This “3 Questions With” comes from a sponsored interview in partnership with Tecovas.
Open Table Nashville is a nonprofit that serves Nashville’s unhoused, and Executive Director Allie Wallace has been volunteering with the organization since she was 19. Here’s what she has to say about what Open Table Nashville does, and why it’s so important.
What is Open Table Nashville?
“We are a street outreach and housing advocacy organization that works with folks experiencing homelessness. We have three primary programs: outreach and housing navigation, community education, and advocacy and policy work. We do things very much on the individual, human level with the community. We also do analysis to better understand the root causes of homelessness, and to make sure we have solutions, initiatives, and policies in place that are helpful to our friends experiencing homelessness.”
What does an average day look like for you?
“Being on the executive level, my day might be a bit more average than some of our outreach work, because you never know what the day holds when you’re in the field encountering folks. We are a smaller staff, so I fill several roles. Many of my emails include grant writing and submissions. I attend community meetings and spend a lot of time — and this is my favorite part — with our staff providing support, checking in, and making sure people feel supported and equipped to do their jobs well.”
Why does your work matter to the culture and community of Nashville as a whole?
“Everybody in Nashville deserves housing. Everyone deserves a safe place to exist, regardless of background, socioeconomic status, or any of those other things we use to put people in boxes. We are all part of this city. We are all part of this community. We all have inherent dignity and worth. So we all deserve to have the same access, level of care, and resources as anybody in housing. Our work matters because the people in this city experiencing homelessness matter.”
