Jefferson Street Bridge camp to close, nobody knows when or how

BY HANNAH HERNER

On June 1, the long-standing encampment located under the Jefferson Street Bridge was set to be cleared out. The trespassing law that had been overlooked for the past year, and on and off for years before that, is to be enforced again.

Residents of the camp knew this because of a sign posted there on May 1, reading “metro property, no trespassing, no encampments after June 1, 2021.” So, as they usually do, nonprofit Open Table Nashville geared up to help the residents who wanted to stay have a fighting chance. They had “know your rights” workshops with lawyers, and held a camp meeting on May 28 to find out what the residents wanted going forward.

As announced at a press conference on June 1, there were five demands that came out of that meeting.

• Camp residents wanted the portable restrooms back. They were installed originally as a COVID measure and MNPD and Metro Social Services decided to have them removed, citing vandalism and evidence of drug use in the units.

• They wanted a 90-day notice from the city making any changes at the camp.

• They wanted a non-police presence to help with safety at the camp.

• They want to be included in the decision-making process and know the future of the camp.

• And finally, they wanted a safe place to exist.

Throughout interviews with the press on the matter, the police have maintained that they don’t plan any enforcement at the camp.

“We expect to go in there June 1, and we're not planning any enforcement, we don't know that it'll be necessary. And we'll talk to people, there's still folks there. You know, we'll talk to them along with the other people that are involved,” says MNPD spokesperson Kris Mumford. June 1 went by and nothing happened.

On June 2, the police came by and gave the outreach workers and the residents who were there a paper highlighting the trespassing law. Besides a conversation, no action was taken, but they did ask outreach workers not to encourage anyone new to set up there. India Pungarcher with Open Table Nashville was one of a group who stayed at the camp starting the evening before June 1, prepared to mediate with residents and police.

“They didn't give us any direct answers of what their enforcement plan or strategy is going to be like,” Pungarcher says. “But they asked us to promise that we're not going to encourage new folks to come and set up under here. I mean that's not our intention, that's not something we're actively doing, but if people show up at camp, we're not going to say, ‘hey, you shouldn't be here.’ We'll make sure they know about what's going on.”

The decision to begin enforcing the trespassing laws on June 1 came out of a meeting of stakeholders including MNPD, The Salvation Army, Open Table Nashville and Metro Homeless Impact Division, among others. Of those four organizations, none of them had an Staff and volunteers from Open Table Nashville and other outreach organizations sit with residents of the Jefferson Street Bridge Camp. PHOTOS BY HANNAH HERNER

answer to the question of why the June 1 date was chosen. What we do know is that it was actually pushed back from May 1, after metro police officer Garrett Short emailed stakeholders (minus Open Table Nashville) on March 19 about a strategy to “end homelessness under the Jefferson Street Bridge,” by moving people to shelters or other camps with a proposed completion May 1, according to an email obtained by The Contributor.

Another thing on which the MNPD, the Salvation Army, and Metro Homeless Impact Division agreed was the number of people in the camp who are not pursuing housing — just two people, they claim. Open Table Nashville has since reported six individuals there that were not yet added into the city’s database for homeless people, which prioritizes them in order of vulnerability for public and affordable housing. While some people are working toward housing in a temporary spot (typically an extended stay hotel) with their rent paid through government rapid rehousing dollars, others are waiting in a place not meant for human habitation, like the camp. They all must work with a housing navigator to collect necessary documents (IDs, social security cards, birth certificates) and endure waiting lists.

The camp has been shrinking since its peak at the start of the pandemic, where survivors of the tornado relocated to receive the resources pouring in at the site and then remained as shelter-in-place orders came in. But as many folks experiencing homelessness often are, the camp residents are transient. Many members of the camp work at jobs with varying hours, and some only camp there at night, so could have been missed in the count. As of June 4, Mumford says there are five people left, all with housing lined up.

“I just don't think it's possible for [MNPD] to or anyone to like, be able to say with 100 percent confidence that they do know 100 percent of the folks under the bridge because there's so much transiency forced upon them and so people are working on shifts, we know that there's folks that work during the day and park there at night,” Pungarcher says.

Camp resident Gerrard Lytton said when he went to church that Sunday before June 1, he was going to talk to the police officers in his congregation and see if one of them could tell him and his fellow residents what would happen when that day comes.

“They don’t bother nobody around here,” Lytton said of the police. “Every now and then they get rid of the bad ones. I stay quiet. I like peace and quiet.”

He has been staying at the camp on and off for years, and wasn’t sure who his housing navigator was, or if he had one. When he saw the sign, he didn’t know what to do. He told The Contributor he would stay as long as he can.

“I thought it was horrible at first. The people out here, they have nowhere to go. I felt it was kinda wrong,” he says. “It was a little shocking. [The camp is] nothing bad. We got food here, and cover. I say just leave it alone, leave it like it is. Just stay and everybody behave themselves and try to clean up.”

The camp is home to people like Lytton, and tends to attract people in couples and people with pets, as couples are separated and pets are forbidden at all area shelters. The location is made more ideal by the covering, proximity to many social services in the downtown core, and a place to park a car. Plus, there’s a rotation of organizations like The Bridge Ministries that are well established there — they’ve been hosting church services and meals there for 17 years.

The Salvation Army, which has been offering meals every day there for at least the past year, has already pivoted to serve meals at 2nd Avenue and Gay Street. They are also offering housing navigation to many that have called the space under Jefferson Street Bridge their home.

Major Ethan Frizzell says he wants to see the camps become less necessary, through removing barriers to shelter. He notes that Nashville has open shelter beds every night.

“Nashville has made amazing strides the last 18 months,” Frizzell says. “It is not the same system today as it was pre-COVID. And so I commend the city for that and their leadership. And so sometimes people are carrying forth the narrative that's three years old, and that narrative is no longer true.”

Most areas under bridges are state-owned. Enforcement under the Jefferson Street Bridge has always been murky because it’s partially owned by the state and partially by the Tennessee Department Of Transportation, and though Metro Public Works told The Contributor that Metro has the right-of way for enforcement there, Open Table Nashville has not been able to get the proof of that documented as they requested on June 2.

Eventually, a fence will keep out anyone new. Metro Public Works will build that at a date to be determined.

The camp in question is different from others in the city in that it is located in a high-traffic area, near some high-end condos, Germantown and the Nashville Sounds Stadium. It’s visible. But not for long.