VMC'S BRAND HOUSE
HOMELESSNESS
IS UNACCEPTABLE
IN OUR COMMUNITY
Volunteer Ministry Center is dedicated to Ending and Preventing Homelessness
in Knoxville and Knox County, Tennessee
With a clinical model that is client centered, homelessness and near homelessness
are problems that can be solved, not just managed.
Rooted in Compassion, Caring, Helpful, Knowledgeable, Competent, Forward Thinking,Collaborative, Stable, Bold, Effective, and Efficient
Compassion
Accountability
Results
Treat all with dignity and respect,
demonstrating equal care for all with cultural competency.
Those crossing the VMC threshold are, first and foremost, neighbors.
Every person has the right of
self-determination.
The use of compassion improves
the standards of care and most
importantly, enhances the
experience for the neighbor.
Staff members are persistent,
patient and hopeful, empowered with clinical knowledge and insights.
Compassion must have a context and that context is accountability.
Dignity and respect are found and reclaimed in an environment of
accountability.
Neighbors are responsible for their own choices and lives.
All exchanges are as “adult to adult” without patronizing.
Neighbors are responsible for
creating and fulfilling their plans
with the aid of their assigned case manager.
All case plans are mutually agreed to by neighbor and case manager.
Boundaries are respected and
enforced.
Positive results occur in the context of best practices as defined by empirical evidence.
VMC’s evidence based theory of
change is “Housing First.”
Housing First is “an approach to
quickly and successfully connect
individuals and families experiencing homelessness to permanent housing
without preconditions and barriers to entry, such as sobriety, treatment or service participation requirements,”
HUD.
Many times, a little assistance at the right time helps a family sustain their housing.
VMC is a community leader in the Housing First approach with over three decades of experience in providing homeless services to individuals and families while offering (1) the largest number of permanent supportive housing units available, (2) a comprehensive dental health care clinic for individuals experiencing homelessness, (3) the only community transitional day shelter assisting individuals in the achievement of permanent housing,
and (4) utility/rent assistance for family households to sustain housing.