Josi Donation Makes Life-Saving Impact for Home Street Home Ministries

Members of the Nashville Predators aren't able to assist their favorite charitable organizations in person at the moment, but social distancing isn't stopping the Preds from finding other ways to help their city - especially their captain.

After making a $20,000 donation to Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee last week, Roman Josi and his wife, Ellie, have stepped up again by giving another $20,000 to Home Street Home Ministrieshere in Nashville.

As Home Street Home's founder Steven Young says, that gift arrived at the perfect moment.

"What Roman and Ellie have done, especially with what's going on right now, has truly been a lifesaver for us," Young said. "Right now, donations are still hard to come by because so many people are living with the unknown. They've been laid off, they don't know when they're going to be able to go back to work, so our financial support has waned quite a bit, which is to be expected under the circumstances. This was definitely a blessing, and the timing couldn't have been better."

Young knows all about the blessings that come with a little bit of timing.

At 52 years of age, he found himself homeless, out on the streets for what he thought would only be a short time. Five years later, in March of 2014, Young came back off the streets, and he knew he would never be able to forget what he saw and learned from the experience.

Later that year in October, Young borrowed $600 from a friend and started the ministry. Now, in April of 2020, Home Street Home is the largest entity doing what they do in Nashville - providing food, shelter, clothing and a little bit of hope.

"People ask me all the time, they go, 'Well, what is it exactly that you do?' And I usually tell them that the easy answer is we try not to say 'no,'" Young said.

The ministry's services have never been in higher demand than they are now. The devastating tornado that struck Nashville in early March combined with the COVID-19 pandemic has put strains on just about every aspect of daily life, and the homeless community is no exception.

"The numbers have really rocketed since the tornado," Young said. "With COVID-19, the homeless numbers on the streets have at least doubled, if not a little more. In the first quarter of last year, we distributed two-and-a-half tons of food. The first quarter for this year, we've delivered five-and-three-quarter tons of food, so more than doubled."

But it's not just the essentials Young and his ministry provide those on the streets - there's also something just as important.

"We deal with our homeless friends in a R.E.A.L. way," Young explained. "R.E.A.L. stands for Respect, Encourage, Accept and Love. We show them respect, we encourage them, we accept them for who they are, where they are at this point in time, and we love on them. Through that, we build those relationships, we build that trust that will allow us to help them move forward."

Those relationships, Young says, are vital for making connections and giving people a chance to turn their lives around. Young is still in touch with the first man who he helped off the streets six years ago. Even though he's now married, living in Louisville and living a successful life, Young still checks in three to four times a month, just to make sure things are still running smoothly.

"We don't call them clients, we don't call them homeless, we call them our friends, because that's what we do - we build that bridge," Young said. "I still keep that connection. Because we don't ever want them to feel alone."

The donation coming from the Josis will go a long way toward forming other success stories, and it might start with something as simple as something to eat. Young says $10 will provide seven hot meals for a homeless person. That's one meal a day for an entire week, much better than the alternative of going two, sometimes three straight days without eating, a number Young says is commonplace in Nashville.

"I don't say this lightly, and it's not a canned statement, but that $20,000 will save lives," Young said.

It's one more blessing someone like Josi is proud to provide during a time such as this. And when it really becomes clear how much something of this magnitude will help an organization such as Home Street Home, it makes it that much easier to sign the check.

After all, Young wouldn't be here without a few blessings of his own. Now, he's making a difference for so many in the community he loves.