Check Out Karen Holder’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Holder.

Hi Karen, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Karen Holder-Founder of AWAKE Nashville

AWAKE Nashville is an emerging nonprofit that stands for Advocating for Wellness, Accessibility, and Knowledge of injustice facing the Elderly. The organization was formed by my daughter, Danielle Cotton, and me after spearheading the recent relocation efforts of the former displaced seniors from North Park Village Senior Community in Madison, TN. For over 50 years, North Park Village has offered affordable housing to lower-income senior citizens with both assisted and independent living care options. In January, residents were informed that their long-standing senior living complex had been sold to a local real estate development company to build new luxury townhomes, and they had 60 days to move. One of the residents affected by this new development was my mother, who lived in the community for five years. Of course, after receiving this devastating news, my mother was not worried about where she was going. Instead, she was more concerned about those in her community that did not have any family support.

As such, my daughter and I became the support system for this entire community. And during this process, we saw a great need for advocacy for our seniors, especially surrounding affordable housing. There were many issues of availability, accessibility, and affordability for independent senior housing. As a result, we formed AWAKE Nashville. We wanted to launch an organization that specifically advocated for senior members of our community and addressed the growing housing gap seniors’ are now facing in Nashville.

Currently, we have partnered with Legacy South, a local real estate development company in Nashville, to make affordable housing more accessible to senior residents of Davidson County. Additionally Legacy South has also agreed to provide $200 for every new home they create this year to help fund independent and affordable living villas for lower-income senior citizens.

We are also happy to announce that since the news reports surrounding this story, all residents have been securely relocated to housing within Nashville and surrounding counties.

The overarching purpose of AWAKE Nashville is to be the change agent in transforming the lives of seniors into a place of wholeness. Our mission and vision for seniors throughout our city are to restore hope, dignity, and respect to the foundation and pillars of our community that often feel they have been overlooked and discarded. Nashville is a city that is expanding, developing, and changing, but as we change, let us not forget about the value and worth that seniors contribute to our society. AWAKE Nashville is dedicated to assessing each person’s individual needs to improve their ability to function as productive, contributing members of their community.

“We are AWAKE, and we intend on waking others.”

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?

As we briefly discussed, affordable housing has become a major issue in Nashville, but what has gone unreported is that senior citizens are becoming a high percentage of those being directly affected by this housing crisis. While trying to relocate the residents of North Park, we searched daily to find alternative, independent senior housing solutions that are safe and affordable in Nashville. What we have found is that it is scarce. My mother is now in a one-bedroom non-senior living apartment 40 mins away in Smyrna. Unfortunately, this has become a common recurrence for many senior citizens that are being priced out of the Nashville market.

Here is a short list of what we have found:
• Many available housing options for seniors are either assisted living or retirement communities that are too expensive for lower-income, independent living seniors to afford.
• The affordable housing options under construction are not accessible for seniors, and the income restrictions forfeit low-income senior citizens from the ability to meet the criteria to qualify.
• Many of the affordable housing options in Nashville are MDHA properties with a one-to-two-year waitlist.
• There are very few resources to help seniors with displacement efforts before homelessness.
• Internet access is another major issue among seniors. Many application processes/home tours are now widely available online only, which many seniors cannot access without proper help. Sometimes this can be extremely difficult for seniors that do not have an adequate support system.

We believe everyone, especially seniors, should have access to one of life’s basic necessities – housing.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?

Our vision is to engage the community to reimagine aging by respecting the value and worth of seniors as they live out their full potential. Some of our initiatives include:

• Promote equitable opportunities for affordable housing
• Lessen the income restricted barriers that low-income seniors must endure
• Build connectedness of seniors to the community
• Promote the building of safe and affordable communities for seniors
• Bridge access to services and programs that enhance total well-being of seniors
• Create a funding program to incentivize affordable housing development

We also want to create an ongoing displacement fund, and review changing the eviction notices for seniors. This is just the beginning, and we look forward to making a positive impact in the lives of seniors as they reimagine aging.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Many people define success as achieving a specific goal, but success, to me, is living out your desired purpose and creating a legacy for others to follow. I view success as a part of individual growth and meaningful living.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.weareawakenashville.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/weareawakenashville/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/weareawakenashville/

Image Credits
1. Event images captured by Rodney Marsh at Marsh Productions. 2. Danielle Cotton 3. Karen Holder 4. Norma Upshaw 5. AWAKE Nashville