Welcome back! This interview features Rosie Cross, who works at the Volunteer Ministries Center (VMC) here in Knoxville. Rosie works with folks who are unhoused both for outreach efforts and operates the Foyer program which houses up to 40 individuals who are experiencing homelessness in our community. Rosie discusses the process of getting permanent housing, the ways in which the Foyer serves folks uniquely—by keeping folks with their partners, by sheltering folks who might have interacted with systemic barriers to other shelter, and allowing folks to be housed with their pets. She discusses the importance of collaboration with other community agencies in supporting and helping our unhoused neighbors. 

You can get involved with VMC here: https://www.vmcinc.org

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Song credits for "I deserve to be here" to the band Tellios.
Image Credits: Rosie Cross and VMC with image notes: "When a neighbor moves out of The Foyer and into their new home, they take a bird with them. These birds are handmade from scraps of clay that might otherwise have been thrown away.  They are all unique and none of them are perfect.  

A bird is a reminder that no one deserves to be discarded.  With hard work and support from others, we can all take the scraps of our lives and form them into something new."