"There is a constellation of reasons why people become or remain homeless"

Nice to see that the Tennessean finally got around to discussing this issue; it'd help if they got the last count numbers correct tho - it was actually 2,237, up from last year's 2176. Just so folks aren't too complacent with these numbers, let me just say that these are very low estimates on the actual number of folks out there; many advocates who walk the streets and work with the homeless can tell you that for every homeless person that was counted, at least five were missed. Some advocates put that number at 10, and I have a feeling we're probably closer to 10,000 than we are 5,000, especially if you take into account the entire area of Davidson County. Something else that would be nice to see the Tennessean do is to publicize the deaths that are occurring out on the streets as a result of exposure to the weather; word on the street today is that longtime Nashville homeless man "Skillethead Joe" passed away this weekend while sleeping in a cardboard box under the Jefferson street bridge. Freddie Richardson also passed away as well, so I'm told, from complications of HIV - the street takes two more brothers in the blink of an eye. and while I'm listing the deaths of my clients and friends who live on the street, I need to say goodbye to "JoJo," who passed away earlier this winter after being hit by a couple of cars while crossing Main Street over in East Nashville. JoJo was a person you'd never forget and I'll wager that if you've ever traveled more than a couple of times on Main street, you've seen him, weaving and bobbing, usually staggering, as he made his way to and from the liquor stores or panhandled change from those who drove slow enough to approach.

More in Metro make the streets their home

Latest count suggests many homeless dislike shelter life

By JANELL ROSS • Staff Writer • March 10, 2008

William Wright's home — or at least where he keeps his blankets, a Bible, his carts and a weathered foam mattress — is the Interstate 40 overpass at Charlotte Avenue.

It's there, in the recesses, that Wright eats and sleeps, even as the temperatures drop into the 40s.

"I don't go to no shelters," said Wright, 54. "They've always got 7,000 things going on in those places. Out here I've got my space. … Me and shelters, we don't get along."

A tally of Nashville's homeless population re leased last week shows that Wright is far from alone. Between January 2007 and January 2008, the number of homeless men and women sleeping outdoors in Nashville grew about 19 percent, from 390 to 466. By comparison, the total number of homeless people counted grew 2 percent to 2,227.

The tally, coordinated each year by the Metropolitan Development and Housing Authority and conducted by volunteers, represents what officials acknowledge is only a fuzzy snapshot of homelessness in Nashville. Matt Leber, an organizer and co-founder of the Nashville Homeless Power Project, said some avoid the count because they fear police use the information to sweep homeless encampments. He estimates that the population is closer to 5,000 people, with thousands more staying with friends and relatives or in motels.

There is a constellation of reasons why people become or remain homeless, Leber said. In Nashville, it is some combination of low-wage work; a lack of sufficient medical benefits; mental health issues and addictions; and the small and shrinking amount of truly affordable housing.

The reason some don't go to shelters also varies, Leber and others said.

Some, like Wright, who have been homeless for a long time, find the confined spaces, crowds or rules overwhelming. The night of the count may have been particularly warm. And there may be fewer beds available than needed on that given night.

Counts affect federal aid

Still, the annual count and the associated problems it exposes are significant. The numbers are reported to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, playing a role in the federal dollars sent to the area to aid Nashville's homeless population.

Nashville has 1,097 beds in emergency shelters, according to housing authority data. In the last year, fewer than 100 beds have been added, Leber said. Eighty-five of the 200 annual "affordable housing" units that former Mayor Bill Purcell called for before leaving office have been built. In December, Metro's housing authority received $3.3 million from HUD that will be used by that agency and others to address or try to prevent homelessness.

Metro Social Services De partment social workers provided case-management services to more than 1,000 homeless individuals last budget year, referring them to other public agencies, faith-based organizations, landlords and agencies, said Giovanni Achoe, homeless services program manager.

"It is very individualized," Achoe said. "It's not cookie cutter because everyone is different."

Some of these individuals were connected with housing. Some were given the help they needed to avoid losing their housing, she said.

But because of limited resources, federal housing officials have opted to focus much of their attention on the chronically homeless such as Wright, said Suzie Tolmie, MDHA's homeless coordinator. They are defined as disabled, single adults who have been without homes for a full year or three times in four years. This year, 62 percent of those counted reported being chronically homeless, compared with 60 percent last year.

Wright grew up in a Bronx housing project. Headstrong and trained in martial arts, Wright decided not to go to college but start his own training facility. But when Wright was 18, he said, he had to leave his family's apartment because of New York City Housing Authority rules.

Howard Marder, a New York City Housing Authority spokesman, said the agency never had such a rule. The only thing that changes when a resident turns 18 is that his income is reported as a part of the household's total and can increase the rent.

Today, Wright does not know where his mother, father or siblings live, he said.

Wright spent years living with friends, sometimes girlfriends and, for a time, in his own apartment. Then, the martial arts training business began to go bad. He closed it down and, because he thought life in Nashville might be nice, he moved south. That was 18 years ago.

In Nashville, Wright worked and lived in the John Henry Hale Housing Project. He was kicked out for water damage caused by a visiting friend, he said. The housing authority confirmed that Wright was a resident until 1993.

Then, Wright was hit by a car, got into a dispute with a landlord and landed on the street four or five years ago. He has no place to receive his disability income, he said. So, he depends on what others are willing to share and doesn't apologize for his residence.

"You got a better spot?" he asked. "What I need, well, a home and some way to pay a rent."