Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw

10/29/2024

10/28/2024

Peace to all troubled souls, dear God, to all the seekers lost on the road to salvation, to the lonely ones sitting beside empty windows, to the parents without any children, the workers without work. Peace to them all, I pray, and peace to so many more who find this life too hard, the unfair illness, the sudden grief. Take my share of serenity for these friends I will never know. Their need is greater than mine. Give them your blessing. Give them your peace. Give them what I would give had I but arms wide enough to reach around this night.

~ Rt Rev Steven Charleston

May your week show you peace.

Laurie
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
[email protected]

10/28/2024

I am filled with gratitude for the Nashville Concerto Orchestra, Dave Sartor, conductor. We were invited by Roger Wiesmeyer to be the recipient of the love offering for their concert this past Saturday.

This is our second concert as their guest nonprofit and it has become an event that fills our hearts. This musical event fills me with such joy and peace, I can’t even begin to describe. The musicians are unbelievably talented. The church sanctuary of Trinity Presbyterian Church is perfect for this concert. I sat in the pew and watched as the sun streamed through the stained glass window. The trees had their fall leaves on and I watched as the wind blew the branches back and forth. And I honestly could have sat there and listened to this concert long into the evening.

We are grateful to everyone who attended and left their love offerings. I met some amazing people and I hope our conversations extend into future collaborations.

And thank you, Roger. You are a most wonderful friend I am abundantly thankful for your presence in my life.

Laurie, founder
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
[email protected]

10/26/2024

The faces of the children, families and people we feed are real. We aim to deliver lunch meals every Saturday in the Madison, Rivergate and Tent City area.

You can sponsor a Saturday for $500. You can make sandwiches in increments of 25. You can donate any amount that you can afford.

You can make sure our Meals Program continues to fight hunger right here in Nashville.

Text our resource line at 615-474-8390. Tell us that you cannot accept your neighbors going without something to eat.

Laurie
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
[email protected]

Donate online at:
safpaw.org

(All pictures taken with permission)

10/26/2024

We are now asking for donations for our Cold Weather Outreach for our neighbors who are not housed. With your partnership and donations we can get people through the cold weather temps that are dangerous to their very survival.

1. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Ozark-Trail-10-000-BTU-Portable-Propane-Heater/2070735274?classType=REGULAR&athbdg=L1102&from=/search

2. https://www.walmart.com/ip/LITTLE-BUDDY-HEATER/618129848?classType=REGULAR&from=/search

3. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-All-Purpose-Propane-Gas-Cylinder-16-ounce-2-Pack/20971271?classType=REGULAR&athbdg=L1200&from=/search

In addition we need:
4. Tents, preferably 4 person size tents. Also large, heavy tarps. These help to insulate the tents.

5. Sleeping bags, preferably ones designed for cold weather.

6. Dry dog and cat food, 12-16 pound bags. Purina brand preferred, please.

7. All day bus passes

Please text our resource line at 615-474-8390 and we will gladly pick up donations. In addition you can make online & monthly donations at our website, safpaw.org

SAFPAW is currently very low on funds to get through the winter months. Donations are needed for food boxes to help people and families dealing with hunger. Donations are also needed for our Pet Food Pantry.

Bringing you the needs of poverty is not pretty. There is no glittering lights that glow with the holidays here but we cannot apologize for that. Because on the road to housing we have to keep folks alive and we have to give hope.

Laurie, founder
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
[email protected]
safpaw.org

Buy Ozark Trail 10,000 BTU Portable Propane Heater - New at Walmart.com

10/25/2024

I need to make sure my row is full so I hope to see you at this concert! 🎼❤️

Very excited about the next Nashville Concerto Orchestra concert!

THIS Saturday October 26th at 3pm! This event will be held at the beautiful Trinity Presbyterian Church, located at 3201 Hillsboro Pike. There is plenty of free parking but do get there early!

Denise Baker and Dave Sartor will present the Beethoven Violin Concerto.
Justin Lo and Alex Bolton will premiere Justin's Violin sonata.

This gracious event is organized by Roger Wiesmeyer and the love offering will benefit the important work SAFPAW.ORG does in our community.

Please come and bring your friends! I’d love for you to join us for an afternoon of music that will leave you filleSouthern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpawan to have you join us!

Laurie Green, founder
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
[email protected]

Southern Alliance for People and Animal Welfare SAFPAW Learn More

10/17/2024

Your neighbors need you! And SAFPAW wants you to join us, please.

This Saturday we will be handing out lunch meals to our neighbors in the Madison and Rivergate areas. But we need sandwiches!

We need volunteers to make full sandwiches, wrapped and ready to go in the lunch sacks with everything else we put in there. All we need is sandwiches, SAFPAW supplies everything else.

I know that it is sometimes hard to wrap our head around but too many of our neighbors go without enough to eat. So if we can help by delivering weekly lunch meals then we seek to do so. But we need you!

For this coming Saturday (10/19) we need 150 sandwiches. Please feel free to text our resource number and we can give you all the details!

SAFPAW resource line is 615-474-8390.

Thank you! And please share this post!

Oh! And donations of Purina dry dog & cat food are also critical.

Laurie
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
[email protected]
615-474-8390 (resource line, please text)

10/15/2024

Be soft.
Do not let the world make you hard.
Do not let the pain make you hate.
Do not let the bitterness steal your sweetness.
Take pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree,
you still believe it to be a beautiful place. ~Iain Thomas

Please join us and the programs that make up our SAFPAW mission. Right now we are working hard to make sure 2 of our programs are front and center.

1. Our Jason Brown Holiday Toys Program.
For 13 years now we have adopted a Trailer Park Community and provided Christmas for all of the children from birth to 17. We also include folks 65 and over who live alone. This is not just toys but diapers, winter clothes and other needed items. If funds allow we pay the December rent for someone who has struggled against the odds and needs an extra helping hand.

2. Our SAFPAW homeless outreach.
Winter is harsh for our neighbors who are not housed. And while this program serves year round, the harsh cold of winter makes the needs more urgent. We seek to provide tents, sleeping bags, heaters, propane and food for those who are not yet housed. And yes, housing is the goal, however until everyone is safely under a permanent roof we are morally bound to help all survive the harshness of homelessness.

Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
[email protected]
P. O. Box 23535
Nashville, TN 37202

online donations can be made at safpaw.org

10/14/2024

There is something anyone can do that would be a true blessing to anyone you meet who may be unhoused. They are commonly called “blessing bags” and they truly are blessings. Below are some wonderful ideas on what to put in them.

1. Bottle of water
2. Juice pouch
3. String cheese
4. Tuna pouch
5. Fruit cup
6. Multi grain soft fruit bar
7. All day bus pass
8. $5 dollar bill
9. Pair of new socks
10. Gift certificate to a thrift store
11. Packs of “warm hands” & “warm feet”
12. $20-25 gift certificate for fast food

These bags truly have the ability to brighten someone’s day. As it gets colder you can add gloves or a stocking cap.

And if your church or civic group would like to put some together but you can’t pass out we would be happy to pass out on the Saturdays that we hand out lunch meals. Just text me on our SAFPAW resource line and we can make a plan!

Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
615-474-8390 (our resource line, please text)

P. O. Box 23535
Nashville, TN 37202
[email protected]

10/10/2024

Who: This free clinic is for tenants with housing conditions/repairs issues in Nashville.

What: Tenants will learn about their rights to dignified housing and:

Meet one-on-one with attorneys for free legal advice.
Engage in a letter writing workgroup to assert tenants’ rights.
Build tenant power with renters’ union organizers.

When: Wednesday, October 16th, 2024, from 5:30pm-7:30pm.
Where: Belmont Ministry Center 2005 12th Ave South Nashville, TN 37204. Next to The Store, the location is on a few WeGo bus routes & parking is free.

Register: registration link and QR Code on the flyer and here: HTTPS://TINYURL.COM/2S39NC5Y . There is no deadline to register, but our limit is 30 participants.

Questions?: Email, call, or text Laura Felts at [email protected] and (615)844-7157.

09/24/2024

SAFPAW needs someone who can foster this sweet dog for approximately 2 months. His human is a veteran who needs to go in for treatment. His dog is neutered and he will be UTD on vaccines prior to any foster placement. We will provide the dog food.

Please text us on our resource line if you think you might be willing to help this veteran and his buddy.

Laurie
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
615-474-8390

09/16/2024

From a dumpster at 3-4 weeks old to living their best life! I’m so glad that SAFPAW was able to say yes to taking these precious sisters in. The person who found them never could find the mother cat or any other siblings, but these 2 sweet girls are living the good life with the best foster mom ever…Susan Gayle!

And thank you for your financial support. We can only help because you give. And I know that sounds “corny” but it is true. And you are appreciated so much.

Laurie, founder and executive director
P. O. Box 23535
Nashville, TN 37202
[email protected]

09/13/2024

We just picked these 2 tiny kittens up from the wonderful woman who found them in a dumpster. They are on their way to be vet checked and then to the amazing Susan Gayle to be fostered until they get a bit older.

And they are precious little lives.

Laurie, founder & director
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
P. O. Box 23535
Nashville, TN 37202
[email protected]

09/11/2024

Our newest feral cat who has claimed our front porch. I love the moments I sit outside with him and take in the calm of a rocking chair on the porch and not the trauma, hunger and poverty that we try every day to do something about.

In those moments when I sit and take in what we do every day I also take in the hurt that I see in the people and animals we serve. We might be able to do something about what hurts them but the internal pain is not so easy.

So we love. And we feed. And we provide needs and options. It isn’t about fixing everything but about caring about what hurts someone.

And for a feral cat, it is about working with him until he makes the decision about coming inside.

We’ve named him Marmalade.

Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
[email protected]

09/03/2024

Beginning this week I will be off until Halloween. SAFPAW has a powerful team but we are small in number so please be patient with us as we juggle our positions. Our SAFPAW spay/neuter transport will be on hold until November. All other programs will continue.

Diana Burke, Sam and Michael will be over our SAFPAW sanctuary during my leave while Lori Eslick will be over our other programs, specifically our Meals Program.

I’ll be grateful for your prayers and healing energy. And if you have ever thought about volunteering then I would love to talk to you! Just text us on our resource line at 615-474-8390. There is no better time than now to join us!

Love you all,
Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
[email protected]

09/01/2024

Meet Chester! He is our 5th adoption from our SAFPAW sanctuary.

Yes, we are starting slow. This is a new program and there is no greater responsibility than making sure the kittens and cats we take in go only to a loving, responsible home. And they will be fixed and vaccinated prior to leaving, no exceptions.

When we begin a new program it is because we see the need and we can be a part of what will meet that need.

Chester came to us from a desperate situation. And now he has a home to call his own. He is healthy and happy. I’m not sure that there was anything we could have done today more important than watching him begin his forever.

So to Chester and Rhea, we are celebrating with you both.

Love,
Laurie
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
[email protected]

08/27/2024

Our work continues at our SAFPAW sanctuary. We are ignoring the greed and selfishness of the developers who would swallow us up alongside their monster tall skinnies. We have a goal and we will move forward with our plans to make our sanctuary a place where people and animals find a home.

This past weekend Diana Burke, Sam and Michael put up more fun spaces for our sanctuary cats. And we also put up our indoor Catio. We needed a safe space for cats coming in to get use to the loving chaos of a multi cat sanctuary. Animals and people all have different needs and there will never be a program or place that works for all.

When we take a cat in that had been abandoned you don’t know the reasons why. June came to us after several failed homes but she was a failure at trying to survive outside. She has had a trying time with her adjustment here. So we ordered a Catio that would give her a window to look out of, hiding places where she could retreat to, her own personal litter box, her own private dining area and multi levels so she could go high should she feel the need to.

SAFPAW has always believed that animals and people share a lot of emotions. They suffer similar traumas. So when you begin the process of bringing anyone off of the streets you have to be committed to their transition and success. But you also have to be aware that not everyone will stay with your program. Some will take what they need to move on. Some will stay for a season and some for forever. And it is all good as far as their journey goes.

As for June we want to see if she can adapt to living with us. If not we will look for a home that is perhaps quieter and more in tune to her needs. There is no failure, no right or wrong way to lift anyone up. There is only the way that works for them.

I think the hardest lesson to learn from homeless outreach to animals and humans is that you can’t fix anything. You can lift them up, open doors, give them a respite for awhile but you cannot produce a miracle. That is above your pay grade.

So you serve and you love. You set boundaries and goals. You work to determine what is best for them, all the while including them in the journey because after all, the journey belongs to them. It never was yours but rather a path you were to walk along with.

But on this Saturday our residents and our volunteer family worked together to make sure a once abandoned older cat we named June knew how determined we were to see her succeed.

Laurie
[email protected]
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw

08/25/2024

I don’t care what you got us, I’m good with the box.

And I’m not interrupting my nap just because we have a busy house.

08/21/2024

Life with SAFPAW can be stressful. Donations are down, wondering if some programs will need to be cut, working with a sanctuary family member as he navigates Goodwill job training, getting him to and from. Dealing with the veterinary shortage and what that means to the animals we serve. Dealing with the housing shortage and the obstacles in the way of the people we serve getting into housing. Dealing with their camps being treated so criminally.

But my work with SAFPAW is the biggest part of my life. The times I pull over and cry because of the injustices I see every day. The injustices we have to deal with to get people and animals over and through. The obstacles we have on the path of walking with them that they never see.

This life is messy and definitely difficult. But it is filled with good. People who are amazing in their tenacity. Animals who forgive us.

And then I go into our SAFPAW sanctuary and I see the love. The organized chaos. I prepare sandwiches and all the “fixings” for people coming to our door. They sit for awhile on our porch. I work until it is time to pick “W” up from his job training.

And I take these pictures of Fiona and Pierre. Then I realize they look like school pictures that I need to decide on how many prints I need. I would buy them all.

Love you,
Laurie, director and founder
P. O. Box 23535
Nashville, TN 37202

[email protected]

08/19/2024

Our newly painted SAFPAW sanctuary. And also our sanctuary dogs, Shiloh and Rowdy. They graciously share their home with many cats and several humans, residents and friends.

Our inside Feline Fantasy Land is progressing wonderfully. Our team of Diana, Sam and Michael are amazing. And the cats are already showing their appreciation by loving their new environment of places to jump, climb, nap and survey their world beneath them. After this project has reached our initial goal we will turn to the backyard for a wonderful play ground for Shiloh and Rowdy.

But for now, I need to let you all know we are under attack by the developers who have invaded our once hidden pearl of a small neighborhood. I have been verbally accosted by the lawn mower guy who works for the church across the street and one of the development partners building these monster tall skinnies. They hate the people we serve. Our friends who gather on our porch. The people who live at our sanctuary.

We do have an amazing lawyer and I am hardly afraid. Come onto our property thinking you will intimidate me and you will find otherwise. But our once hidden and peaceful sanctuary property has had a blow to our soul. However I always did have a dream of continuing to move until we had a place big enough for that dream.

SAFPAW owns our sanctuary so the bullies, the invading army determined to ruin the peace of simple neighborhoods can take their threats down the road somewhere else. We are getting a few more cameras to watch the property (an expense I hated to spend but our animals, people and sanctuary property will be protected) and I will not allow our peace to be broken.

I’ve informed the nasty, greedy developer who yelled at me what the minimum buyout would be accepted. I will not back down. He and his partners may have made their fortune from intimidation of others but it will not work with SAFPAW. So for now we are okay. We need your support, prayers, donations and solidarity as we move forward because always, always our sanctuary and the animals and people who call us home will always be the only thing that matters. Our friends who gather on our porch for a break from the heat, a simple meal, a cool drink and a place to store their belongings will always be our priority.

Under the umbrella of our mission are programs that will continue. With your support we will continue to move forward and the threats of a greedy developing army will not slow us nor stand in our way.

Laurie
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
[email protected]

08/14/2024

SAFPAW is so thankful for Jack Kitsch and Mark Hosford for the donation of this amazing cat tree! Such a busy and wonderful time at our SAFPAW sanctuary.

We exist for the animals and people we serve from our sanctuary. Everything we do to improve is because of our love for every life we serve.

After the inside is a fantasy land for our cats we intend to show our dogs how creative their yard can be.

And the people who live here as well as our regular folks who come for meals and to visit on our front porch are always going to be a focus of our work.

We are thankful.

Laurie
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
[email protected]

P. O. Box 23535
Nashville, TN 37202

08/13/2024

Harlow always goes for the dramatic poses. And she is always the first cat to stake her claim.