A Nashville-based nonprofit, Home Street Home Ministries supports and uplifts those who are trapped in the grip of homelessness and other vulnerable living conditions - regardless of age, race, gender, nationality, religious belief or affiliation. This SuperGrant will help fund Home Street Home's first transformational home, where they can support those in vulnerable living situations as they find jobs and, eventually, homes of their own.
The SuperGrant follows a generous $20,000 donation made by Roman Josi and his wife, Ellie, last year around this time. That support from the Preds captain, coupled with the newest gift, is more than Young ever could have hoped for.
"Receiving the SuperGrant is literally making one of my dreams come true," Young said, his passion for his work emanating through the phone line. "We'll be able to open our first transformational house - I don't like 'transition' because we're not transitioning them, we're transforming their lives - and this could not have happened, especially this year, without that SuperGrant… We were struggling, and Roman stepped up and gave us a jolt, but the SuperGrant really put us over the top as far as being able to go in and start on the house."
Young knows exactly what those who seek help from Home Street Home are going through, because he's been there too.
At 52 years of age, he found himself homeless, out on the streets for what he thought would only be a short time. Five years later, in March of 2014, Young came back off the streets, and he knew he would never be able to forget what he saw and learned from the experience.
Later that year in October, Young borrowed $600 from a friend and started the ministry. In April of 2020, Home Street Home is the largest entity doing what they do in Nashville - providing food, shelter, clothing and a little bit of hope.
"It's something that I've been dreaming about and planning for two and a half years, just waiting for God to open the door, and to move forward with it," Young said of opening the house. "That's kind of how I look at everything. I've had people over the years that tell me, 'Well, you know, we need to do this, we need to do that,' and I go, 'What we need to do is to continue to do what we do. And when we're ready for something more, God will let me know.' That's how I live. That's how I operate this ministry. And, you know, when the time is right, he's always working. So, it's just amazing."
Now, Young and Home Street Home will be able to open the transformational house to give those who need some hope in their lives a chance to get back on their feet.
"This house is literally going to change lives, transform lives, save lives one at a time," Young said. "With us, it's going to be a matter of progress, as long as they're moving forward. And even if they get stagnant, because that's going to happen, that's OK. They're going to get that plateau and they're going to stay there for a little while, but as long as they're not falling backward, that's OK. You could take six months, eight months, if it takes a year, two years, I don't care, because when they walk out that door, I want them to be walking out with everything they need to not look back. That's what this is all about, and that's what the SuperGrant is going to help us make happen."
The past year hasn't been easy for anyone, and Young has felt the pain brought on by the new challenges everyone has faced. But now, at a time when hope seems to be a bit more bountiful than it has in quite a while, Young is sensing it for his ministry, too.
All that's left to do is to keep living and helping those who need it most, something Young feels called to do.
"It tells me that somebody noticed, and somebody cared to receive this grant," Young said. "To have somebody like the Predators Foundation and SmileDirectClub to believe in and what we're doing, and to find value in that, it gives me hope… It just energizes me to do more, do better, and I don't know any other way to explain. It's just really, truly, a dream come true."
