NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Metro’s Office of Homelessness Services has asked members and partners to be careful about what they say during public meetings so as not to risk losing federal funding following President Trump’s executive orders regarding diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
Nashville’s Homelessness Planning Council works closely with the OHS and acts on behalf of the Continuum of Care, which receives federal funds from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“We should be a little bit careful. This is a recorded meeting and our HUD technical advisors have advised us that we should follow those executive orders,” OHS director April Calvin said during a meeting. “I think bringing in $9-11 million dollars to Nashville is far more important than digging our heels in.”
According to a Feb. 6 newsletter from the OHS, Nashville is set to receive $11.8 million from HUD through the CoC program, but that money hasn’t officially gone out yet.
“Is there any way we can get a list of things that we’re not supposed to mention?” a member of the Nashville Homelessness Planning Council asked at a meeting.
Calvin advised that those on the council would receive a list of words not to use once it’s available.
“We are really watching these federal changes because there have been a lot rolled out and there are more coming every day,” Allison Cantway with OHS said.
An OHS spokesperson told News 2 the situation was “fluid” and that the office has been working with Metro’s Department of Law to determine the next steps. Wallace Dietz, Metro’s Director of Law, told News 2 the following:
“The Department of Law is reviewing all applicable directives of the federal government on DEI policies. We believe Metro’s DEI policies do not violate federal law, but we have engaged an outside expert to give us advice on this issue. Pending receipt of that guidance, Metro is not making any changes in its DEI policies.“
According to Alyssa Fernandez, Director of Permanent Housing at the Oasis Center, some of her CoC committee’s planned trainings have already been paused.
“On an almost daily basis, there have been more and more concerns from various people in the community about having this particular committee and how it could impact our millions of dollars in funding,” Fernandez said.
Calvin also said during Wednesday’s meeting that all their HUD technical advisors lost their jobs last Friday.
