Beyond Convenient and Comfortable: Change in Shelby County

“This is a significant moment in our time in the history of Memphis if we choose for that to be true. As we often say: when hope wins, Memphis wins.”

Local community leaders gathered to launch the Human Flourishing Initiative, uniting state agencies, faith communities and local nonprofits around a shared mission: moving families from crisis to flourishing, and turning hope into another win for Memphis.

The kickoff, held at The Salvation Army Kroc Center in Memphis, featured speakers from the Tennessee Governor’s Faith-Based and Community Initiative (GFBCI), the Department of Human Services, and Agape Child & Family Services, who will serve as the backbone of the Shelby County pilot.

David Jordan, president and CEO of Agape, hailed the launch as a pivotal moment for Memphis and Shelby County.

Gov. Bill Lee also addressed the audience, sharing that he was grateful for the opportunity his position has given him to witness change being made throughout Tennessee.

“Transformation can happen,” Lee said. “If you have someone standing alongside you to walk through that, it’s much more likely that transformation is going to happen.”

Dr. Sha Fanion of Agape Child & Family Services used real-world examples to explain the overall impact that human flourishing has on Shelby County and beyond.

“Human flourishing is really asking us to think differently,” Fanion said. “It asks us to see the whole family and not just their crisis. Housing, education, health, employment, transportation and safety are not separate issues. They are a connected reality for that family, and they require a coordinated response.”

Fanion also said it takes a community effort to move families from crisis to flourishing. The idea being that it requires all organizations working together to provide stability for families and beyond. 

Additionally, the launch featured a Q&A panel discussion with Commissioners Clarence H. Carter and Margie Quinn of the Tennessee Department of Human Services, and Commissioner Deniece Thomas of the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development. The trio answered questions addressing the ongoing crises within Shelby County, and discussed the better ways to serve communities and positively impact lives.

“This is not about politics, this is about people,” Thomas said. “If we want to lift up our state, we’ve got to change the way we do business. We can’t do what’s convenient and comfortable, we have to do what is right.”

Memphis Mayor Paul Young explored his own meaning of hope, emphasizing the importance of providing logical steps for a better future, and how it is the community’s collective responsibility to guide those who lack direction.

“I define hope as the belief that tomorrow can be better than today, if I know the logical steps to get there,” Young said. “That’s an important part because there are people in our communities that have no clue what it takes, and it’s not their fault that they don’t have a clue. It’s our fault.” 

Supporting the Human Flourishing Initiative is HopeHub, a case management software designed for the collaboration of local organizations to work on the needs of individuals and families in crisis. This will allow Shelby County to help someone identify their goals, connect to resources and navigate challenges over time.

Executive Director Paul Chapman of Restore Hope, the nonprofit that developed HopeHub, said Shelby County will benefit from the Restore Hope model, building hope and agency for its communities, facing challenges up front such as child welfare cases, substance abuse and food insecurity.

The Shelby County launch ended with a communal signing of the Human Flourishing Initiative’s Declaration of Participation. Signatures were made by Gov. Lee, Mayor Young, Mayor-elect Mickell Lowery, and the rest of the speakers and attendees, promising to step in and move communities from fragmentation to alignment.