A homeless encampment that has been located in West Nashville for years is still growing and it’s making local business owners concerned. As was reported on Fox 17, “One restaurant manager says people from the camp are coming in and begging dinner-goers for food.”
The city says it is working to address the problem with Metro Social Services, but it has yet to make any plans or commitments clear. Judith Tackett with Metro Social Services reportedly said that in the last several months they have helped at least a dozen from the encampment with housing services.
Business owners say this is not enough. The local businesses have been negatively impacted by the homeless encampment and have had to provide extra security due to the risks posed by the encampment.
Ernesto Padilla, the manager at El Sombrero Mexican Restaurant, shared that the camp members have started fights in the past if people have refused to give them food. He said that the encampment has been negatively affecting their business. He said at least 10 to 15 camp members come to the restaurant asking for food every week.
Back in February, the city tried to clear out the homeless encampment. The city initially said that it would take about a month to clear the park, but then Rick Taylor with Metro Parks said, “We’re not making them leave…there’s really no place for them to go.” According to NEWS4 Nashville, in February the city removed dumpsters full of trash from the location of the park in a clean up effort.
According to reports, this is just one of Nashville’s homeless encampments.
– – –
Hayley Tschetter is a reporter with The Minnesota Sun | Star News Network and The College Fix. She graduated with a degree in Communications from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. Send news tips to [email protected].
Unfortunately they don’t have anywhere to go because of limited mental health service for those that need it and jail cells for those that don’t. Hello San Francisco.
Welcome to Trashville.