Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw

12/06/2024

Metro will open up their Emergency Weather Shelter at 3230 Brick Church Pike at 7pm and will remain open until 7am. Pets are welcome.

This is for Friday, 12/6.

If you are staying in your vehicle parking is available.

Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw

12/05/2024

Metro will open up their Emergency Weather Shelter at 3230 Brick Church Pike at 7pm and will remain open until 7am. Pets are welcome.

This is for Thursday, 12/5.

If you are staying in your vehicle parking is available.

Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw

12/05/2024

And so I make our obligatory plea for donations. SAFPAW is such a lean organization where costs are concerned that we cannot cut expenses anymore than is already done. Our sanctuary is paid for but we need sanctuary cleaning & cat wrangling volunteers! But the expenses that we have are for the furtherance of our mission and programs.

On Monday we rescued 4 baby kittens and their sweet and painfully thin momma. Barely 6 weeks old, they would not have made it in this bitter cold. On Tuesday we took in 3 older baby kittens and their momma cat. That is 9 kittens and cats, rescued this week, who will be adopted to screened homes and never have a litter. These mother cats will now get to know love shown to them alone and never again have to give birth on the streets. Pictures will be coming soon. Along the way we gained a new foster and cats rescue team member and Sara is amazing!

We are working with folks to get their IDs so that we can apply for services with them. The required 3 forms of ID are:
1. A state ID or TDL
2. Birth certificate
3. Social security card
Without these 3 forms of ID a person is stuck on the streets and in a tent or their vehicle. The costs to get the first two are minimal but it does require time. And honestly it is time that is very rewarding as we get to know a person, hear their story and get to know them as a human being.

Delivering supplies to folks who are not housed is very bittersweet. It is necessary but it is also something we should not have to do to the extent that we do. But as long as we are needed we will serve in this area. To all who have already given we are grateful. However the need, as we all know, is ongoing.
1. 4 person tents
2. Cold weather sleeping bags
3. Blankets, can be gently used but must be clean
4. 16 ounce canisters of propane
5. Camp heaters and/or camp stoves
6. Tarps, at least medium strength

Our Jason Brown Christmas Toy Drive has been busy. Audrey Anna has taken over my old school ways and made us financially smarter while finding better items than ever for our children and their families to open up on Christmas morning. And we are covering December’s rent for a family that has suffered a horrific tragedy so that their home is not one more casualty.

Our Meals Program under Team Lead Lori Eslick is always busy. But it has also been a victim as we deal with a drop in donations and fund raising activities. We seek to deliver lunch meals every Saturday but we have had to cut back to 2 a month rather than every Saturday. During the bitter cold we will try to make sure we are boots on the ground every Saturday so that we can make sure folks have the camp supplies that are literally life saving. If you shudder to think of being in a tent during this cold please imagine being unhoused without a tent, sleeping bag and some sort of heat. It is brutal and a dangerous risk for hypothermia and death.

Our Spay/Neuter Transport program is 25 years old this upcoming year and has saved the lives of truly thousands and thousands of dogs and cats every year. But it is one program that may be ending in 2025. It is an expensive program even as the lives we save, the life saving veterinary care we provide and births we prevent are evident in the areas we serve. But good work costs and I don’t know how else to say it.

We need your financial commitment to see us through to 2025 and beyond. In addition we need committed and experienced board members to join us. And we need a webmaster as our website is dreadfully outdated. Email me at the address below if you are interested. And we can direct you to our QR codes if needed. There is a donation page on our website.

You are needed and you will have the chance to put boots on the ground in our community. You will get the chance to make a difference.

Text our resource line at 615-474-8390 and if we haven’t responded please text again. Or email us at [email protected].

In service and love,
Laurie
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
P. O. Box 23535
Nashville, TN 37202

[email protected]
safpaw.org

12/04/2024

Someday, when I can I will write about this dog.

The work I do goes back to 1995. There has not been one day that made me question this path. Not one day I’ve regretted my choices. But there have been so many days that left me shaking and angry at how we seem to think animals are ours to own. Our possessions to bring into our lives. They are not. These dogs and cats I’ve served alongside their humans have their own needs. Their own fears. They never asked for ours and we owe them so much more.

Along the way there has also been a lot of joy and a lot of happier beginnings. SAFPAW held the first Davidson County Spay/Neuter Clinic in 1998 that was organized & run by non-veterinary personnel. For that first clinic pretty much everyone backed off. They told me it would fail. A wealthy shelter here in town wanted nothing to do with my “crazy plan”. Big ole HSUS sent me a check from their petty cash account. And all they did was make me all the more determined. Our first clinic was amazing and the next 4 clinics were all I needed to prove that if you took the obstacles away then pet owners who were struggling to properly care for their pets would come to you. They would seek you out.

And since then our Spay/Neuter & Wellness Transports have been on the road in Davidson County. We have never stopped. And this dog, he keeps me going on transport mornings that see me pulling out at 4:30am. Because I was not able to save him. I was not able to neuter or have him vetted. I was never able to give him something better.

It is easy to tie a bow around the animals you save. Harder to reconcile your mission with one you were only able to show kindness to. Give food and water to. But they are the ones who keep me moving forward.

The big ole clumsy & smelly dogs who shake all the dirt off of themselves the second you have them in your car. The hissing cats who will not make your love for them easy. You cannot find your true meaning with the easy ones.

I’ve always found it with the lives that pushed me to the edge of every commitment I’ve ever made to those I’ve served. And I am eternally grateful to each one. Because even when it was just me and them, even when no one else saw anything, this dog in the picture I took while crying way too hard, he saw me. While growling at me I was able to put food and water out for him. Close enough for him to reach but from a distance safe enough for me to not threaten him past the point of safety.

Joys and sorrows walk hand in hand. That is what I’ve learned.

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

P. O. Box 23535
Nashville, TN 37202

12/03/2024

Metro will open up their Emergency Weather Shelter at 3230 Brick Church Pike at 7pm and will remain open until 7am. Pets are welcome.

This is for Tuesday, 12/3.

If you are staying in your vehicle parking is available.

Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw

12/02/2024

We are asking for 200 sandwiches for this coming Saturday’s lunch meal deliveries!

Would you, your family, place of worship or work place be up for a commitment of at least 25 wrapped sandwiches? Drop off is 10:30 this Saturday, 12/7, at our meet up & lunch meal assembly spot at an East Nashville church.

Please text us on our resource line at 615-474-8390! Too many of our neighbors struggle with hunger so we head out in the Madison, Rivergate and old Tent City area to deliver lunch meals every Saturday.

Each Saturday delivery costs around $400 so donations will help us to keep boots on the ground. In addition we would like to always bring tents, sleeping bags, camp heaters & propane plus dry dog and cat food.

In service,

Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
P. O. Box 23535
Nashville, TN 37202

TEXT 615-474-8390

12/02/2024

Metro will open up their Emergency Weather Shelter at 3230 Brick Church Pike at 7pm and will remain open until 7am. Pets are welcome.

This is for Monday, 12/2.

If you are staying in your vehicle parking is available.

Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw

12/01/2024

Metro will open up their Emergency Weather Shelter at 3230 Brick Church Pike at 7pm and will remain open until 7am. Pets are welcome. This is for Sunday, 12/1.

If you are staying in your vehicle parking is available.

Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw

11/30/2024

Metro will open up their Emergency Weather Shelter at 3230 Brick Church Pike at 7pm and will remain open until 7am. Pets are welcome. This is for Saturday, 11/30.

If you are staying in your vehicle parking is available.

Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw

11/30/2024

Our SAFPAW programs are:

1. Our sanctuary that is home to animals and people. Where the streets are left behind.
2. Our Homeless Outreach Program.
3. Our Meals Program that provides a sack lunch or food box to those struggling with hunger and poverty. This includes our Pet Food Pantry.
4. Our Jason Brown Christmas Toy Drive for our much loved small trailer park community that we adopted 13 years ago.
5. Our Spay/Neuter & Wellness Transport for pet owners struggling with how to properly care for their companion animal.

Our Winter Wish List:

1. Financial donations. They have been down this year and that will impact those we serve. Our Sanctuary is paid for but the expenses still exist. These programs serve real needs but they bring a cost if we are to serve.

2. Our Meals Program needs sandwiches makers. We ask for a commitment of at least 25 sandwiches at least 1 time a month. We seek to deliver 200 sandwich meals every Saturday in the Rivergate, Madison and Tent City area. In addition we need sponsors to cover the other food items we include in each lunch meal.

3. Our Pet Wellness Program and Spay/Neuter Transport is our most expensive but most needed program. We work with 3 excellent clinics who keep our costs low but the volume of need is high. This program has served for 24 years.

4. Our beloved Sanctuary. We always need Iams senior dog food and sensitive skin & stomach cat food. Tidy Cat “light weight” litter. Paper towels and Clorox wipes. Pet safe cleaning supplies.

5. Homeless Outreach. An immediate need!
16 ounce propane canisters. Buddy camping heaters. Cold weather sleeping bags. 4 person tents. Blankets (can be gently used but need to be clean).

6. Pet food!
We ask for Purina dry dog and cat food, at least 12-16 pound bags.

7. Our Christmas Toy Drive does not stop with Christmas morning. We sit down with the owner and look at a family that has struggled the most and we pay their rent for December.

Text us on our resource line at 615-474-8390 for information on how to donate goods or financial support.

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

P. O. Box 23535
Nashville, TN 37202

11/28/2024

He called a week ago concerned about his little dog. Murphy needed his vaccines and his nails trimmed. What I found was a sweet dog who also needs his teeth cleaned. I find that a lot with the dogs and cats we serve. I also find the same need in the humans we serve.

But we start with the immediate needs, vaccines and dog food and something for his human to eat. That morning he had only a half sandwich for breakfast. We start with the immediate needs, the ones we can address and fix right then.

So I took sweet Murphy to Goodlettsville Animal Hospital where he was looked at and vaccinated and given lots of treats. Then I took him back to his human and the old car they are living in. I brought a plate dinner for the human and a bag of dog food for Murphy.

On Monday we will begin the work on getting his forms of ID and other steps that will get him a key to a door where he can put a hook to hang Murphy’s leash on.

Maybe next year his Thanksgiving will be at his own kitchen table. And hopefully we can get them that key for the new year. New goals for a man and his dog. New hopes for something so much better. We just have to get started.

Thank you for coming on this journey with us. We can’t do any of this without you. I know you didn’t see us yesterday as we waited in the veterinarian’s exam room. Or picking up a dinner plate. Purchasing a bag of dog food because we ran out at our storage unit. But you were with Murphy and me because this is all made possible when you give.

And I am grateful. So is Murphy and his human dad.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Laurie, founder

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

11/26/2024

Our 13th Annual Jason Brown Holiday Toy Program is busy working with a whole bunch of elves. They flew in from the North Pole but truth be told they’ve spent more time trying to get a songwriting deal. Good thing we have Audrey Anna doing the real work.

13 years ago SAFPAW adopted a small trailer park community off of Dickerson Road. We make sure every child from birth to 17 has Christmas gifts when they wake up. We include anyone over 62 who lives alone. Then we sit down and look for the family that has struggled the most and pay their rent for December.

All this from a grassroots in the trenches organization determined to serve our neighbors who are struggling and shouldn’t be. All this because of your support. Because we can only make our programs work when you join us. Together what we do with our Holiday Toys Program makes a real difference in the lives we touch. And on the morning of December 25th….I wake up and I can picture the smiles of children I don’t know, yet they mean everything to my heart.

I hope you know the difference you make.

Thank you,
Laurie, founder
P. O. Box 23535
Nashville, TN 37202
safpaw.org

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

11/22/2024

Reminder that our citizens who are not housed need winter supplies to make it through the season.

We need camping heaters, 16 ounce propane canisters, cold weather sleeping bags and 4 person tents. Also All Day bus passes are very needed.

Please text for mailing address, and thank you. Our resource line for text messages and calls is:
615-474-8390

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

11/19/2024

11/18/2024

One of our residents came to tell me that an older man was sitting on the porch with his dog. And that he was pretty cold. It was the first really bitter cold spell in that November and he was not dressed for it, having only a t-shirt on over his jeans.

I went outside to talk to him. And to love on the most adorable Dachshund I’ve ever met. I brought him a cup of coffee and a coat and asked him about what brought him to our porch. He said he was a veteran and that he had heard about us but wasn’t sure, not really, about why he was sitting on our porch.

But something had to be done. I will not hand a veteran over 70 and in a vulnerable frame of mind a tent and sleeping bag. So after a lunch and coffee I went down the road and got him a hotel room for the upcoming week. I persuaded him to let me board his faithful dog until we could get them housed together.

The next day I contacted a peer at the VA and we got to work. Meanwhile we made sure that he was okay at the hotel. We kept him housed there for 3 months. There were times he was angry at me because he was confused as to why his dog was not with him. And because he did not feel at home in a hotel room. But we managed to talk through each round of frustration.

And we finally found this curmudgeon of a veteran and his sweet dog an apartment in Clarksville. One he approved. Their moving day was absolute joy.

When you donate this is what you make happen. And it is a wonderful thing, seeing a veteran and his dog safely housed from our front porch to a hotel to their own apartment.

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

P. O. Box 23535
Nashville, TN 37202