To Sanction Or Not To Sanction: Metro Mulling Homeless Encampments (Updated)

The Metro Homelessness Commission is still mulling how to handle homeless encampments throughout the city. But one part they're sure of: The four-person staff at the commission can't handle a heavier workload.

The commission itself is made of up more than 20 members — several of which, including Mayor Megan Barry, technically rolled off on Aug. 31— and its staff is looking to those commission members, or a willing nonprofit entity, to step up to the plate.

"As a staff we are almost tapped out at what we're doing right now," said Will Connelly, the commission's  director. "We want to continue to focus on permanent housing and building a better, healthier system."

The commission right now is focusing on the goal of assisting 2,016 people find permanent housing by 2016. Since June 2013, the commission's "How's Nashville" initiative has helped find housing for more than 1,500 people experiencing homelessness. 

But Connelly says they're behind on the veteran portion of their goal by about 200 people. The commission could add another 100 people to that list as it verifies whether those individuals are veterans, a distinction giving them an opportunity to apply for veteran-specific housing.

"We're trying to, as quickly as possible, to get those vets access to housing," Connelly said.

But the director said operating a stopgap solution, like tent cities, might have depend on leadership from a volunteer amid the body's wealth of commissioners — that is, if it were the "commissions' bidding" to take up sanctioning encampments like other cities have done in recent years.

"We may need commissioners to step up," Connelly said.

The issue of how Metro Davidson County will handle tent-city style encampments recently came to a head after homeless campers at Fort Negley were given a Sept. 15 deadline by Metro Parks to leave the area. While parks officials have extended the move-out deadline until April 1 — and some assurances have been made that campers won't be cited or arrested for living there — the commission is left with sorting out the laundry.

Gearing priorities toward housing individuals is "spot on," said Steven Samra, a vocal, formerly homeless member of the commission. But he also said that focusing on housing should not close the chapter on what to do about encampments. Doing nothing, he said "butts up against reality of lack of affordable housing and the size of the camps."

Nashvillians who apply and receive Section 8 housing vouchers often face problems finding a landlord to accept the voucher once they receive it. Vouchers expire after 120 days without finding a suitable location to use them. The shortage of landlords willing to take vouchers is noticeable enough that the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency is planning a meeting Friday to encourage landlords to accept Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers.

Businessman Kirby Davis of Freeman Webb Companies, a property management and real-estate investment business, rolled off the commission Aug. 31. But he but still sat on the commission meeting Tuesday, saying regardless whether the city sanctions camps, officials shouldn't take a forceful approach in removing campers.

"I think we ought to say that we don’t think people should be taking people’s stuff and throwing it away," Davis said. He also told he commission not to "reinvent the wheel" and to look toward Seattle's approach to tent cities.

The commission will deliver a report from third-party strategy company, Focus Strategies, at it's next full meeting that outlines what the commission should focus on for the next year. Connelly said it will largely be a framework for what to work on and how to best allocate funds and resources within its existing capacity.

That meeting is scheduled for 9:30 a.m., Nov. 6, at the Howard Office Building.

Update (3:53 p.m.): At its executive commission meeting this morning, the commission discussed what stepping up the plate to help with encampments as a commissioner might look like. Diane Kuhn, chair of the commission, said ideally she'd like to see a member of the commission offer to chair a committee on the issue.

"There’s a need for this and we’re the body because we’re the Homelessness Commission and that’s our charge and this is an issue,” Kuhn said. “It should be housed here. On the other side, we’ve got four staff members. We’re in a huge push and we’re behind. We’ve taken on this 2016 campaign, and we’re all committed to that and making progress on that. I just have a hard time asking (these four) to do any more. They can’t work any more hours."