A cluster of COVID-19 cases was found at the Nashville Rescue Mission
Less than one month after closing overflow shelters in July, Metro has opened a temporary COVID-19 shelter for people experiencing homelessness. Metro announced that the space would serve as a temporary overflow shelter in a press release on Tuesday, saying it was opened in response to a cluster of positive COVID test results at Nashville Rescue Mission.
According to Metro’s statement, the nonprofit needed space for more than 16 guests who tested positive for COVID-19. The Nashville Office of Emergency Management, Metro Nashville Public Health Department, Metro Social Services and Davidson County Sheriff's Office coordinated the opening of the shelter, which is located in a DCSO-owned facility.
The announcement notes that the space is meant to be a temporary shelter for at least the next 10 days, and that Metro agencies and private services providers are working on short-term and long-term solutions to safely house unhoused people who contract COVID-19.
The press release also says that Metro Social Services funded temporary stays at a hotel after the cluster, but that using hotel rooms in general is “not viewed as a long-term solution” due to issues including damage to hotel rooms for which the city would be liable.
Advocates for people experiencing homelessness have pushed for hotel vouchers since COVID-19 hit Nashville — more recently, they have pointed to a federal program that would reimburse cities for paying for hotel and motel room stays for the homeless population during the pandemic. (Nashville is one of many cities that did not opt in.) Previous reporting from the Scene turned up emails showing that at least one hotel representative offered to help in the early days of the pandemic — it’s unclear if they received a response.
At any rate, the press release notes finding cooperative hotels may be a challenge: “Some hotels have refused to accept reservations going forward for homeless clients, due to damage and criminal activity.”
A DCSO-owned facility had been used as a temporary shelter for folks experiencing homelessness before — back in the pre-COVID days of winter 2019. Advocates at Open Table Nashville, a nonprofit that conducts outreach to the homeless population and more, criticized the move, saying that some people may rather endure the old than spend the night in the former jail, which was also located at Harding Place.
The current COVID overflow shelter is described as having an open, dorm-style layout with access to showers and restrooms. A spokesperson with the Office of Emergency Management told the Scene he did not know what the space's original use was.
When the pandemic began last year, Metro opened overflow shelters at the Fairgrounds Nashville, including a separate space for people who tested positive for COVID-19. The city closed those shelters this month.
Metro agencies and partner organizations announced in June that they estimated a 60 percent vaccination rate among people experiencing homelessness in Nashville, and that the homeless population has total access to the vaccine.
Update, July 29: Open Table Nashville responded to Metro's announcement with a Wednesday night press release. The statement notes that advocates, Vice Mayor Jim Shulman and Metro agency representatives met on Tuesday to discuss concerns about using Harding Place facilities as shelters. Open Table says the shelter was opened without community input.
“We refuse to accept that a jail, or a location that emulates a jail, is ever an appropriate sheltering option,” reads the statement. “We have housed individuals experiencing homelessness in hotels in the past without logistical, staffing, or liability issues. If we, a small non-profit, can successfully navigate this, we believe that larger, government organizations can do so as well.”
