Being Compassionate AND Competent Is Cool Again | Here's how you can help during the SNAP Freeze

You don't have to identify as a Democratic Socialist to see which way the winds are blowing.

Thank you to all those who’ve supported by work, especially those who contributed to my recent ask and contributed here or on patreon.intelechia.com. It means the world to me that you support this. But I would very much be remiss to not plug the people helping those most impacted by what I’ve been writing about. Now, with winter freezes coming in and no sign of food security returning soon, a great use of your resources is donating to Open Table Nashville and/or providing them gift cards (details at bottom).

I’m feeling more than a little FOMO that last night, in my former home, Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old Democratic Socialist, was elected the 111th Mayor of New York City. Seeing New York rising, overwhelmingly, to the crisis our nation is facing — it was quite a contrast to being at Metro Council last night.

With 1 in 10 Nashvillians, aka 60,000 people, facing hunger from the (illegal) federal freeze on SNAP benefits, the most 1 Public Square is able to produce is handwringing about free bus fares and a decent enough list of resources.

As public commenters Kelly Chieng and Manaan Hall noted last night, bus fares can mean the difference between eating and not eating, working and not working, and paying utilities or freezing in the upcoming cold snap next week. There have been many reasons given as to why, in this crisis, the millions of dollars of Choose How You Move revenue or other sources of funding can’t be used to make the bus free.

The fact that free buses are actually safer does not seem to penetrate for those who imagine free-of-charge WeGos turning into victorian opium dens. But I don’t think this is the main reason why it is pulling teeth with Metro leadership to even discuss making the bus free during this crisis, as it is for football games.

Perhaps the biggest road block is that it would make Mayor O’Connell appear too much like the leftist radical Andy Ogles fetishes him to be.

It is convenient for many to portray our dear mayor as a leftist revolutionary. It busies the less politically attuned with making buttons in support of his persecution for… (checks notes, making a spreadsheet of phone calls?), or else they bemoan his non-existent allegiance to the working class, all of which turns our attention away from what is actually in the realm of the possible.

As much as O’Connell’s younger staffers would probably wish it, and Ogles would like to speak it into existence, Nashville’s mayor is nothing like New York’s newest mayor. One need only look to their approaches to affordable transit.

Mamdani’s is unabashedly simple.

O’Connell’s is, well the details aren’t even fully worked out. Some people will get free bus passes, but its not clear who. Nor is it clear who is making these decisions, or even what their email addresses are. As per, WKRN, the “confusion over enrollment for Nashville’s new free bus pass pilot program” says it all.

“Well,” those who dislike this comparison might say, “we campaign in poetry, but we govern in prose. We’ll see how easy it is for him to actually do it when he’s in office.”

[That “campaign in poetry” bit is a quote Mamdani dropped in his victory speech last night. It was a line originally written by Mario Cuomo, the father of the man he resoundingly beat.]

Well, sure. He needs to put the rubber to the road with all that. But I’ll leave that to my friends in the NYC DSA to hold him accountable to his promises.

But here we are, in Nashville, holding our leaders accountable to the ambitions they were elected on. Thousands of doors were knocked to finally get the transit services we need. We chose. Now move!

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SNAP is Frozen | And Will Cold Snap Freeze Us?

Eyes will be on the housing justice system in Nashville next week as likely enters the zone that requires the city’s warming shelter to come online. In addition to similar private facilities, these stations keep unhoused neighbors from the dangerous temps.

Last year saw some heavy friction as no vendor was hired to run Metro’s shelter, and the Office of Homeless Services staff was, reports are, told they would need to work double shifts at their day job and then at the shelter. With the added attention that’s been on this office, we can only hope things will go smoother this year.

Recent job postings for working at the shelter offer $20/hr without benefits.

But as Chieng and Hall pointed out last night, dangerous temperatures aren’t just a concern for those living out-of-doors. As little attention is paid to the plight of those living out-of-doors in dangerous temperatures, even less consideration is spent on those who live in-doors, without the means to safety and effectively warm themselves.

If you’re like me, you’re thinking “okay” — well, what do I do about this?

Well, I didn’t learn nothing from my days in demand generation marketing, and I don’t want to give you a big list of orgs to support — each sending you through their own rinky-dink non-profit credit card portal that doesn’t work half the time.

I want to put you at the “top of the funnel” and get the most bang for your buck.

In the Nashville area, you should donate to Open Table Nashville directly or provide them gift cards to distribute to other orgs and/or people directly. Open Table was founded by “ragtag team of homeless outreach workers, ministers, and volunteers” and they are highly respected by other organizations and unhoused neighbors alike.

The aforementioned Kelly Chieng works with them, and they were my proper introduction to the homelessness space in Nashville. If you’ve been a fan of my work this year, please, thank them by supporting our neighbors in need.

I’ll let them take it from here via their most recent newsletter.

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Take Action! Help us keep our neighbors fed amidst SNAP crisis!

Last week, two federal courts ruled that the government should not stop Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments. Still, payments have not yet resumed and questions remain about whether benefits will be reduced or if these court orders will apply to Tennessee.

We’re partnering with Safe Haven Family Shelter to collect Kroger gift cards to distribute to individuals and families affected by this ongoing crisis. Here’s how you can support:

• Drop off Kroger gift cards! Purchase and bring $25, $50, or $100 Kroger gift cards to the OTN or Safe Haven administrative offices Monday, November 3rd through Friday, November 7th from 9am-4pm.

  • Open Table Nashville’s admin office: City Road Chapel, 701 Gallatin Pike South, Nashville, TN 37115

  • Safe Haven Family Shelter: 1234 3rd Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37210

• Donate online! Donate via the button below. All funds received will be used to purchase gift cards. Select “SNAP support” from the dropdown menu.

Donate

Gift cards will be distributed to individuals and families OTN and Safe Haven are already engaged with. We will work with partner organizations to ensure that additional gift cards collected are distributed to folks across the city.

Our administration office can be a little tricky to find! Refer to the map below to help you find our gift card drop off location! Look for the glass double doors in the parking lot of City Road Chapel.

Let’s take care of each other!