Losing Our Democracy? Donald Trump has wielded power as no previous president has.

Are We Losing Our Democracy? www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Thank you, @areaderlymom.bsky.social for a Halloween newsletter chock-full of news.

If you're not following the newsletters of @citycastnash.bsky.social , @tennesseelookout.com, @nashvillebanner.bsky.social, and #AxiosNashville yet, sign up!

Great summaries to keep you informed about local news.

Happy Furball Friday!

It may be Halloween, but Furball Friday beats any holiday in my book.

Today it's handstanding Bear. So cute!

Thank you, @citycastnash.bsky.social and Happy Halloween everyone!

OHS' made some questionable points in its statement about the @nashvillescene.com article. Since when does a nonprofit have the power to tell Metro what to do with city-managed funding? In essence, it's still OHS that decided who gets housed through Metro's own shadow system.

Office of Homeless Services Under Scrutiny, Ethics Hearing, and Crosswalk Controversy Podcast Episode · City Cast Nashville · 10/31/2025 · 33m

T'was a full week of great @citycastnash.bsky.social podcasts. Here is another great one to end the week. Happy Halloween!

Unfortunately, OHS $s ought to utilize a community prioritization process they manage, and even their statement at the end shows how nontransparent they are with public funds.

Peanut, a ginger and grey lop rabbit is sat on concrete. He is sniffing intently with his head tilted up slightly.

No thoughts here, only floof.

Remember: The richest 1% evade over $160 billion in taxes every year.

That amount would fund SNAP for a year with money to spare.

Ask yourself who the real freeloaders are.

Department of Children's Services faces sharp questions about kids continuing to sleep in offices • Tennessee Lookout Children continue to be housed in Tennessee state office buildings, Department of Children’s Services Margie Quin chief acknowledged.

It's been more than four years since @anitawadhwani.bsky.social first reported children in Tennessee Department of Children's Services were forced to sleep on the floors of state office buildings. Commissioner Margie Quin told lawmakers Tuesday it's still going on.

Cost to fund SNAP and keep 42 million people from starving:

$100 billion

Cost of lost revenue due to tax cuts for the richest Americans in the top 1%:

$100 billion

One is decried as "welfare." One is not.

Why?

In Utah, Trump’s Vision for Homelessness Begins to Take Shape

In Utah, Trump’s Vision for Homelessness Begins to Take Shape www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/u...

Sometimes we have to step out of our comfort zone & become truth tellers.

In that role, I still see the many good things that happen: The collaborations that move forward "in spite of." The help many people receive, even when others are let down.

Let's build strong community. Together.

Woodbine's burrito brigade: A lifeline for the homeless - Nashville Banner A group of volunteers in Woodbine, Nashville distribute burritos and supplies to people living on the streets, building relationships along the way.

Follow along on an emotional journey that shines a light on our city's invisible and unseen communities.

Thank you, @nashvillebanner.bsky.social

Lollipops, Burritos and Narcan: How a Small Group of Neighbors Fights Hunger and Homelessness in Woodbine nashvillebanner.com/2025/10/28/b...

U.S. Child Poverty Triples to 13%, Casey Foundation Reports U.S. child poverty nearly tripled to 13% in 2024, a new Annie E. Casey Foundation report finds, showing public policies can cut the rate by half.

Child poverty has nearly tripled since the expiration of the pandemic reliefs. And without supportive policies, the current child poverty rate would nearly double.
From the article below:
"Among chil­dren liv­ing in pover­ty, 61%, or 5.9 mil­lion, lived with at least one employed par­ent in 2024."

This is deeply disturbing.
There is no such thing as non-traditional rapid rehousing. It clearly is a fabricated program to do with hundreds of thousands of $s as she pleases.
And for a Metro director to "discourage public discussion" of a publicly funded program raises all sorts of red flags.

Trump is refusing to use contingency funds to fund SNAP — even though his own administration’s guidance said he had the legal authority to do so.

But he’ll find a way to bail out Argentina, conduct extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean, and build a vanity ballroom.

Priorities.

In My Place Archives In My Place educates listeners on what cities like Nashville can do to prevent and end homelessness — while caring for our neighbors who are still unhoused. We talk to guests about everything from bes...

After spending the last nine months following people through their housing process, we addressed with our guests what happens when folks lose their housing again.
It's a powerful episode focused on how fragile housing can be.

#InMyPlace, @thisisnashville.bsky.social , @wpln.bsky.social

City Records Show ‘Non-Traditional’ Housing Program Expanding Under OHS Director April Calvin handpicked who received housing from shelters in a program within Metro Office of Homeless Services

Records show the director of the Office of Homeless Services handpicked who received housing from shelters in a “non-traditional” program within OHS.

Nashville Banner Receives $1.2 Million to Expand Newsroom American Journalism Project selects organization as part of $3.5 million investment at three outlets

Nonprofit news outlet the @nashvillebanner.bsky.social has been awarded $1.2 million from the American Journalism Project.

Do you want to help your neighbors out who will get tight on food?
My recommendation is to donate to nonprofits fighting food insecurity.

Tennessee governor warns of SNAP lapse, blames Democrats for shutdown • Tennessee Lookout Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee warned SNAP recipients to prepare for a lapse in their benefits starting Nov. 1 and blamed congressional Democrats.

Gov. Bill Lee warned SNAP recipients Friday to prepare for a lapse in their benefits starting Nov. 1 and blamed congressional Democrats for failing to end the government shutdown - but Lee will also not tap into the state's $2.2 billion rainy day fund to cover the funding gap.

Do you want to help your neighbors who are about to go hungry because Congress is too incompetent to do its job? (Yes, I mean that one thing they were elected by you to do - govern!)

Anyway, today's @citycastnash.bsky.social newsletter lists some options to help.

Mountain dog likes to climb things!

Know Your Rights: Dealing with ICE, Security Guards, Police - Nashville Banner Learn how to identify ICE agents, private security guards, and police officers, and understand your rights when interacting with them.

Read it and be informed.

And remember, some of us have been privileged enough not to have to worry about this while minorities had to teach their children for generations!

Times are changing!

nashvillebanner.com/2025/10/24/c...

Is Music City Becoming Tech Town? Plus, Bus Pass Confusion and Choice Lane Opinions - City Cast Nashville So many different forms of transportation to talk about today: How’s the rollout of the WeGo Journey Pass for lower-income Nashvillians going? What...

Don't miss the Friday news roundup !

nashville.citycast.fm/podcasts/is-...

This week's Furball Friday post is a great reminder. Adopt a pet and consider an older one as well!

Yhank you, @citycastnash.bsky.social

$170B for ICE and Border Patrol
$40B for Argentina
$1B to refurbish Trump's Qatar jet
$230M for Trump's DOJ "compensation"
$200M for Kristi Noem's jets
$98M for Trump's golf outings

But no money to lower your healthcare costs.

Health insurance costs jumped for workers & employers in 2025.

This will get worse if the GOP refuses to extend ACA subsidies.

Meanwhile, the seven largest health insurance companies made a combined $71B in profits in 2024.

Still not sure we need Medicare for All?

Learn More about the Internal Audit of OHS The Metro Audit Committee decided in September to conduct a financial audit of the Office of Homeless Services (OHS). An overflow room was set up to accommodate all the people […]

We need to push for more transparency & accountability. All I hear from Metro is how great OHS is & other cities from far, FAR away think so, too.

All I hear from providers & developers is how referrals don’t work, promises are not kept, and more people should and could have been served.