A little catch-up here; I've been busy with my wife's illness this weekend but there were a couple of stories that I thought deserved some additional attention.
The Tent City death has gotten its fair share of media coverage and all I would say about it at this point is that it would cost the taxpayers of our fine city not one red cent to vastly improve the housing situation for folks at the camp merely by getting out of the way of Charlie Jones and allowing him to place the cottages he'd previously agreed to purchase and erect in the camp. Charlie had the lockable units specially made with heating and AC units installed (notice the breaker box and the electrical outlets on the wall) and a small bunk complete with a mattress pad and sleeping bag. Charlie has been trying to provide these cottages (the original order was for 34) at his own expense for at least a year now, but every time he attempted to get permission from city officials, he was shot down. Reasons vary; "no wooden structures allowed in the inner freeway loop of downtown," "not our property so we have no say," "won't stand up to codes inspections," "area is in a flood plain," we don't want permanent housing in the area," etc. After a year of frustration, Charlie resigned himself decided to providing tents and sleeping bags as needed for folks.
While the bags and tents are a wonderful and generous effort by Charlie, the recent death shows how inadequate these resources are and I'll bet this death has cut Charlie to the core, not to mention what it has done to everyone else in the camp.
It wouldn't take much to get these units back on track for the camp. I wonder, will it take more deaths from cold weather before we can get officials to rethink their ban on these units?
We've still got a helluva long way to go before springtime, folks.....
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'Tent City' Residents, Groups React To Homeless Man's Death
Posted: Dec 10, 2009 4:47 PM CST
Kevin GoinsBy Nicole Ferguson
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - People living in Nashville's 'Tent City' said the way one homeless man died could have happened to any of them.
Metro Police said 44-year-old Kevin Goins fell into a fire he'd built to stay warm Wednesday night.
Goins appeared to have been sitting on a plastic crate before he fell into the fire. His body was found around 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Witnesses reported to police that Goins appeared intoxicated when he was last seen at 4 a.m.
Homeless Man Burned To Death In 'Tent City' Fire
"When somebody passes away because they're trying to stay warm, that's a real strong statement to the community," said Steven Samra, veteran services coordinator with the outreach group, Operation Standout. "It's time to re-assess our priorities."
Samra and his colleague Dennis Hughey set out to Tent City to visit people and share information on resources for the homeless.
"Me and my husband was freezing together," said Tonya Russell, who's 5 months pregnant. "We couldn't get warm for nothing. Even with layers and layers of clothes, and blankets, it gets really cold and our tents collapsed, and that don't help none at all either."
Those living in Tent City fear they will not be able to handle Thursday night's bitter temperatures.
"I have to hurry up and get off the streets," said Russell. "If not there's a chance me and her [the baby] can die out here in the cold."
Michael and Diane Cooke have been in a similar situation.
"Sometimes it's so cold, you simply can't sleep. You have to stay awake to stay alive," said Michael Cooke, who lived in Tent City for seven years before landing housing through the Park Center.
The Cooke's visited Tent City after hearing of Goins death. They wanted to check on their former neighbors and offer an encouraging word.
On Thursday night, the Nashville Rescue Mission plan to gather as many homeless people off the streets as possible and provide shelter. They implement the Cold Patrol when temperatures reach below the 40s.
email: nferguson@newschannel5.com
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - People living in Nashville's 'Tent City' said the way one homeless man died could have happened to any of them.
Metro Police said 44-year-old Kevin Goins fell into a fire he'd built to stay warm Wednesday night.
Goins appeared to have been sitting on a plastic crate before he fell into the fire. His body was found around 7:30 a.m. Thursday. Witnesses reported to police that Goins appeared intoxicated when he was last seen at 4 a.m.
Homeless Man Burned To Death In 'Tent City' Fire
"When somebody passes away because they're trying to stay warm, that's a real strong statement to the community," said Steven Samra, veteran services coordinator with the outreach group, Operation Standout. "It's time to re-assess our priorities."
Samra and his colleague Dennis Hughey set out to Tent City to visit people and share information on resources for the homeless.
"Me and my husband was freezing together," said Tonya Russell, who's 5 months pregnant. "We couldn't get warm for nothing. Even with layers and layers of clothes, and blankets, it gets really cold and our tents collapsed, and that don't help none at all either."
Those living in Tent City fear they will not be able to handle Thursday night's bitter temperatures.
"I have to hurry up and get off the streets," said Russell. "If not there's a chance me and her [the baby] can die out here in the cold."
Michael and Diane Cooke have been in a similar situation.
"Sometimes it's so cold, you simply can't sleep. You have to stay awake to stay alive," said Michael Cooke, who lived in Tent City for seven years before landing housing through the Park Center.
The Cooke's visited Tent City after hearing of Goins death. They wanted to check on their former neighbors and offer an encouraging word.
On Thursday night, the Nashville Rescue Mission plan to gather as many homeless people off the streets as possible and provide shelter. They implement the Cold Patrol when temperatures reach below the 40s.
email: nferguson@newschannel5.com
