"Flood" of Complaints Washes Tent City Away — Again

All this week, End Homelessness is highlighting the negative policies of various cities and the perceptions of their residents when it comes to coexisting with people struggling with homelessness. All too often, the consensus is simply, "NIMBY," or "not in my backyard." Be sure to check out our posts about Sylmar, California, Washington, D.C., St. Petersburg, Florida, Grand Junction, Colorado, New York City and the nationwide crisis of affordable housing.

Back in May, Nashville, Tennessee experienced perhaps the worst flood in its recorded history. Billions of dollars in damages to businesses and property occurred, thousands of people were forced out of their homes, and hundreds of people experiencing homelessness were displaced and forced to move from locations they had found to survive.

Three of the largest homeless camps in the area were inundated and the handmade shelters, as well as tents, bedding and sleeping bags, personal possessions and familiarity were all washed away in the flood waters. Fortunately, residents of the largest camp were evacuated, thanks entirely to two faith-based groups that arrived on the scene as water began roiling up the banks of the Cumberland River and into the camp proper. Residents were taken to a nearby Red Cross emergency shelter, where they were able to ride out the storm and the flood in relative comfort and safety.

As the waters receded and life began to return to somewhat normal in and around the Nashville area, the emergency shelters closed and those who had the resources to find alternate living conditions had long since done so, leaving only those who were either homeless or who had lost everything, including their jobs and homes, and had no way to procure housing on their own. The tent city group fell into this category because the flood waters had devastated the area they called home, filling it with slimy, smelly mud, and became contaminated from the fuels, chemicals and sewage that were carried by flood waters along the Cumberland River at the height of the flood.

At least that was the rationale the city used to ban re-entry into the area, anyway, and while there was definitely some truth to the statement of conditions at the camp, it was also a very convenient and oh so plausible excuse to begin enforcing a no trespassing ordinance, too.

"Tent City" had been on the city's chopping block since the fall of 2008, when the population swelled to more than 120 residents and police and neighbors began complaining of stench, crime and poor conditions in and around the camp.

For the next two years, city officials argued for closure as advocates and outreach workers fought negative perceptions, a severe lack of resources, affordable housing shortages, disinterest by many agencies and organizations in the community and of course the general stigmatization that accompanies the homeless population when advocates attempt to find suitable homes for them.

Several stays of the closing order had occurred over that period, and it was becoming increasingly clear that patience was growing thin among those who had been clamoring for closure since the beginning of the reported problems back in 2008, even though the vast majority of the original issues raised at that time had been addressed and resolved satisfactorily.

Then in May 2010, Mother Nature did what city officials couldn't; it pushed every single resident from the area while washing away structures and possessions that had been built and procured over decades of the camp's existence.

As flood waters receded, advocates working with residents of the main camp, as well as several others that had also been destroyed in the flood, worked furiously to find some place folks could go as emergency shelters began to close. They were finally were able to strike a temporary a deal for a small piece of private land located in Antioch, a suburb of Nashville.

Within hours of tents being erected on the site, local residents and business owners began complaining about the influx of "those homeless people" in their area to city officials, news media and anyone else who would listen. And many listened. In fact, so many listened and came out against the new camp that a neighborhood meeting was scheduled to discuss the camp and ask questions of those who decided to place it near them.

One of the primary players in the relocation effort and the person who was able to negotiate the donation of the new location was Otter Creek Baptist Church Pastor Doug Sanders. Local residents didn't miss the fact that Pastor Sanders oversees a congregation which happens to be located in Brentwood, one of Nashville's most affluent suburbs and he was quickly asked why it was that he'd struck the deal for the location in Antioch, an area of modest incomes, when his church in Brentwood had "plenty of church-owned land" they could use to house the displaced residents of the camp.

It was fairly obvious from the response he received that residents weren't interested much in Sanders's explanation, and the mood and tenor of the meeting deteriorated further when one advocate spoke to the group and essentially questioned the compassion of local residents who called themselves Christians yet were arguing against the camp in their neighborhood. As "T," an occasional guest at the old camp and a resident of the new camp told me when I spoke with him several days after the meeting, "Although the point was right on, I felt like we were all Negroes at a Klan meeting after that was said because you could just see the anger crawl right over their faces."

Local businessman Lee Beaman, who had temporarily donated the land for the camp, found himself defending a choice of compassion over suffering but soon discovered that local residents were not interested in his rationale for the donation, either. He eventually was forced to acquiesce and cut the length of time the land would be available to the displaced tent city residents from 90 days to 30.

As it stands now, the new camp officially closed on July 3rd. Thanks almost entirely to conscientious and hardworking advocates who have been involved with the camp from the beginning of its troubles with the city, 10 of the Tent City residents were able to receive housing, 17 more are currently staying at the parsonage at Hobson House with United Methodist , and about a dozen more are living temporarily in motels and local camps.

Advocates continue to search for replacement land for a new Tent City, but the impact of the flood seems to have affected the mood of city officials as it pertains to the creation of another camp in a more suitable location as well, which had been something "in the works" since the time of the first "close" order back in 2008.

A local reporter, working on a story concerning the future of the camp, has told me that city officials have stated off the record that the mayor would rather not have his name associated with the approval or sanction of a "Tent City" in Nashville because of the negative image this might provide to potential developers and businesses considering locating in the area. I'm always skeptical of rumor and innuendo but given the fact that the mayor of Nashville was elected on a strongly pro-development platform, I'm concerned that even if it was never said, this thought may at least be one he's had to grapple with as he works with the local Homelessness Commission to try and find solutions to the problem of homelessness in his city.

Meanwhile, many of the former residents of the original camp, as well as those who must endure life on the streets for a myriad of reasons, continue the struggle in finding suitable housing or a location in which to set up house once again. One thing is almost certain however; it won't be located in Antioch, because the backyards of local residents and businesses there have been clearly marked, through action and words, "no homeless people allowed."

Photo credit: Steven Samra