A joint Tennessee Initiative
A Tennessee where no family walks through crisis alone.
The Human Flourishing Initiative is uniting state agencies, faith communities, and local nonprofits into county-level alliances — so every family has a coordinated team behind them, from crisis all the way to flourishing.
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Pilot counties already underway: Williamson, Knox, and Shelby — urban, suburban, and metro contexts.
The problem
A safety net built program by program,
crisis by crisis.
The federal anti-poverty system has grown into more than 80 programs spending over a trillion dollars a year — each with its own application, its own eligibility rules, its own definition of success.
WATCH:: What is the Human Flourishing Initiaitive?
A family in crisis doesn't see a system. They see a maze. And too often, they navigate it alone.
- Programs operate in silos. Each agency has its own intake, eligibility, and metrics. Families repeat their story dozens of times.
- Success is measured in services delivered — not in whether a family is actually thriving five years later.
- Public supports plateau at stability. They were never designed to help families move from surviving into flourishing.
For example A Tennessee family on an ordinary Tuesday.
Imagine a Tennessee parent whose car won't start one morning. They're late to work. After one too many warnings, their employer lets them go. Within a week, the rent is due that they can't pay. An eviction notice arrives. School starts in two weeks — the kids have outgrown last year's shoes. Groceries are running low.
None of these problems caused the others. But they're all happening at once, to one family that already had no margin.
Today, that family faces each problem at a different door. A housing application here. A food pantry there. A workforce program in another office. Each one with its own intake, its own waitlist, its own forms. The family tells their story over and over. Things fall through the cracks.
Through an HFI county alliance, the same family is met by one family advocate at the backbone organization. The advocate runs the diagnostic, then assembles the team:
- The local housing authority works with the landlord on rental assistance.
- A faith-based community partner closes the immediate gap on shoes, groceries, and other essentials.
- The Department of Labor and Workforce Development connects the parent to a Job Corps placement.
Every partner sees the same plan in Hope Hub. In 30 days, the advocate runs the assessment again — and the team adjusts based on what's working.
One family. One coordinated plan. One Tennessee showing up — together.
What makes HFI different
Every county follows the same six steps.
HFI isn't a new program layered on top of the existing ones. It's a methodology for connecting what already exists in a county — and giving families a single coordinated team instead of a maze of separate agencies. Here's exactly how it works.
Step One
01Identify a backbone organization.
Each county begins by selecting a non-governmental, community-based convener — typically a trusted local nonprofit or faith-based organization. The backbone doesn't have to provide direct services itself. What it must have is the relational capital and credibility to bring every other resource partner to the table.
Non-governmental · Community-based · Trusted convenerStep Two
02Map every local asset.
The backbone's first job is convening — identifying every community resource that touches a vulnerable Tennessean in the county. Nonprofits, clothing closets, faith-based ministries, state agency offices, local housing authorities, food pantries, workforce development programs. Each is invited to join the county's HFI Alliance.
The goal: paint a complete picture of every form of support already available, for every kind of vulnerability.
Step Three
03Train the alliance on Hope Hub.
Every alliance member is registered and trained on Hope Hub — a shared case management platform that holds everything in one place: client referrals, diagnostic assessments, sensitive family information, service coordination, and outcome tracking.
Each member has their own access. They can refer new clients into the system, and they can be assigned to clients who need the specific services or resources they provide.
Hope Hub in plain English
Think of it as the connective tissue of the alliance — the place where every partner sees the same picture of a family's needs, and where progress is tracked over time.
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Think of it as the connective tissue of the alliance — the place where every partner sees the same picture of a family's needs, and where progress is tracked over time.
Step Four
04Open the alliance for referrals.
Once the initial alliance is established, client referrals can begin. The alliance doesn't stop growing — new partners continue joining as they're identified — but families don't have to wait for the network to be "complete" to start being served.
Step Five
05Family advocates coordinate the response.
When a referral comes in, a dedicated family advocate at the backbone organization runs a comprehensive diagnostic — measuring need across 13 domains of self-sufficiency and well-being across 6. The advocate's job isn't to solve every problem themselves. It's to read what the assessment reveals and assemble the right team of alliance members around that specific family.
What this looks like in practice
A single family might be supported simultaneously by a local housing authority handling shelter, a parachurch ministry clothing closet meeting immediate material needs, and a Department of Labor Job Corps connection opening a pathway to employment — all coordinated through one shared plan.
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A single family might be supported simultaneously by a local housing authority handling shelter, a parachurch ministry clothing closet meeting immediate material needs, and a Department of Labor Job Corps connection opening a pathway to employment — all coordinated through one shared plan.
Step Six
06Reassess every 30 days.
Every 30 days, the family is reassessed on both axes — self-sufficiency and well-being. Hope Hub tracks the movement. The alliance can see whether their coordinated work is producing real change, or whether the plan needs to shift. This is how a county knows the difference between services delivered and lives moving.
Movement on both axes · Tracked in Hope HubHow we know it's working
Two questions.
Every thirty days.
Most safety net programs measure services delivered. HFI measures whether families are actually moving — across two dimensions, every month, for as long as they're with the alliance.
The first question
"What do you need?"
Self-sufficiency 13 domains Scored 1–5 Thriving Scale
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"What do you need?"
Self-sufficiency 13 domains Scored 1–5 Thriving Scale
The second question
"How are you doing?"
Well-being 6 domains Scored 0-10 Harvard Flourishing Index
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"How are you doing?"
Well-being 6 domains Scored 0-10 Harvard Flourishing Index
Every family is plotted on two axes. Self-Sufficiency measures what they need — the practical foundations of a stable life. Flourishing measures how they're doing — the lived experience underneath. Real progress means moving on both.
Question One · Thriving Scale
13 domains of self-sufficiency
Each domain is scored on a 5-point scale: In Crisis · At Risk · Situation Stabilizing · Stable · Thriving.
- Housing
- Recovery
- Employment
- Transportation
- Education
- Mental Health
- Physical Health
- Safety
- Dental
- Financial Stability
- Food
- Childcare
- Legal Assistance
Question One · Thriving Scale
13 domains of self-sufficiency
Each domain is scored on a 5-point scale: In Crisis · At Risk · Situation Stabilizing · Stable · Thriving.
- Housing
- Recovery
- Employment
- Transportation
- Education
- Mental Health
- Physical Health
- Safety
- Dental
- Financial Stability
- Food
- Childcare
- Legal Assistance
Question Two · Harvard Flourishing Index
6 domains of well-being
Twelve research-validated questions, two per domain, scored 0–10. Developed by Harvard's Human Flourishing Program.
- Happiness & Life Satisfaction
- Mental & Physical Health
- Meaning & Purpose
- Character & Virtue
- Close Social Relationships
- Financial & Material Stability
Question Two · Harvard Flourishing Index
6 domains of well-being
Twelve research-validated questions, two per domain, scored 0–10. Developed by Harvard's Human Flourishing Program.
- Happiness & Life Satisfaction
- Mental & Physical Health
- Meaning & Purpose
- Character & Virtue
- Close Social Relationships
- Financial & Material Stability
From assessment to action
The diagnostic doesn't just measure. It triages. Every gap reveals exactly which alliance member to bring into a family's plan — and every reassessment shows whether that connection is working.
A drop in housing pulls in the local housing authority. A new gap in recovery activates a treatment partner. A flat score in meaning and purpose surfaces the need for a faith community or mentorship connection. The alliance isn't theoretical — it's matched to the assessment, family by family, every thirty days.
Why this matters
We're bullish about outcomes.
Tennessee has measured services delivered for decades. HFI measures something different: whether families are actually moving — toward self-sufficiency on the X-axis, toward well-being on the Y-axis.
That data lives in Hope Hub. It updates every thirty days. And it's how a county can prove — not assert — that the alliance is working.
Who's at the table
An alliance of government, faith, and community.
HFI is built on the conviction that no single sector can do this alone. State agencies bring scale and resources. Faith communities bring relationships and presence. Local nonprofits bring trust and on-the-ground capacity.
State Agencies
Department of Human Services
Department of Children's Services
Department of Labor & Workforce Development
Office of Evidence and Impact
Research & Federal
Administration for Children & Families
University of Tennessee SWORPS
Harvard Human Flourishing Program
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Community & Faith
Restore Hope / 100 Families
Church of the City / The Village (Williamson)
Knoxville Leadership Foundation (Knox)
Agape Child & Family Services (Shelby)
For Others
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A joint Initiative
United Across Tennessee For Vulnerable Families
Led by the Governor's Faith-Based and Community Initiative (GFBCI), the TN Department of Human Services, the TN Department of Children's Services, the TN Department of Labor & Workforce Development, Restore Hope / Hope Hub, and community partners.
On the ground
Three pilot counties.
Three Tennessee contexts.
HFI is being implemented across urban, suburban, and metropolitan settings — each led by a trusted local backbone organization with deep community roots.
Get involved
Could your county be next?
HFI is expanding into new counties across Tennessee. If your community has the leadership, the partnerships, and the capacity to anchor an alliance, we'd love to start a conversation.
Send us a message at staff@governorsinitiative.org
Just want to stay informed?
We'll send occasional updates as new counties join, results emerge, and ways to get involved take shape.
Jot us a note, and we'll add you to our email list.