BSB/2/17
Sponsored by Amelie Johnson, Marley Degenhardt of Baylor School
This legislation was filed in the Human Services category
Presented as part of the YIG Volunteer 2024 conference
| 1 | BE IT ENACTED BY THE TENNESSEE YMCA YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT |
| 2 | Section 1) Terms in this act shall be defined as follows: |
| 3 | a. Low Barrier: The requirements for entry are limited or minimal. |
| 4 | b. Emergency Shelters: A place for people to live temporarily when they cannot live in their |
| 5 | previous residence. |
| 6 | c. Suicide Preventative Space: A space excluding materials that can allow someone to harm |
| 7 | themselves. |
| 8 | d. Family Shelters: A safe place where families who are homeless can stay temporarily. |
| 9 | e. Faith-Based Shelters: A homeless shelter affiliated with, supported by, or based on a religion or |
| 10 | religious group. |
| 11 | f. Youth Shelters: A safe place for young people who have run away from home or have nowhere |
| 12 | else to go. |
| 13 | g. Wet Houses: Provides housing for homeless alcoholics, while allowing them to continue to drink. |
| 14 | h. TDMHSAS: Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Serivces |
| 15 | |
| 16 | Section 2) Any individual found guilty of a class A or B felony or aggregated assault qualifying a |
| 17 | class C felony or a registered member of either the Tennessee or Federal Bureau of Investigation |
| 18 | Sex Offender Registry will not be permitted access to the facility with no exceptions. Other |
| 19 | requirements can be made as the administrators see fit. However, requirements should be as |
| 20 | minimal as possible in order to qualify low-barrier status. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Section 3) To ensure equal access to resources and progression of those in the program, time |
| 23 | limits would be established for each resident based on dependency, employment status, and |
| 24 | ability. |
| 25 | a. Time limits can be established on a case-by-case basis which is determined by a council |
| 26 | consisting of both the assistant and main manager as well as the TDMHSAS Officer of Housing and |
| 27 | Homeless services and the Tennessee Department of Housing and Urban Development. |
| 28 | b. Once need is assessed and shelters are completed, these departments can collaborate on basic |
| 29 | standards which are subject to change over time. These standards will regulate placement into |
| 30 | each of these three categories: hasty, semi-permanent, and permanent. |
| 31 | c. Hasty residents are to be offered at minimum a week, semi-permanent residents are to be |
| 32 | offered at minimum a month, and permanent residents are to be offered at minimum 3-6 months. |
| 33 | d. Permanent residents may include older residents or those with disabilities who will be placed in |
| 34 | more appropriate care by the staff at the end of their designated stay. |
| 35 | |
| 36 | Section 4) These new shelters will be strictly enforced and managed by the Tennessee Department |
| 37 | of Housing and Urban Development. |
| 38 | |
| 39 | b. A biannual meeting with the managers and assistant managers of the shelters, the TDMHSAS |
| 40 | Office Of Housing and Homeless Services, and the Tennessee Department of Housing and Urban |
| 41 | Development is also to be instated. |
| 42 | c. The shelter must be accessible for those with disabilities and must meet all federal |
| 43 | requirements/regulations (showers/sanitary space provided, heating/cooling provided, acceptable |
| 44 | place to sleep, etc.) |
| 45 | d. Shelters are also to be mental health friendly (i.e. suicide preventative spaces). |
| 46 | e. In these shelters, if there is additional funding, it is hoped to be able to provide toiletries (soap, |
| 47 | toothbrush, toothpaste, razor) and non-perishable food. |
| 48 | f. However, amenities may be limited due to spacial or monetary lacks. |
| 49 | |
| 50 | Section 5) This act is to be enforced by the Tennessee Department of Housing and Urban |
| 51 | Development (Tennessee Department of Housing Development). However, contributors to the |
| 52 | well-being of such shelters may be managed by but are not excluded to: The Tennessee |
| 53 | Department of Children Services, Department of Economic and Community Development, |
| 54 | Department of Human resources, Department of Human Services, and the Department of Human |
| 55 | Rights. |
| 56 | |
| 57 | Section 6) Within these shelters a few payed positions are to be established. Full-time positions |
| 58 | are limited and include the Manager, Assistant Manager, and Secretary/Front Desk of each shelter. |
| 59 | a. Their roles include: manage budgeting/finance, review incoming candidates, and most other |
| 60 | administrative work that is required to keep the shelter functioning. |
| 61 | b. Interviews for each of these roles are to be conducted by the Department of Housing and Urban |
| 62 | Development, who will work to negotiate/set their salaries. |
| 63 | c. Part-time positions included security and maintenance, who are to be payed by the hour. |
| 64 | d. Interviews for each of the part-time roles are to be conducted by the manager once hired, who |
| 65 | will establish their salary. |
| 66 | |
| 67 | Section 7) Volunteers for the shelter may also be needed to keep the shelters functioning. |
| 68 | a. Volunteers can help raise funding/resources for residents, search for jobs/housing for residents, |
| 69 | provide childcare for those in residency, etc. |
| 70 | b. Volunteers must live within one hundred miles of the shelter, be 18 years or older, and pass a |
| 71 | criminal background check. |
| 72 | |
| 73 | Section 8) Shelters are to be established in the following areas: Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville, and |
| 74 | Chattanooga. One shelter is to be created for every 1,000 people experiencing homelessness in |
| 75 | each of their respective counties as well as all the immediately surrounding ones. |
| 76 | a. For example, homeless statistics for a Nashville center would be drawn from all of these |
| 77 | counties: Cheatham, Davidson, Summer, Robertson, Rutherford, Williamson, and Wilson. |
| 78 | |
| 79 | Section 9) This act shall be funded by the Tennessee Department of Housing and Urban |
| 80 | Development. Additional funds can be requested through monetary allocations from the $3.8 |
| 81 | billion budgeted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the use of |
| 82 | providing housing and services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness. |
| 83 | |
| 84 | Section 10) All laws or parts of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. |
| 85 | |
| 86 | Section 11) This act shall take effect on October 10, 2024 |
| 87 |