NEWS BRIEFS

Emergency COVID-19 isolation pods to be installed in Mission parking lot

Twenty-five pods meant to provide shelter to those experiencing homelessness who tested positive for COVID-19 will be installed in the parking lot of Nashville Rescue Mission.

This temporary setup is a result of a collaboration between The Office of Emergency Management and Metro Public Health, along with Nashville Rescue Mission.

On July 1, the longstanding temporary shelter located at the Fairgrounds Nashville was closed. Spots for those experiencing homelessness who tested positive for COVID-19 were moved to a former detention facility for a time — and met with pushback from homeless advocates.

Each pod will have electricity, heating and air, and access to medical care onsite. The funding for the pods comes from the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases Funds. Around the clock Certified Nursing Assistants and 24-Hour Security is also paid for through this fund. Guests of these emergency shelter pods will have access to meals, restrooms, showers and recreation areas, a press release reads.

“We sincerely appreciate OEM and Metro Public Health working with us to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by installing these temporary shelter pods,” said Glenn Cranfield, president and CEO of Nashville Rescue Mission. “These pods will allow us to isolate those testing positive for COVID while they need to quarantine. It’s a great blessing to us, our guests, staff, and volunteers.”

More information about Metro Nashville Davidson County’s COVID-19 Response can be found at Covid19.Nashville.Gov.

Operation Stand Down receives $2.1M to help with transitional housing

Operation Stand Down Tennessee will receive a $2.1 million federal grant to aid in programs for transitional housing.

Rep. Jim Cooper and the veteran service organization announced the grant, which is administered under the Veterans Administration Grant and Per Diem program, in late September.

“Operation Stand Down Tennessee has provided Veterans with Transitional Housing for 28 years. This grant is a game changer as it will help us improve the safety and quality of the experience we can provide to Veterans in our program,” said Operation Stand Down CEO Eden Murrie.

The GPD program was built to “prevent and end homelessness among veterans,” according to a release, and Operation Stand Down was one of 60 award recipients. The money will be used for 42 beds for transitional housing, which include the only beds for female veterans in the state of Tennessee.

“Operation Stand Down provides vital services to veterans in Middle Tennessee, especially with their efforts to end homelessness,” Cooper said. “It was truly my honor to help deliver these funds to help support the men and women who sacrificed so much for our freedom.”

Federal suit challenges laws against people living in vehicles

Legal organizations in California and Washington are campaigning to protect the constitutional rights of people living in vehicles.

A federal lawsuit filed by the National Homelessness Law Center, Disability Rights California, Disability Rights Advocates, ACLU-Washington, ACLU-California, and Columbia Legal Services, challenges a law in Lacey, Washington, that prohibits parking recreational vehicles for more than four hours each day and authorizing the immediate tow and impoundment of the vehicle homes as punishment.

The Law Center cites data from its Housing Not Handcuffs 2019 report, which found that half of U.S. cities have at least one law prohibiting living in vehicles, “even when vehicles are a person’s best or only option for shelter.”

“Exclusion of individuals and discrimination are not valid government interests,” the suit reads. “There exists a long, inglorious history of governments, both federal and local, pursuing policies of exclusion, and nearly all such attempts have been shut down by the courts.”

The report also found that these types of laws were the fastest growing category of anti-homeless laws in the country at that time.

“Enforcement of these laws leave people living in vehicles at constant risk of losing their best, or only, available option for shelter,” said Tristia Bauman, senior attorney at the Law Center. “Without their vehicles, people experiencing homelessness will end up unsheltered on the streets, adding to an already dire encampment crisis.”

Sean Parker, District 5 Council Member, wears a Contributor mask before a recent council meeting discussing the evictions set for residents of Dickerson Road. PHOTO BY ALVINE.