NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It’s less talking and more action for Metro’s Homeless Impact Division as they host an event offering short and long-term help for those living in Brookmeade Park.
We watched as roughly 30 people walked from the nearby encampment around the corner, where MHID and Colby’s Army were waiting with supplies. Metro officials said between 45 and 50 people are living in the encampment at any one point, so they were encouraged by the turnout.
People were offered not only food and clothing, but Metro caseworkers were also there to enter as many people into their systems for when housing is available.
Joshua Parker of MHID organized the event to connect people to the right resources — which, on this day, included the help of the Mental Health Cooperative.
Nashville Mayor John Cooper has said these are the types of wraparound programs he hopes to expand through his $50 million plan to end homelessness.
Within this plan, $9 million would provide for more caseworkers and services that Parker said can help people not only get homes but also keep them.
“Just as much as you want to get them housed, you want to make sure they stay there, right? You don’t want to make them come back to this area. You want them to stay in housing, so those services will definitely be wrapped around to make sure that happens,” Parker said.
Metro Council will vote on the mayor’s proposal in early October. Council members said in a special-called meeting on Monday that they’re optimistic the mayor will get the funding, but they’re still not clear what they’re paying for.
Metro Parks Board members shared their skepticism at Monday’s meeting over how these short-term efforts translate into moving people sooner than later.
They say while we’re heading on the right track, they’ve yet to hear a solution that returns the park to where it should be.
Much of what we saw may have been temporary help, but Bill Hatcher said it’s enough to keep him going until he gets a place of his own. He’s lived in Brookmeade for the last six months and says only a handful prefer living in the encampment.
An ambulance spotted just feet away — for someone experiencing a mental health crisis inside the encampment — served as a sobering reminder of why Hatcher said living outside is a last resort.
We also met Michael Kinslow, who said he’s been in the park for three weeks.
Either of them will tell you it’s a waiting game, but these events make waiting much more tolerable.
If given the option, they said they would rather choose a roof over their head, and the same goes for their neighbors.
We asked what it would take to get as many people as possible out of the encampments and into homes. They said it starts with the process, but it also requires showing examples of how it’s worked.
“All the hoops you have to jump through and the red tape bureaucracy to make anything happen is a lot, and it changes every time you do it,” Hatcher said.
Kinslow said it’s not pressure, it's peers that make the difference. He said often, people return to Brookmeade Park for a sense of community.
Parker knows the community is a big reason behind what keeps people at the encampment. He said it’s one more reason why they’re determined to relocate people en masse, but they need more affordable housing options to make it happen.
They’re counting on the Metro council to approve the Mayor’s proposal to build these homes and expand resources across the Metro.
