Research Guides: ECED2340: Family and Community Engagement Project: Community Agencies

Adoption/Foster Care

AGAPE Nashville AGAPE provides counseling, crisis support, adoption and foster care services, pregnancy-maternity care, emergency domestic violence shelter, and court advocacy assistance.
Camelot Camelot is a community-based family foster care and behavioral health services organization.
Catholic Charities Nashville Catholic Charities is a state-licensed adoption agency.
Miriam's Promise Miriam's Promise provides counseling, parenting, and adoption services.
Omni Family of Services Omni Family of Services connects individuals to foster care, adoption, and mental health services.
Small World Adoption Agency Small World Adoption Agency provides counseling and adoption services.

Child After-Care Programs

Nashville After Zone Alliance "The Nashville After Zone Alliance (NAZA) is partnership between the Nashville Public Library, Metro Nashville Public Schools, the Mayor's Office, and over 30 youth development organizations all working collaboratively to increase access to transformative learning experiences for youth during out-of-school-time hours."
Tennessee Afterschool Network The Tennessee Afterschool Network operates a number of programs designed to keep children engaged in after-school activities.

Early Elementary Tutoring

PENCIL PENCIL facilitates partnerships between businesses and Metro Nashville Public Schools.
YMCA of Middle Tennessee The YMCA of Middle Tennessee offers one-on-one tutoring to work on reading, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, and grammar skills.
Homework Hotline Homework Hotline offers free tutoring for K-12 students in Tennessee in a variety of subjects.

Disability Services

ABLE Youth ABLE Youth provides opportunities for youth who use wheelchairs in learning independence, skills and sports.
Autism Tennessee Autism Tennessee is an organization in Middle Tennessee providing these services specifically for the autism community.
Disability Rights Tennessee DRT provides legal advocacy services to people with disabilities across the state with numerous issues, including employment discrimination, safety in schools, abuse and neglect, and access to community resources and services.
Family Voices of Tennessee Family Voices of Tennessee, a program of the Tennessee Disability Coalition, provides emotional and educational support to the families of these children.
Saddle Up Saddle Up provides children and youth with disabilities the opportunity to grow and develop through therapeutic, educational and recreational activities with horses.
Tennessee Early Intervention System The Tennessee Early Intervention System (TEIS) offers therapy and other services to families of infants and young children with developmental delays or disabilities.
Vanderbilt Kennedy Center The Vanderbilt Kennedy Center mission is to facilitate discoveries and best practices to improve the lives of persons with developmental disabilities and their families

Health and Wellness

Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County Public Health Department The Metro Public Health Department offers services to individuals and families including family planning services, STI/HIV testing, and more.
Community Health Access and Navigation in Tennessee The Community Health Access and Navigation in Tennessee (CHANT) provides enhanced patient-centered engagement, assistance with navigating complex systems, and care coordination of medical and social service needs.

Homelessness

Homeless Outreach - Park Center Park Center’s Homeless Outreach team serves the needs of people experiencing a housing crisis, particularly those who have mental illness and substance use disorders.
Homeless Outreach Services - Mental Health Cooperative The Homeless Outreach team helps connect individuals experiencing chronic homelessness to treatment and resources.
Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency MDHA is the housing authority in Nashville and Davidson County.
Office of Homeless Services - Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County The Office of Homeless Services spearheads Nashville’s efforts to end homelessness.
Open Table Nashville Open Table Nashville covers street outreach and housing navigation, education on issues of homelessness, and advocacy with our friends on the streets.
People Loving Nashville People Loving Nashville assembles meals, prepares clothing and supplies for distribution to hundreds, and provides emergency response to serve the disenfranchised in public spaces, low-income apartment complexes, homeless camps, and more, every weekday.

Immigration and New Americans

Conexión Américas Conexión Américas offers services from English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, leadership development, assistance with buying a home, and more.
Immigration Services - Nashville Center for Empowerment NICE provides affordable immigration services to refugees and immigrants.
Immigration Support Services - Catholic Charities Immigration Services provides counseling and assistance with completing immigration forms to individuals seeking assistance in most immigration matters.
Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands The Legal Aid Society provides free legal help in certain types of civil cases to people in 48 counties in Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands.
Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition The Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) is a statewide, immigrant and refugee-led collaboration group.
Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors provides free or low-cost immigration legal services to low-income immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers

LGBTQ+ Families

Inclusion Tennessee
Just Us Program - Oasis Center The Just Us program connects LGBTQ+ individuals to a larger network of individuals, resources, and services.
LGBTQ+ Adoption - Jewish Family Service The Jewish Family Service LGBTQ+ Adoption team works with LGBTQ+ individuals throughout the process of adoption.
Nashville CARES Nashville CARES is a community-based AIDS service organization.
Nashville Launch Pad Nashville Launch Pad provides shelter to unhoused LGBTQ+ individuals.

Literacy/Reading Support

Book 'Em Book 'Em distributes books to children and runs a volunteer-based reading program in various early learning centers around the Nashville area.
Governor's Foundation Early Literacy The Governor's Early Literacy Foundation provides literacy programs for children across the state. Their primary programs include Birth–5 Book Delivery through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Storybook Trails, Book Buses, Caregiver Engagement, and K–3 Home Library.
Nashville Adult Literacy Council The Nashville Adult Literacy Council works to teach adults in the Nashville area how improve their reading, writing, and speaking skills in English.
Nashville Book Connection Nashville Book Connection operates partnerships with elementary schools to provide books to classroom libraries as well as at-home libraries.
Nashville Public Library Foundation The Nashville Public Library Foundation provides free early literacy programs in connection with the Nashville Public Library, Metro Nashville Public Schools, and other community organization partnerships.

Food Insecurity

Feeding Nashville Feeding Nashville prepares nutritious meals daily and delivers them sustainably to at-risk communities such as schools, nonprofits, community centers, faith-based organizations, and medical facilities.
The Little Pantry That Could The Little Pantry that Could provides produce and shelf stable items free of charge on a weekly basis to anyone in Middle Tennessee in need.
Nashville Food Project The Nashville Food Project is a community organization that hosts community meals, food recovery, community gardens, and more programs.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee The Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee acts as a central distribution center for companies, groups, and individuals who work to help provide food to people facing hunger in Middle Tennessee.
The Store The Store is an organization serving Middle Tennessee that provides free grocery shopping, household essentials, nutrition and cooking classes, case management, and community engagement services.

Recreation

Metro Parks Nashville Metro Parks Nashville offers programs and operates regional recreation centers across Davidson County.
Daybreak Arts Daybreak Arts runs programs connecting individuals experiencing homelessness to an arts community where they can create and share their work.