Nourishing The Community Podcast · STP Productionss

Jordan Dickerson - Murfreesboro Cold Patrol

·41 min·1 clip

Jordan says Murfreesboro has less than 35 shelter beds for way over 400 people.

1. Nourishing The Community Podcast centers this episode on Murfreesboro Coal Patrol and its work with homelessness in Rutherford County. 2. LaDonna Parham and Norman Hanks host Jordan Dickerson, the executive director of Murfreesboro Coal Patrol, which she says began unofficially in 2014 and became a 501(c)(3) in 2017. 3. The episode asks what Coal Patrol does, who it serves, and why stable housing in Murfreesboro remains so difficult to maintain. 4. Jordan says the organization works year-round, even though the name suggests cold-weather outreach. 5. She explains that Coal Patrol serves people in encampments, cars, motels, and people at risk of becoming homeless. 6. Jordan describes a relationship-based model that starts with camp visits, basic supplies, and trust before moving into job, rehab, or housing goals. 7. She says people who get housed are followed for at least 12 months because sustaining housing takes more than getting an apartment. 8. Jordan notes that many clients are chronically homeless, including people who have lived outside for 10, 15, or 20 years. 9. She gives examples of practical support such as sleeping bags, water, hot hands, blankets, bug spray, furniture, online bill pay help, and teaching daily life skills. 10. Jordan says the staff is only two and a half people, so volunteers carry much of the hands-on work. 11. She says Tennessee’s Senate bill 1610, enacted in July last year, criminalized camping on public property and made the offense a class E felony. 12. Jordan says she and the former executive director joined a civil protest in Nashville in response to that law. 13. She says Murfreesboro has avoided felony charges because of a strong partnership with MPD’s HOST unit. 14. Jordan says the city’s point-in-time count was around 370 people, but Coal Patrol believes the real number is higher because the count excludes people in motels, doubled up on couches, and some other situations. 15. She says Murfreesboro has fewer than 35 shelter beds total, including the domestic violence shelter, and that waitlists are common. 16. Jordan says the Nashville Rescue Mission often becomes the fallback shelter option, with Coal Patrol providing bus passes to get people there. 17. The interview is conversational, practical, and marked by frequent corrections, clarifications, and back-and-forth follow-up. 18. Jordan also uses a direct advocacy style, especially when she says clients are part of the community and not separate from it. 19. People working on homelessness response, housing, or local nonprofit support will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking for entertainment rather than local service details may skip it.

As heard by us

A clear look at cold-weather outreach, local trust, and the people doing the work.

Jordan Dickerson talks with LaDonna Parham and Norman Hanks about cold-weather outreach and the work behind Murfreesboro Coal Patrol. The story traces the group to its unofficial start in 2014, then follows the plain logistics of getting people to the coldest night shelter when…

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A calm listen about who shows up when the night gets cold.

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