Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw

Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw SAFPAW believes in knocking down poverty obstacles that exist for those we serve and their pets.

The Southern Alliance for People and Animal Welfare (SAFPAW) is a local non-profit serving Davidson County by working to improve the quality of life in our community for people and pets in need. SAFPAW provides pet food, supplies, and veterinary care free of charge pet owners who are homeless, or living at or below the poverty level. Our weekly Spay/Neuter Transport picks up every Thursday morning

and brings each pet back that same evening. Animals are spayed or neutered, fully vaccinated, dewormed, treated for fleas & ticks and nails trimmed. In addition our weekly transport helps with basic wellness pet needs. Our homeless outreach program provides food, camping supplies, and other basic needs to those we serve. We also assist those looking to secure more permanent housing by helping with transportation, acquiring necessary IDs (such as social security card, state ID or drivers license, birth certificate, etc.), working through the application process, and everything in-between, including move-in day! SAFPAW is able to make a tremendous positive impact in the lives of people and pets throughout Davidson County, but only with the help of our generous and compassionate community. Swing by our page at Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - SAFPAW and "Like" us to stay up to date on all of the amazing work being done every day. And don't forget to come check out our website too (www.safpaw.org) and consider making a donation so that we can all continue to build our community better and stronger every day!

For over 3 years the calls about stray animals, abandoned animals, animals people simply cannot keep anymore have been g...
06/23/2026

For over 3 years the calls about stray animals, abandoned animals, animals people simply cannot keep anymore have been growing and this year it is beyond comprehension. Rescues are drowning. Our SAFPAW Cat Sanctuary is on a no intake and will be throughout the summer.

We cannot continue to do the work that MACC should be doing. Rescues are not supposed to be front line workers but we’ve had no choice. And yes, I’ll name names. Nashville Humane Society sits on more money than God has and they could easily make Middle Tennessee Spay/Neuter Clinic happen. Not some pretend idea that a mobile clinic can bring about results that will stop this pet overpopulation tragedy but a true bricks and mortar clinic that could not only change this tragic course but turn it around. And if the Health Department even pretended that it cared, they could partner with NHS along with animal advocates in the trenches that have been making spay/neuter happen.

Our Spay/Neuter Transport Program has been hitting the streets since 2001 and we have fixed, vaccinated and dewormed over 23,000 dogs and cats belonging to low/no income pet owners. Free of charge. Our program has worked beyond my wildest hopes and we are still on the road.

So, calling out wealthy agencies may not get me a warm response. I don’t need that and if you think I’m going negative then use me as a target. But I have been at this for too many years and I have no reason left to play nice and genteel. Truth is truth and spay/neuter is the only way this tsunami will be reversed. Large scale and accessible spay/neuter.

I pulled up the Metro Health Department website today. They don’t even list MACC or animal control. Maybe I didn’t dig deep enough? It just seems that such a major responsibility as running Animal Control for Davidson County should be prominent on their website. They mentioned all of their duties, animal control did not make the top 10.

I don’t want to go negative but as someone who has put her boots on the ground since 1995 I have earned the right to speak out and call out. I would gladly work with all to make a Middle Tennessee Spay/Neuter Clinic happen but I can say that we do not have that kind of funds. If we did it would have already been built.

Meanwhile our city’s animals are suffering. They are dying on the streets. They are being abandoned as pet owners can no longer afford even the pretense of caring for them. And no, an additional pet food pantry will not help.

So if you cannot get an animal you found or cannot keep into MACC please call the Health Department and ask for the Directors office. Their number is 615-340-5616.

Perhaps this post will be seen as negative. I’m okay with that because we cannot always be sunshine and rainbows. As a long time advocate it is the truth I’m interested in, not the accolades. I just want the pet overpopulation tragedy of our making to turn around. I want the expectation of responsible pet care to make a comeback. I want consequences of neglect or abuse to happen.

I want a better Nashville for the dogs and cats who have no one if we don’t stand up and speak out. Even if that makes some uncomfortable and makes me unpopular.

I’m okay with that. If it saves lives, I’m truly okay with that.

Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw

No, we are not planning a fundraiser based on breaking any laws as the first picture humorously suggests. But when you a...
06/22/2026

No, we are not planning a fundraiser based on breaking any laws as the first picture humorously suggests. But when you are in charge of a nonprofit, when you are both the director and the one who delivers supplies to our sanctuary and shops for our Lunch Meal Delivery Saturdays. When you are the one who has to keep every pot properly stirred so that none boil over…there are days I do dream of an easier stream of money than constantly asking you.

Not because so many do not graciously give. But I know that everyone is feeling the rising prices at the grocery store, the gas pump. I can imagine that a nonprofit with boots on the ground every day can seem impossible to continue to fund when filling your car up on Sunday night means something else has to go unpaid.

We are feeling the same way, so I do get it. So why do we keep asking? Because we…

Deliver Lunch Meals every other Saturday to over 200 neighbors all over Nashville who would not otherwise get anything to eat. In between we deliver food boxes, pet food and diapers every week.

We run a Spay/Neuter Transport every week. We pick up dogs and cats and have them fixed, vaccinated and dewormed for folks who lack the money or transportation to get this done. This service is free of charge for those who qualify. And that is who we serve. We also have a Wellness Transport twice monthly to keep these animals up to date on vaccines and general well being. In 28 years we have had 23,000 dogs and cats fixed, vaccinated and dewormed.

We run a cat sanctuary that also houses folks who used to live on the streets. I love it when animals can help people heal and people can help those same animals heal.

We have held a Jason Brown Holiday Toy Program every Christmas for the past 16 years. We provide toys, clothes, diapers and so many amazing gifts for a small community we have served for close to 2 decades. From birth to 17 and for anyone 62 or older who lives alone.

Our Meals Program had to move to every other Saturday, the expenses were higher than the funds coming in. The food we deliver has to be bought, there is no large nonprofit or corporate store that provides for the nonprofits with boots on the ground.

And our Spay/Neuter Transport program is so very critical. But it is expensive. We may be facing having to end it this summer.

We care about every animal and person we serve. But we can only serve as much as we have means with which to do so. So we are asking again. We need you if we are to go out many times a week delivering water and Gatorade to folks struggling with the heat.

Our QR codes are in the comments. And our website, which is undergoing an amazing transformation, is also a way to donate from.

And just know we are grateful.

Laurie Green
SAFPAW.org

During these dangerously hot days we need to watch out for each other. Not just our neighbors who are not housed but als...
06/21/2026

During these dangerously hot days we need to watch out for each other. Not just our neighbors who are not housed but also folks who take the bus, that walk to the bus stop can be brutal when temps are so high.

We delivered ice, cases of Gatorade and water to a whole bunch of folks today. Some were not housed but some were housed in slumlord rentals with no air conditioning.

Read up on signs of heat stroke. Be prepared to assist if you feel someone is at risk while you call 911.

Everyone is our neighbor. So make sure you let them know you care.

Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw
Resource text line 615-474-8390

[email protected]

I spoke with April from the Office of Homeless Services, the Emergency Shelter on Brick Church Pike is undergoing repair...
06/19/2026

I spoke with April from the Office of Homeless Services, the Emergency Shelter on Brick Church Pike is undergoing repairs. Until then we do have these resources for our neighbors and citizens with no permanent address.

But please look out for folks. Read up on signs of heat stroke.

SAFPAW has already started water & Gatorade patrols, we just load our van up with coolers filled with ice. And we always bring a bowl to fill with water for their animals.

Take care of each other.

Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw

[email protected]

Introducing our newest family member Annie! She is a hound/lab mix who came to us from a couple we’ve worked with for a ...
06/16/2026

Introducing our newest family member Annie! She is a hound/lab mix who came to us from a couple we’ve worked with for a long time. Being on the streets with 3 dogs is too much, so we took in this sweet dog.

Annie met the cats and she just wanted to be friends with every one, and enthusiastically so! However some of our cats just did not match her eagerness and a few hisses were handed out, which Annie did not understand.

But it was actually a very positive first meeting. And Annie found her fenced in backyard to be amazing as she just ran and ran…living in cars and hotel rooms did not give her a life that included a yard to run around in. This is not a judgement but rather the reality of struggling with poverty, housing insecurity and dogs.

And she already loves her screened in front porch! One of our oldest cats is our calico Matilda, and she has given Annie her first cat kiss.

Welcome to your home sweet girl. We already love you, I loved you when I first met you.

Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - SAFPAW

Tonight I attended the Tennessee Immigrant & Minority Business Group meeting thanks to an invitation from my friend Mist...
06/12/2026

Tonight I attended the Tennessee Immigrant & Minority Business Group meeting thanks to an invitation from my friend Misty Walker, owner of Awards All Around, Inc.

I have known Misty for at least a decade and she is one of my most respected and treasured friends.

Tonight was devoted to the nonprofit world and it was an evening packed with folks to meet and so much information.

And I had the chance to meet Dr. Ming Wang, who is co-founder and president of the organization. What an amazing man he is. Very humble and down to earth.

Thank you Misty, for including me. You mean so much to not just SAFPAW but to me.

Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - Safpaw

SAFPAW bought our first sanctuary in 2016. We paid cash thanks to a donor who believed in our vision. It was not the san...
06/11/2026

SAFPAW bought our first sanctuary in 2016. We paid cash thanks to a donor who believed in our vision. It was not the sanctuary where I wanted us to spend forever but we had left the starting gate and we were off.

When we purchased our next sanctuary in 2023 we also paid cash and made enough profit to keep us our programs going for a year. It was closer to our vision but then the developers moved in, stole a good part of our property and the tall skinnies they built stole the loving small neighborhood vibe.

Our first sanctuary had the feel I wanted but not the land or the space inside. But that was when we had Charlie, Pam, Perian, Johnny Blue, and Lisa. Who Sundae and Wes were our first arrivals and as I watched them it became clear, my vision. Who was the living embodiment of what I had in my mind.

Now we are ready to move again and after a few obstacles are removed we will put this sanctuary up for sale.

This time I want out of Davidson County. We don’t have a big budget but I have faith. I want more land. I want a couple of “farm” animals who will be our companions. I want chickens laying eggs and living life.

I want our Cat Sanctuary to have space and outside catios where they can safely smell the air and feel the sun on their fur as they nap.

We need space for more folks to come join us. To help plant some gardens. To not just get off the streets but leave the streets behind.

Our next, and hopefully final sanctuary will be named after everyone who has lived with us and helped my vision that I saw in them become where it is now. Where it will grow to be.

Our first sanctuary did not have the soil needed for a garden so Charlie improvised. Charlie had been on his own for so long and as a result there was nothing he could not do. He was my rock and he remains my brother and my inspiration.

Please join us and help us move to where we need to be so that my vision becomes the sanctuary I have been walking towards since 2015.

Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - SAFPAW

[email protected]

We need you! Our Lunch Meals Saturday this week (6/13) needs 110 more sandwiches! So we need folks who can make up 15-25...
06/10/2026

We need you! Our Lunch Meals Saturday this week (6/13) needs 110 more sandwiches! So we need folks who can make up 15-25 (or more!) sandwiches and deliver them to our assembly location Saturday morning.

This is your chance to do something about hunger right here in our community. You will be a part of going out to those who need our hands reaching out to help.

Please respond. You are needed. And appreciated.

Lori Eslick
[email protected]

Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - SAFPAW

Laurie Green
SAFPAW resource text
615-474-8390

Our SAFPAW friend Carolyn Oliver and her daughter rescued this tiny little kitten. Oh but our rescue works with cats ove...
06/08/2026

Our SAFPAW friend Carolyn Oliver and her daughter rescued this tiny little kitten.

Oh but our rescue works with cats over 6 months. Until I saw this little face then I melted like ice in a summer puddle.

This itty bitty will go to our best foster, Sara McKelvey and her daughter Nora. When he is old enough to be fixed he will then go up for adoption.

Until then he will be loved and allowed to just be a kitten.

❤️
Laurie Green
Southern Alliance for People & Animal Welfare - SAFPAW
[email protected]

Our new board of directors will be meeting this month and I am excited. We have several new members that have the experi...
06/07/2026

Our new board of directors will be meeting this month and I am excited. We have several new members that have the experience we need to help lead our organization.

We have room for a few more. You must have prior experience as a board member. Please email me your nonprofit resume at the address below if you believe you have something to bring to our table.

I have been working on our board of directors and steering it in the direction that will not just keep SAFPAW moving forward but also help us to grow.

We are looking at changes as we seek to move our sanctuary outside of Davidson County where we can have more land and fewer neighbors and focus on the vision for our sanctuary. Our other SAFPAW programs will remain in Davidson County. Only the physical address of our sanctuary will change.

A nonprofit is only as good as the work they do when their feet hit the ground every day. We have a good volunteer base but we need a board that will help our foundation remain solid underneath us. This has been my focus during these first months of 2026.

I believe we have the beginning of one of our best board of directors and I am excited to see what they can do. Because I believed in them before I ever asked them to come aboard.

And with that being said, our ship is ready to set sail for 2026. A mission and the programs that define that mission has to have a solid foundation of determined people who have only one thing in mind, and that is to keep our focus steady and moving in the right direction.

That focus is the animals and people we serve. Nothing else matters.

Laurie Green

[email protected]

Address

1326 Plum Street
Madison, TN
37115

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 9am - 5:30pm
Wednesday 9am - 5:30pm
Thursday 9am - 5:30pm
Friday 9am - 6:30pm
Saturday 9am - 4pm

Telephone

+16154748390

Website

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