Tent City Closing Has Been Postponed!

We've gotten at least a temporary reprieve and Tent City has, at this point, no official "close" date. The camp could still close, but the future of the camp will now depend on the actions (or inaction) of its residents.

The details: The meeting was well attended yesterday, with members from the Mayor's office (Hershell W.), MDHA (Clifton H.), Inner City (Joe D.), Metro Animal Control (Sherri L), Metro PD (Andrea S), Urban Housing (Rusty L), the Mental Health Coop (Alexis ?), The Campus For Human Development (Father Strobel), the Living Room (Don B.), The Nashville Homeless Power Project (Clemmie G/John Z)) two long-term members of the camp (W and M), a general assembly member acting as a concerned citizen (Janice F), Park Center (Will C., Jeannie A., and myself) Metro Social Services (Giovanni A), the Health Department (Scott O), a Homelessness Commission Rep (David "Cowboy" L), Southern Alliance for Animal Welfare (Lori ?) and a significant number of other individuals who were interested in the health and welfare of the camp's residents and critters. Although the meeting was called to establish a plan for those who were soon to be displaced from the camp, the conversation turned almost immediately to whether Inner City was requesting the camp be closed and if not, why we were continuing with the effort to do so. Clifton provided a synopsis of the events leading up to the current crisis; over the past couple of years and particularly this summer, the camp has seen a significantly large influx of new residents, many of whom have caused situations that have resulted in demands for police, fire and EMS responses. This, coupled with an increasing risk of health issues as a result of improper sewage disposal, an exploding rat population and general uncleanliness of some of the camps' sites have created such a problem for both the residents of the camp and the community in general that something needed to be done to address these issues. To his credit, Clifton felt that, as the Homeless Services rep for MDHA, he needed to step in at this point to ensure that camp members were not surprised by an unannounced visit to the camp for purposes of demolition by Public Works and Metro PD. At this point, concerned citizen Janice F asked Clifton whether Inner City was requesting the closure or whether the Metro Council was seeking it. Clifton stated that Metro Council had nothing to do with this situation. Janice then asked Inner City Rep. Joe D whether the agency had as a mission statement or as a focus providing assistance for the homeless. Joe replied that they did not, then spoke for several minutes, essentially corroborating Clifton's analysis. He then went on to further detail the primary issues Inner Cities had with the camp. Before I go on, let me be crystal clear here: Inner Cities, even though caring for the Homeless is not a particular focus of their ministries, has endeavored to be a good neighbor to the camp and its residents. Over the years the Ministry has provided significant help to members of the camp; water and phone access, food, clothing, various services and access across their property for vehicles servicing the camp. They have also provided emergency assistance and transportation to residents with medical emergencies at the camp, covered the costs of housing and rehab for some of its members, and even offered their dayroom during rainy and/or cold winter months to provide respite from the weather for camp members. This privilege was soon rescinded when some residents showed up at the dayroom intoxicated, cursing and yelling at each other and the staff. Joe talked about many of these efforts over the years and then described a couple of significant issues that occurred this year that caused much consternation and at times fear among the members of the Ministry. First, the agency actually had to shut down for a full day when some camp members decided to burn wires for the copper, causing clouds of toxic smoke to waft directly into the agency's building, sickening employees and volunteers in the process. On another occasion, the agency closed again when the odor of raw sewage was so strong it was intolerable to those working in the building and on the grounds. A known pedophile was seen by members of Inner Cities wandering about the camp this summer, and because the agency often has children who visit this location, the cause for concern was certainly justified. Finally, Joe stated that the burgeoning population of the camp was a real problem, both in terms of camp cleanliness and in the camp's ability to self-govern and maintain peace, tranquility and order among its residents. Father Strobel spoke at this point, thanking Joe and the Ministry for all they'd done - and continue to do - for camp residents, then relayed a conversation he'd had recently (one occurring almost immediately prior to this meeting) with Inner City Ministry's Executive Director, Lytle Thomas. According to Strobel, Lytle stated about the camp that "we can co-exist, we just need...it's more or less the health and safety of the camp and staff that has become an increasing concern." Lytle said that the odor was so bad that they needed to call the health department to address that issue, but I asked him, "are you wanting them to leave" and he said...he told me today, "no." Strobel then asked Joe D if he was saying something different than that now, and Joe replied that "the current system...the system that's there now cannot continue to exist for a number of reasons, but primarily for the health and hygiene of the residents. There are more people there than there is the geography to handle them all. When there was 15-20 people there, it was more or less self governing, there was not the fights, not the emts having to be there twice a week, and a...most of the people I knew. Now, there's at least 100 people living there and there's not enough city." Jeannie Alexander and I, having spent considerable time in the location over the previous week, argued that the actual number was about half that, at least at this point, but one of the difficulties with the camp is that there is no one or no way currently to restrict access to new residents. Because of this, the population can shrink and swell at a moment's notice. Additionally, there are campsites dotted around Tent City proper, and Joe pointed out that even though those individuals are not technically considered residents of Tent City, they often visit and mingle with the "official" residents, use the services provided by Inner City and as such are adding to the overall population of the area. Strobel then stated that clarification on who was requesting the camp be closed was what was needed in order to determine how to move forward and what to move forward with. Joe shared that Inner City did not own the property in question but rather, the property actually belonged to the city, although the trail that one must take to access the area is on Inner City property. He also argued that while he didn't disagree with our count of camp residents, "when Loaves and Fishes comes to feed the camp, 100+ people often show up for the free meal." Cowboy argued that he believed the land was actually owned by the Army Corp of Engineers, and as the meeting wore on, it became increasingly clear that no one at the meeting really knew who even had proper jurisdiction over the property. Discussion continued, as they often do when faced with complex issues and divergent interests, and ultimately what was decided was the following: 1.a. Clifton will contact Public Works and ask them to remove the camp from their "to do" list immediately. This does not mean that the potential closing has been completely taken off the table. Instead, the camp is being allowed a period of time to correct the known problems. If they do not comply, Public Works will reschedule the camp for demolition. b. Clifton and Herschell will, between the two of them, contact Public Works to request a dumpster and portapotty be delivered and set up at the camp. Who will pay for the weekly dumpings has yet to be determined. Inner City has again agreed to allow access through their property for vehicles to service these units. 2. A major camp cleaning will begin immedately after the dumpster arrives. Rusty from Urban Housing stated that he may be able to put together a crew to assist in moving some of the bigger items that camp members simply do not have the capacity or power to move without help. 3. Some form of governance will need to be initiated at the camp in order to both restrict access to those who are living there now and to settle disputes, ensure the camp is kept clean, and proceed with evictions of those who fail to maintain their areas accordingly. Concerned stakeholders are currently reviewing other successful camp setups around the country to see if one of those models might be appropriate here in Nashville. The overwhelming consensus at the camp regarding this governing board is positive, since it takes the onus off of their shoulders to act as "enforcers" among their peers. Suggestions for a 5 or 7 member committee, composed of 3 camp members and 4 trustworthy and respected outsiders would then be in charge of enacting rules and behavioral codes. 4. A number of direct service workers will be entering the camp in the coming weeks to review animal health and welfare and provide resources and referrals for members of the camp who are ill (and a number of them are). 5. I will be making a video documentary of the current conditions of the camp that will be used to compare and contrast progress on the cleanup and conditions. Also I will be submitting weekly progress report to MDHA, the Mayor's Office and the Public Health department in order to isolate and correct areas of serious health risk. I would reiterate that although we've been successful in obtaining a temporary reprieve for the camp and its members, the clock continues to tick. The current members of the camp hold the future of their homes and the camp itself in their hands. Should they decide to ignore the current demands of the community regarding cleanup and the restoration of self-restraint and control to the area, they will, with absolute certainty, lose the areas as a camp, quite possibly forever. They came damned close to losing it this time; trust me when I tell you that there won't be another "save" in the camp's future....