Report of the Chair
January, 2026
We close out 2025 with a successful Musical Jamboree at the Greeneville Capitol Theatre just before the Thanksgiving holiday. Our first public fundraiser gave us publicity and exposure to our friends and members. Best that we begin to plan for this fall season early and benefit from our lessons learned. December 31st marks the one year anniversary of hiring our own Amy Blackwell as Outreach Specialist, arguably the best decision we have made in our short life as a non-profit. She has done remarkable work every week day and sometimes on the weekends. Our clients love her and she has a knack for this work. We look forward to another year with Amy as she shifts her schedule to allow a return to course work at Walters State Community College as a part time student.
Services at our 1103 Tusculum apartment #3 office has been the hub of access to client intakes, pantry storage for meal packs, client showers and laundry services, and hot meals with the colder weather.
Financial support has been gratifying from our private donors, three Foundations, and from area church congregations. Our mission to deliver effective services will need funding especially if we consider adding another position, such as a Director of Operations. Continued AmeriCorps support for the Outreach Specialist remains in limbo after May of 2026 due to funding cuts in Washington. But, our ability to serve and house those who are homeless is increasing. Recognizing those who can be helped and who are ready to engage is improving.
The milestones for 2025 will look like this:
Daily food delivery of meal packs or hot meals – 5992
Over 98 new client intakes for housing assistance
Over 50 distinct clients receive food assistance each month
Housing assistance provided to 27 adults and 12 children
Emergency housing in motels to 20 clients
Completed the 13th month of micro shelter use in the field
Awarded grant from United Way to undergird core salary support
Completed the second Point-In-Time count of homeless in Greene County
Each housed client is provided set-up furniture, household goods, +food
Two dozen referrals for substance use rehabilitation
One dozen referrals for mental health services
Seven area churches provide over 4500 meal packs for distribution
Office sun porch adapted for night time access point for snacks and clothes
Provided over 250 showers and 200 loads of laundry on site
Full time employee present to serve the needs of the unhoused
Reflecting on our successes to facilitate housing, we will continue documenting who, where, and how each client is assisted with tracking the progress of each person or family once they are settled. Emergency housing in area motels is a legitimate service that also needs follow up and documentation. As the pressure on housing contininues to increase, several of our donors are directing funds to this urgent need; such rescue housing allows circumstances to cool off and deliberate planning to begin. Once patterns emerge, we can begin to understand how these resources are used and allocated.
I would like to see 2026 be the year for laying the foundation for the transitional housing project. I see this as preparatory steps for organization, governance, funding, staffing needs, architectural layout, and anticipated budget for a 10 person village. Planning should include partners willing to commit to join in the support, cost, staffing, management; I envision mental health, law enforcement, other non-profits, and municipal involvement to be successful. We would need to have all this prepared before approaching the County Planning Commission to request approval.
Let’s also start the New Year off by celebrating our many volunteer members by hosting them for a meal at the membership gathering at First Presbyterian Church February 23rd. They are our foundation from the initial energy to face the homelessness we found after the pandemic eased, to providing startup work with food, clothing, tents, sleeping bags, blankets, and home furnishings. Then it grew to transportation for appointments, court appearances, and job interviews. We depend on them for meal delivery and for finding new clients that show up unexpectedly on the street in our community. They staff the office to help Amy. They clean apartments and move furniture when clients get housed. They are our voices in a wider web of community in churches, recreation centers, businesses, retail establishments. It is there that the stories are told of who the unhoused are and what a difference it makes to offer a hand up out of whatever ditch people fall into. They know that it is a neighbor in need and they choose to stand by and make a difference. I ask all of our Board members be at the appreciation dinner to thank those who are making this work possible. We also are set for the third PIT count on January 22nd and the team of Kathy Shea, Lori Grabner, Mike Tucker, Margeaux Clements, Michael Ricks, and Mike Hartsell. The C.A.R.E. Center will be polled on the Friday January 23rd for those unhoused who were not tabulated by our street teams (this will be the second year that Rhonda Castro has assisted the count).
We continue our status as a reputable 501(c)(3) organization with continued registration as a Tennessee Charity. Our fundraising group will build on our successes and sharpen our focus on housing and overcoming impediments to our neighbors getting back into a home.
Michael Hartsell, MD, Chair CANUP
Revised Feb 25, 2026 MHH
