NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — From a bird's eye view, it looks like the average park, but what those can see under the canopy of trees at Brookmeade Park tells the story of a struggle with a lot of layers. Dozens of volunteers and Metro Nashville employees from various departments spent part of their Friday morning, picking up layers of trash along with rows and rows of abandoned shopping carts.
They've accumulated from a large homeless encampment that now calls Brookmeade home.
"Seen ole Chief down this way lately?" asked Herman Nelson.
Nelson decided to volunteer, in hopes of being part of the solution. He would like to see the space become safer and cleaner.
"There’s nothing wrong with the greenway when it gets cleaned up and everything," said Nelson. "There used to be people coming down here all the time."
Obviously, coming out here to clean up time and time again is not a long-term solution, but there is a city government department working on one.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper is requesting $50 million from Metro Council to go to the Metro Nashville Homeless Impact Division, to help those experiencing homelessness to find more permanent housing.
"Our goal is to get everyone housed who wants to be housed," said Keith Alexander of the Homeless Impact Division.
The problem will become coaxing those who would prefer to just stay put.
"I think a very small percentage of individuals want to live outdoors," said Alexander.
Nelson understands that kind of thinking better than most.
"Yea, I lived out here for about 8 years," said Nelson. "I had a cooking stove. I had everything I needed."
He says it finally took him to figure out his own mental health in order to return to more permanent housing.
"My mind wasn’t too good, I’d say, in a good place, you know?" said Nelson.
He hopes those living out at Brookmeade can do the same.
"There’s a lot of people who need help out here, mental health," said Nelson.
But when a struggle like this has this many layers, the only thing that seems certain is that this story is far from over.
The neighborhood group, Reclaim Brookmeade Park has participated in clean-up efforts before, but they opted out Friday.
The group sent NewsChannel 5 a statement about the cleanup event:
Anyone who volunteers for these sporadic cleanups clearly has their heart in it to help. Unfortunately, it's an empty compliment. The sheer magnitude of debris is beyond comprehension and a three hour cleanup doesn't even scratch the surface. If there's any silver lining to this effort, it's that more in the community see what a risky place this is to try to live and the dire need for immediate relocation for the individuals there.
