Tent City, U.S.A. – 2013 Updates

posted by Lindsey

The documentary “Tent City, U.S.A.” was recently added to Netflix and we have been getting a lot of questions about where the residents are now and what is going on. Tent City, U.S.A. tells the story of Nashville’s largest Tent City before and after the devastating flood of May 2010.  While many of the residents have been able to access housing, others have not. Finding safe places to sleep or camp in Nashville remains difficult, especially for people who can’t  (or won’t) seek shelter in traditional places like the Mission – people who have pets, who work non-traditional work hours, who have spouses/partners, or who simply can’t handle the harsh, jail-like environment of our over-crowded shelters. While we have approximately 4,000 men and women who are unhoused every night, we only have about 1,500 units of shelter and transitional housing. There are over 100 smaller encampments in the Nashville area, but the “new Tent City” in Nashville is less than a mile away from the old Tent City and is at Green Street Church of Christ. For nearly 2 years now, Green Street has allowed people to live in tents on their property while they are working on finding permanent housing. Church leaders are claiming religious land use (RLUIPA) to do that which can trump city codes and zoning ordinances. Wendell recently built a privacy fence for the camp (or “sanctuary”) and we do outreach there and work to help the residents access housing and other needed services.

Open Table Nashville, an inter-faith non-profit, was formed in the months after the flood. Jeannie Alexander and Doug Sanders, who were featured in the documentary, were co-founders of Open Table along with Ingrid McIntyre, Lindsey Krinks, and Brett Flener. If you’d like to join in the work we’re doing, visit our website at www.opentablenashville.org. Our mission is to disrupt cycles of poverty, journey with the marginalized, and provide education about issues of homelessness. We are still connected to and involved with most of the people featured in the documentary, and Wendell Segroves was recently appointed to the Metro Homelessness Commission! These are our friends. As aboriginal organizer Lilla Watson once said, “If you’ve come to help me, you’re wasting your time. But if you’ve come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

If you would like to volunteer with Open Table Nashville, please contact regina@opentablenashville.org and if you’d like to donate to the work we’re doing, please visit here. Jeannie Alexander is still connected to issues of homelessness, but her daily work now involves working with prisoners. Doug Sanders is no longer a presence on the streets or in the camps and has moved into other sectors of work, but Open Table continues to do the good work that was documented in Tent City, U.S.A. Please join us in this work and spread the word. Breaking cycles of poverty and homelessness and transforming unjust structures takes all of us working together!

Tent City, U.S.A.

Last night, the documentary “Tent City, U.S.A.” aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network. This documentary tells the story of Nashville’s Tent City before and after the devastating flood of May 2010.  Unfortunately, not enough has changed since the flood. Now more than ever, we need an officially sanctioned encampment in Nashville. Metro Police have been targeting all unsanctioned encampments including former Tent City resident Macgyver’s last campsite which was destroyed by the city about a month ago. With harsh anti-homeless and anti-camping laws, Nashville needs a safe zone for all of the people who can’t  (or won’t) seek shelter in traditional places like The Mission – those who have pets, who work non-traditional work hours, who have spouses/partners, or who simply can’t handle the harsh environment of our over-crowded shelters. While we have approximately 4,000 men and women who are un-housed every night, we only have about 1,500 units of shelter and transitional housing.

We need a safe-zone or an officially sanctioned encampment. We need more outreach workers like Jeannie Alexander, a founding member of this community. And we desperately need more accessible and affordable housing.

Open Table Nashville, an inter-faith non-profit, was formed in the months after the flood and has taken Hobson House under its umbrella. Jeannie and Doug, who were featured in the documentary, were also co-founders of Open Table. If you’d like to join in the work we’re doing, visit our website at www.OpenTableNashville.org. Our mission is to disrupt cycles of poverty, journey with the marginalized, and provide education about issues of homelessness. We are still connected to and involved with most of the people featured in the documentary. They are our friends. As aboriginal organizer Lilla Watson once said, “If you’ve come to help me, you’re wasting your time. But if you’ve come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

Update on Tent City

We just received word that this Tuesday (5/18) at 12:00 p.m., the Red Cross shelter at Lipscomb will close. We have been working frantically to get those who can afford a week at a hotel or a month of housing in somewhere by then, but the reality is that come Tuesday, we are going to have a large group of people who cannot afford temporary housing and cannot or will not stay at the Mission for legitimate reasons. A handful of individuals will be approved for housing vouchers, but even they won’t be able to move in anywhere immediately. If we don’t secure a site that people can stay, they will likely try to find somewhere to sleep and stay outdoors and be arrested for trespassing. 
 
We should know before Tuesday if we are going to be able to obtain property in the city for a temporary site. We are hopeful, but realistic, and if that falls through, we desperately need a back up. We’re contacting a couple of churches and asking if we could set up tents on their land until a temporary site comes through… if you have connections and know of land that might be temporarily available, this is the time to look into it (and whatever land we get can’t be next door to a daycare or a school).

We’ll continue to post updates on our blog and Doug’s blog. Please pray that God moves and opens doors and pray that we will all continue to act as Christ’s hands and feet here and now.