NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Last summer, police responding to complaints about campfires under a highway overpass found dozens of homeless people living on public land along the Cumberland River.
Eviction notices went up -- and then were suspended by Nashville Mayor Karl Dean who said housing for the homeless should be found first.
A year later, little has been found -- and Nashville, with help from local nonprofits, is now servicing a tent city, arranging for portable toilets, trash pickup, a mobile medical van and visits from social workers. Volunteers bring in firewood for the camp's 60 or so dwellers.
Nashville estimates that on any given day, the city has 4,000 homeless people and 765 shelter beds. About 25% of the homeless have jobs, Mr. Harris said, but can't afford housing.
David Olson, 47 years old, said last week he and his wife wound up under the Nashville overpass after he lost a job making cement pipes in Iowa four months ago. The couple came to Nashville for a remodeling job that turned out to be a scam. "I've got five years' experience in carpentry and 10 years' roofing and I can't find a job," he said.
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i know that camden has been tolerating one hidden in the middle of the woods in the middle of an exit ramp jughandle for some time now - one of the reasons is that there is a leader of the camp who is respected by the folks who have come to live there and his rules and presence seems to keep the violence and drug dealing to a minimum, and the police would rather know where these folks are if they need to come looking for them, and social service organizations feel the same way. several mentally ill people have been located through this camp and re-united with their families who are helping them get back on track as much as possible.
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