Better Together
Get the Support and Direction Toward the Path to Prosperity
Statement from Commissioner Clarence H. Carter
After a great deal of hard work and collaboration from TN DHS employees, other agencies, and a multitude of partners, I am thrilled to announce the official launch of the Tennessee Opportunity Pilot Initiative (TOPI). This is an ambitious and revolutionary approach to transforming Tennessee's safety net and removing barriers to self-sufficiency for all Tennesseans.
TOPI’s mission includes taking on the challenge of poverty, transforming Tennessee’s social safety net, and creating a path to prosperity for all Tennesseans, and we know this important goal cannot be accomplished alone. Alongside state leadership and the Families First Community Advisory Board, we’ve created even more impressive and powerful partnerships, which include nonprofit organizations and other sectors across the entire state. Together, we will carry out TOPI’s impactful and historical mission.
I want to extend my sincere gratitude for all who have assisted in making TOPI a reality. Please join us as we pioneer new territory and a program that can be successfully replicated from state-to-state to provide support, education, and guidance for all. And, most importantly, a path to prosperity.
Sincerely,
Commissioner Clarence H. Carter
Tennessee Department of Human Services
Initiative Mission
Tennessee Opportunity Pilot Initiative (TOPI) will help individuals, families, and the state of Tennessee by creating a new vision for the state’s social safety net, helping low-income families grow beyond their vulnerabilities and reduce their dependence on state services.
Sectors We Serve
TOPI is unique and elevated because of our collaborations with varying sectors across the entire state of Tennessee – from businesses, churches, and other state agencies to universities and philanthropic organizations. Working together and investing in our local and state-wide communities is imperative to making positive shifts, transforming lives, and creating a path to prosperity for all.
Business
Providing the economic engine to help propel individuals and families forward.
Faith Based
Offering support and hope for a brighter future.
Philanthropic
Investing in long-term solutions, supporting community programs, and impacting lives.
Academia
Providing the educational key to personal and professional success for upward mobility.
Service Based & Non-Profit
Administering an array of services from training and expertise to food and temporary shelter.
State Agencies
Ensuring the effective, efficient functions of all programs across Tennessee.
CSBG, Community Action Agencies
& HR Agencies
Collaborating to combat poverty and remove barriers for families across the state.
Upcoming Events
Families First Advisory Board Meeting | October 17, 2024 Created by the 2021 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Opportunity Act (TOA), the Families First Community Advisory Board brings together a combination of representatives from state agencies, local government, private and nonprofit organizations, business and industry, faith-based organizations, regional Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) partners, and current or former Families first/TANF customers. Board members are appointed by Speakers of both the House and Senate, and State leadership.
Latest News
Kaki Reynolds, Director of East Tennessee Collaborative (ETC) [United Way of Greater Knoxville] presented an excellent and informative webinar in conjunction with the Knoxville Chamber regarding the Benefits Cliff. The Benefits Cliff happens to families and individuals when an income increase triggers a loss of benefits. This webinar provided more insight and detailed information on how Tennesseans are struggling because of the Benefits Cliff and how educators, employers, businesses and policy makers can work together to decrease or eliminate this issue. For example, more thoughtful policies could be put forth and in place, and employers looking for skilled workers could potentially provide medical coverage and/or childcare. These are two of the main pieces of assistance that are lost when an increase in income occurs and, sadly, what sounds like it should be a step in the right direction (a promotion or a raise) usually means the folks are worse off, financially, than they were previously once they lose benefits. Our partners are working hard to educate and guide Tennessee organizations, institutions, and businesses on how we can work together to one day eliminate the Benefits Cliff.
This is a milestone year for AFIRM (A Father’s Involvement Really Matters) Program, supported by Families Matter Memphis, another one of TOPI’s honored partners. This organization celebrated the AFIRM program’s first 2024 graduating class! Program participants learned how to care for and support their children, emotionally and financially. AFIRM thanks all of the courageous program participants as well as their family and friends who attended the graduation – demonstrating further how much fathers really matter.
Success Stories
Meet Amanda
Amanda is a single mom who was barely getting by, with little hopes for a change in circumstance…until Amanda enrolled in Our Chance TN, a TOPI Grantee organization, supported by The Martha O’Bryan Center. As the daughter of an addict and a previously jailed highschool dropout, Amanda saw little hope for a bright future. But, while incarcerated, someone told her she was smart and that she mattered. This was the first time Amanda had ever been told these things – she was given hope and confidence. With that hope and confidence, she found and joined Our Chance TN where she has been provided not only more confidence, but the opportunities, support and guidance she needed to concentrate on her goals and dreams. She is in college to become a Medical Coder and Biller, and looking forward to a very bright future. ~ Our Chance has changed my life.
Meet Temica
Previous struggles to find support, training, and quality employment, while also being a mom of six, caused Temica to nearly give up. But, in her never-ending determination to support her family in the best ways possible, she sought assistance from the GROWWTH program, a TOPI partner supported by the University of Memphis. GROWWTH’s accelerated workforce readiness program and resources funded the necessary training Temica needed to work and receive her certification as a Pharmacy Technician and Phlebotomist. As a GROWWTH participant, Temica also received notifications about jobs listings, continuing education, and assistance for housing and utilities. These opportunities led her to a new job as a Pharmacy Tech, and her future is so much brighter now.
~ GROWWTH gave me a lot of confidence.
Meet Dylan and Savannah
Previously homeless, in debt, and living away from their two children, these two are now thriving – caring for their kids, working, paying off their debt, and they even contribute to a 401k! In Knox County, 40 percent of families are unable to access basic needs on their income alone; this was Dylan and Savannah’s experience. But, through mentorship, career planning, and financial incentives, they’ve found the support they need to thrive. Now, when they talk about the future, their shoulders are no longer tense nor are their hearts filled with anxiety. Thanks, in part, to programs put in place by TOPI partners and their programs, Dylan and Savannah now understand how to plan for the future, for unforeseen circumstances, and they have the support and guidance they always needed. Now when thinking about the future, all they envision are possibilities.
East Tennessee Collaborative, supported by United Way of Greater Knoxville, another trusted TOPI partner
~ Don’t consider joining ETC, just go do it.