(Article changed on August 23, 2013 at 11:46)
(Article changed on August 23, 2013 at 11:17)
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In July and August of 2013, I
interviewed thirty-five homeless and formerly homeless individuals in Nashville,
Tennessee. Virtually all of them say they have been harassed, cited and arrested
multiple times for trespassing, sometimes while waiting for a bus, sometimes
when standing near a bench where others were sitting and often when not acting
any differently than other non-homeless persons in their immediate vicinity, who
were not arrested.
At taxpayer expense, our morally bankrupt city leaders
have removed some public benches the homeless used to sit on and otherwise, have
installed new benches with bars in the middle so they can't lie down. The
homeless say there are no public restrooms for them to use, virtually no
drinking fountains and there is literally no where for them to sit, walk or go
to the bathroom without fear of being arrested and carted off to jail for
trespassing. Most say they have been jailed two or more days multiple times and
fined significant amounts for the 'crime' of being poor.
The homeless say some Nashville police officers try to
be fair, while others are deliberately mean to them, going out of their way to
constantly harass, cite and/or arrest them for trespassing, obstruction of a
passageway and doing other things that tourists and the non-poor are not
arrested for. A man who had only been homeless for two days told me he had
already been harassed twice by the police when asking passers by for directions
to the mission.
Many say they have been arrested for public intoxication
when they were sober and carrying no alcohol or drugs. Several claim the police
routinely search their belongings without probable cause, frequently kick them
out of public parks and many say their tents, backpacks and other belongings
have been confiscated or destroyed by authorities.
The homeless
situation in Nashville is far worse than city leaders pretend. Most of the
thirty-five I interviewed said they have been homeless over a year in the
Nashville area; several said they have been homeless for over seven years. One
day walking only a few short blocks from the downtown bus terminal to Church
Street and then back, I interviewed thirteen people who said they were homeless,
while many others passed by who appeared to be.
When tourist and
other events are scheduled, the homeless say police conduct general sweeps of
the downtown area, arresting groups of people for appearing to be poor. A
homeless man on crutches said he was arrested for trespassing for walking across
a store parking lot diagonally instead of going around the long way on the
sidewalk. Several said they have been harassed and sometimes cited when selling
a homeless newspaper.
One man told me
he was arrested for obstruction while sitting on a downtown step because one of
his shoes was touching a public sidewalk. A formerly homeless woman said she has
witnessed numerous homeless individuals arrested for trespassing while walking
in public alleyways and on other public taxpayer-funded property. She said the
police rarely volunteer their name or badge number and some become angry when
asked. Several say their shoes and other belongings have been stolen at the
mission and some say they have been physically harmed.
Some told me
they have been arrested even when not homeless at the time, just because they
appeared to be poor. Several homeless veterans told me the police show them no
respect for being veterans and harass them just as badly as the rest. We as
taxpaying citizens of conscience should stand united and immediately demand that
our city leaders cease and desist using our tax dollars to harass, cite and
arrest people for the 'crime' of being poor.
We expect police
officers to protect us from real criminals who murder, rape and steal, rather
than to waste their time and our tax dollars harassing, citing and arresting
citizens because they are poor. Does the mayor's office and city council vainly
imagine they can get away with such ongoing violations of basic human and civil
rights, morality and common decency, without God in heaven and the rest of us
noticing?
It is less expensive
to house the homeless than for cities to repeatedly arrest and run them through
legal and service systems, better for business and, much less of a public safety
and health risk and expense when the basic needs of everyone are met. Music
City's lack of affordable housing, lack of basic common health sense and common
decency to even provide public restrooms and ongoing harassment of the poor, is
an open American shame. It was reported last year alone, over thirty citizens
died in the Nashville area because they were homeless, including one who froze
to death on a downtown church's steps. And, that is over thirty American
citizens too many.
May all citizens
of the United States who fear God unite together and demand that our cities
begin immediately constructing enough affordable housing and in the meantime,
demand that our immoral leaders provide
portable toilets so citizens don't have to live in fear of being arrested for
doing what nature requires of us all. Let's demand that our cities immediately
begin construction of facilities where the homeless can shower, be connected to
job opportunities, health, food, shelter and other valuable services and freely
congregate, without constant fear of physical harm, harassment, citation and
arrest.
