Homeless Often Hidden in Tennessee

[emilyg]

Tent City" is a place hidden out of sight and historically out of mind. It sprawls over a mud-rutted, brush-tangled acre of landscape nestled under a network of highway bridges along the Cumberland River on the outskirts of downtown Nashville, Tennessee. It is impossible to find unless one is directed or taken there. The camp is surrounded by a variety of chain-link fencing placed in different configurations that appear to have been installed in stages over many years.
This community of homeless men and women, constantly fluctuating in size, has been, to date, largely flying under the city's municipal radar. It appears that the camp has provided an unspoken service for the city as an alternative to municipal shelters, historically catering to a population of homeless, fringe people who might be battling drug and alcohol addiction or suffering from untreated mental illness, or the occasional sex offender avoiding mainstream society.
Recently, there has been a change
http://www.truthout.org/homeless-often-hidden-tennessee56411

[tkmorris]

1. Interesting read

I do want to point out though that such communities of the homeless are not unique to Nashville Tennessee. They exist near every population center in the United States, hidden away from the view of other citizens, living in the twilight zone that exists between normal functioning society and death. Most people are unaware of them, and that is the way local governments would prefer it stay. You see, government officials are more than aware of the problem, but they cannot solve it without spending a lot of money. They have no desire to do that so they generally settle for literally sweeping the problem under a rug. If the homeless aren't loitering around downtown, and most especially if those who are not homeless are unaware of these underground communities, it's a case of out of sight out of mind.

I think religion is a blight, a crutch, which we would do well to eliminate from society. Nonetheless I am reminded of a quote from the Bible. "And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Yeah. It is shameful how we treat the least of us.

[happy_liberal]

2. K&R

:kick:

[happy_liberal]

3. He explained that there are now about 13,000 homeless people in Nashville and 5,000 on the streets.

There is a teenage boy sitting at the fire as well. He doesn't move or say anything, just sits looking depressed and beaten. It's the saddest moment of the day - youth in such despair. My teenagers at home often feel that momentary despair, but it is followed by a fight or an argument known to all parents of teenagers. Yet, our kids somehow find their way safely back to a place of balanced teenage joy. Not true for this young man. He sits and waits for something, anything, that just isn't going to happen, and he knows it.

[Jkid]

4. That picture is depressing...

[happy_liberal]

5. oh wow...how helpful....

"He said that the city is taking a few positive steps for the homeless, such as trying to get a more accurate count of homeless people. At the same time, he said, police continue surveillance, using cameras, in front of Manna House, where homeless people can get food."

[Yurovsky]

6. Call it "Bushville" ...

as it's obviously getting large enough to be incorporated.

It's crazy how our society treats the homeless - as criminals to be jailed, as opposed to our fellow man in need of our help and empathy.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

7. An excellent essay. The "state of the union" that all too often goes unreported.

K & R