Temporary homeless shelters operate at the Fairgrounds Nashville
Emails between Metro officials and service providers show that at one point in early May, the temporary shelter at the Fairgrounds Nashville could not admit new guests who were awaiting COVID-19 test results. The emails, which the Scene obtained through a public records request, show that on May 5 there seemed to be some struggle for space at the so-called sick shelter designed to quarantine people experiencing homelessness who tested positive for COVID-19.
That day, Brian Haile, CEO of Neighborhood Health, emailed Metro officials — including Metro Public Health director Michael Caldwell and Coronavirus Task Force chair Alex Jahangir — about two patients who were turned away from the fairgrounds.
“Today two homeless patients who were recently tested for COVID-19 returned to us (on foot) because they were told there was no room at the PUI shelter for them,” Haile wrote. He added that Neighborhood Health confirmed with a fairgrounds worker that there was no more space for persons under investigation (PUI), or people who are waiting for the results of their coronavirus tests.
"Can you give us some direction as to how we should proceed?" Haile asked.
Caldwell forwarded the message to other Metro members for clarification, and received a response from MPHD’s regional hospital coordinator, Madelynn McCormick.
“It’s not that there is no PUI shelter, we just have 125 COVID[-19 positive guests] & no room for PUIs at the moment,” she wrote. “Sick side is usually split between PUIs and positives, but there are no spaces left.”
The email thread ends with Jahangir on May 6 saying he spoke with the Office of Emergency Management and hospital partners, adding, “We should be good today.”
Just a day before Haile contacted Metro, the city announced that more than 100 people experiencing homelessness had tested positive for COVID-19 — 19 from the fairgrounds facility, and 100 from the Nashville Rescue Mission.
Asked for an update on the fairgrounds shelters, an Office of Emergency Management spokesperson said the fairgrounds shelter “is well below capacity and we continue to accept people who are awaiting test results.”
While OEM couldn’t comment on McCormick’s email, the spokesperson did say that a temporary shelter for healthy guests was opened in a community center. After four guests of the fairgrounds tested positive, all 200 individuals staying at the shelter were tested for coronavirus. This effectively made the healthy shelter a PUI shelter, OEM explains. At the same time, 88 Nashville Rescue Mission guests who tested positive for COVID-19 were moved into the so-called sick shelter, as were 19 people staying at the fairgrounds.
The temporary community center shelter has been closed, and the fairgrounds healthy shelter is back to normal operations.
The fairgrounds shelter is made up of three tiers: one overflow shelter for healthy guests, one for people awaiting test results, and one for people who tested positive. The PUI shelter and positive shelter are in the same building, but OEM notes it’s a 40,000-square-foot expo center, and that neither side can interact with the other.
Advocates for the homeless and services providers have voiced concerns about a lack of communication and transparency from Metro officials when it comes to the fairgrounds shelters. In fact, it doesn’t appear Haile ever received any response to his questions from Metro officials.
This came up at the most recent Homelessness Planning Council meeting, where council chair Paula Foster said she was “disappointed and dismayed by the fact that our city administration has failed to seek this council's input into its planning for our neighbors who are experiencing life without homes.” Foster and others also said they were concerned about conditions at the fairgrounds, as well as the arrest of a man who attempted to escape the quarantine.
People familiar with homelessness outreach efforts have reiterated these complaints to the Scene. Two say service providers did not know about the lack of space at the fairgrounds PUI shelter. Two sources also say Haile and Neighborhood Response never received a response from Metro. These sources spoke to the Scene requesting anonymity, to avoid compromising private service providers' working relationships with Metro officials.
One source says providers feel they have been left in the dark by Metro, and that they often receive contradictory information — something they worry breeds distrust and leaves people experiencing homelessness without clear guidance.
Advocates have also pushed for solutions like hotel and motel vouchers, but Metro does not appear to be pursuing those options. Other emails obtained by the Scene show that Millennium Maxwell House, Marriott and Hayes Street reached out to the city — Maxwell House specifically asking about ways to help people experiencing homelessness. OEM says those options were considered but will not be moving forward at this time.
At this time there is no set date for when the fairgrounds shelter will cease operations.
“We will continue to evaluate the need for sheltering and announce changes when they are complete,” says the OEM spokesperson.
