With public camping a felony, Tennessee homeless seek refuge

Tennessee already made it a felony in 2020 to camp on most state-owned property. In pushing the expansion, Sen. Paul Bailey noted that no one has been convicted under that law and said he doesn't expect this one to be enforced much, either. Neither does Luke Eldridge, a man who has worked with homeless people in the city of Cookeville and supports Bailey’s plan — in part because he hopes it will spur people who care about the homeless to work with him on long-term solutions.

Public pressure to do something about the increasing number of highly visible homeless encampments has pushed even many. Although camping has generally been regulated by local vagrancy laws, Texas passed a statewide ban last year. Municipalities that fail to enforce the ban risk losing state funding. Several other states have introduced similar bills, but Tennessee is the only one to make camping a felony.

Atnip laughed at the idea of people shipped in from Nashville. She was living in nearby Monterey when she lost her home and had to send her children to live with her parents. She has received some government help, but not enough to get her back on her feet, she said. At one point she got a housing voucher but couldn't find a landlord who would accept it. She and her new husband saved enough to finance a used car and were working as delivery drivers until it broke down.

Here’s the solution: Make housing affordable

The real problem is the conditions that cause homelessness, which the camps are a symptom of. The “solutions” that don’t address the cause are only concerned with removing the homeless people from the sight of those who HAVE.

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