Why Not Turn The FairGrounds Into A Homeless Shelter, Campground & One Stop Service Center?

I was driving past the rundown old fairgrounds today and started thinking about the news story that aired a couple day ago, in which ideas were being solicited for new uses for it when it hit me; why not use the fairgrounds for a huge, one-stop, complete and onsite homeless service center and camp ground!?! Holy cow, said I, this is something I've been recently talking about here but have not had a really good spot to pull it off at, and I pulled over to flesh this out a bit. Come ride the tiltawhirl on this a minute with me, okay? It's definitely a work in progress and I suspect that for every idea I've come up with here, someone could shoot a hundred holes through it. That said, we've got to find some new alternatives to our present course; there were more homeless folks downtown today than I've seen in quite some time and a whole bunch of them were new faces to me. Additionally, my office over at Community Care Fellowship is doing a booming - and I mean BOOMING - business lately, with no signs of slowing down anywhere on the horizon.... We could almost certainly get federal, state and local funds to help improve the existing buildings and/or build new ones and start up a host of services onsite. We'd be able to set up individual men's, women's and family shelters for those who want to come inside, and they'd be big enough that we wouldn't have to turn folks away. We could set up campgrounds that could also be designated as men's women's and family camp areas for those who prefer to go it alone but want to do so in an area that provides at least some safety and security to them. We could definitely improve the area with some grant money and a private/public partnership or three, and we could bring in contractors to oversee the effort but use homeless individuals for most of the effort; laborers, cleanup personnel, janitors, landscapers, painters, maintenance, campground managers and kitchen help. We could then pay them a real wage for their efforts, as well as providing them with a clean, safe and healthy place to live until we could get them back on their feet. Once we end chronic homelessness, the property could then be sold off with its improvements to a wide variety of different interests. The area is right on the bus line, it's still close enough to downtown to access Charlie Strobel's Campus and the Guest House, as well as the Nashville Rescue Mission, and all without tramping through the heart of downtown 10 or 12 times a day, making most of the businesses and residents there happier than pigs in slop (and who might then even consider donating time, resources and GASP- money to assist with the fairgrounds effort) , and we could set up areas for every agency in Nashville to be onsite every day of the week if they so desire, offering services from housing to job training to literacy to mental health screening to haircuts to eyeglasses to clothing to computer literacy to social skill building to..... well, you get the idea. We could get local student teachers to volunteer their time as GED instructors and even set up "home-schooling" options for children at the location so that the kids don't have to be forced into school and deal with those who tease them because they're homeless. Give any teacher a break on their student loans - hell, give any person who has a service oriented degree and who volunteers their time at this homeless center a break on their student loan repayment (or simply mark it paid in full after a designated amount of time working at the facility) and I'll bet there'd be no shortage of folks who'd come down and help out. There could even be an arrangement with local judges and the DA that would send "chronic inebriates" and non violent drug and alcohol offenders into a particular unit of the camp designated solely for drug and alcohol treatment instead of simply releasing them back onto the street. Partnering with Samaritan or any of the other rehab services available in Nashville could provide the licensed personnel needed (again with the student loan deal attached) and plenty of bed space could be created fairly quickly if need be. It would need to be secular in nature (would have to be if government grant money is used) so folks don't feel that religion must be a part of their stay there but definitely allow faith-based groups an opportunity to hold meetings, prayer and other assorted services - including dinners and/or specialty food events (like bbqs, etc). Keeping order could be accomplished in a number of ways. Hiring security staff and setting aside a small unit could be used for "troublemakers" who could then be banned from the main camp but still have a safe place to go so as not to toss them right back onto the streets again. A "Friendly Face" squad comprised of respected homeless individuals trained in outreach techniques could wander the camps keeping order, answering questions. providing escorts, and reporting problems. The possibilities are endless and the area is big enough to easily handle the current number of homeless individuals in and around Nashville without overwhelming the area or the facility. It'd also give the Homeless a place they could call "home" for as long as they needed, without having to endure camp demolitions, gangs of moronic thugs, and any of the other countless problems encountered by the homeless while on the street or in the bushes somewhere. If it was done correctly, it would provide great help those who are homeless with their immediate, short-term needs while working together with them to accomplish the ultimate goal of ending their homelessness, forever. Now I know some folks are going to claim we don't want to give the homeless another reason to remain homeless by "enabling" them with a nice campground, and to those folks I say this: you can deal with them here where they are continually exposed to caring, considerate people who's sole intent is to assist them out of homelessness, or you can deal with them on the street like we have been doing for the past 20 years in piecemeal fashion that doesn't seem to do anything but burn through piles of money. Which do you prefer? Obviously, I'm just brainstorming - thinking out loud here - outside the refrigerator box- and there are many ways to make something like this viable and effective, but for God sakes, it's time we did something besides talk, hold meetings and then talk some more. I'm smart enough and a realist enough to know that even if something like this did happen it could take years, if we were fortunate enough to even get approval, but correct me if I'm wrong here; wasn't ol Buck Dozier saying back when he was running for Mayor that he was interested in helping the homeless? Well here's a chance for him to make good on his promise, in spades....

Fairgrounds' Future Could See Changes

Consultants Expected To Recommend Big Changes

POSTED: 11:34 am CDT May 28, 2008

UPDATED: 7:11 pm CDT May 28, 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- State fair consultants are expected to recommend big changes for the Tennessee State Fairgrounds at a public meeting on Wednesday night.

Related: Survey: Tennessee State Fairgrounds? | Video

The fairgrounds may soon offer a high-tech experience and change the whole concept of what a state fair once was.The public was also invited to offer its opinion at a meeting that was set to be held on Wednesday night "It's an eyesore. It's an eyesore," said Lara Lynch. Lynch grew up in Nashville and said she remembers what the fairgrounds used to be."It was the highlight of a kid's life," she said. She still has high hopes for what the fairgrounds could be again."Kids need something to do. Give them a skate board area or an in-line area," she said. Metro leaders said they want to hear more ideas like Lynch's. Last fall, the city hired a consultant to study how to best use the 118-acre site, and the consultant laid out two options: remodel the fairgrounds or sell the site and move the fairgrounds somewhere else. "We have some problems here revenue-wise. The race track has some problems. The fair has had some problems in the last few years," said Fairgrounds Director Buck Dozier. Dozier said he wasn't surprised by what the study found, but that the fairgrounds do pretty well right now. The site hosts 275 events per year that bring in about $4 million."Our buildings have been here a long time. We're sitting on a hill, which is a little problematic for people getting up and down it, especially the elderly," he said. But while the fairgrounds have an agricultural history, Dozier said its future turns on technology."It'll be more interactive where people can do things. The times have changed. We are in competition with the Predators, the Titans and the zoo and a lot of things that we didn't have years ago," he said. The site supports itself through concessions at events, proceeds from the Music City Motorplex and it even rents space to Metro for school bus parking.But, Dozier said, whether the old fairgrounds are fixed or a new one is built, it won't cost Metro taxpayers a dime. After the consultant gets input, he will take that and come up with a future plan that will incorporate some of the public's ideas. After that, the city will decide what is best for the property.

Previous Stories:

• March 12, 2008: Buck Dozier Named New Head Of Fairgrounds