Judith Tackett is stepping down from her post as director of the Metro Homeless Impact Division after four years.
Some notable achievements of Tackett's tenure include the development of a coordinated database to track homelessness and available services, overseeing the merger of two separate government entities involved with homelessness services, and getting increased Continuum of Care funding.
“It is important to me to highlight the big picture goals,” Tackett wrote in an email to colleagues, copies of which were shared with the Scene. “But let’s not forget other achievements that you, Nashville, have reached.”
Tackett has been a visible figure recently due to several discussions about homeless encampments that have riled up certain neighborhoods and garnered media attention (including from the Scene). While some citizens want to see the camps closed down — like those who live near the Brookmeade Greenway camp in West Nashville — Tackett has been vocal that housing, not enforcement, is the answer. She also voiced resistance to sanctioning camps — an idea supported by some private services providers — for the same reason.
Tackett seems to allude to this in the email: “Yes, a lot of criticism is bombarding you from all sides, but please, do not get distracted from the loud voices. Stay the course. Housing ends Homelessness. We need all types of effective programs within a Housing Crisis Resolution System, and we need a leadership structure that does not shy away from long-term solutions.”
Tackett became the director in July 2017, but served as head of the Metro Homelessness Commission for years prior to that job. Homelessness in Nashville has declined moderately since Tackett began her role, and in 2020, the number of Nashvillians experiencing homelessness dropped from 2,337 to  2,016. The lowest number of people experiencing homelessness during Tackett's tenure was in 2019, at 1,986. The point-in-time count, an annual census for the unhoused population, was canceled in 2021 due to the pandemic.
Tackett ended her email with a call for more investment in “low-income, low-barrier housing” and for the city to rethink its “leadership structure” around homelessness.
Tackett confirmed she was stepping down to the Scene, though she did not reveal a reason for her departure.
Update: The nonprofit Open Table Nashville, which conducts outreach to people experiencing homelessness among other services, issued a statement following Tackett's departure, saying, “Leaders like Judy don’t come along every day, or even every decade.”
“This news rocked the homeless outreach and service provider community because she is a highly trusted, endlessly dedicated, strategic, compassionate, and innovative leader,” reads the statement. “She has managed to unite members of the public and private sectors in order to move Nashville forward on issues of homelessness.”
The organization says Tackett's resignation highlights the need for the creation of an independent department or division for housing and homelessness, saying it was one of Mayor John Cooper's campaign promises as well as a recommendation from the new Affordable Housing Task Force.
“The status-quo response to Judy’s resignation would be for Metro leaders to simply rehire for her position. But if this happens, our city is missing a crucial opportunity — an opportunity to give a cutting-edge team the independence and resources they need to pioneer solutions and partnerships that will not only work, but will impact the lives of countless Nashvillians who are struggling to obtain and maintain affordable housing.”
