Tennessee Is Waging A War Against the Homeless That They Aren’t Going To Win
A new bill passed today will make it a felony for homeless people to sleep on public property
My partner and I can relate to those who are facing homelessness as we were forced out of our rental and into a tiny home situation more than two years ago. This bill and the attitude of Governor Bill Lee disgust me. First of all, he’s okay with making it a crime to sleep in a park when someone has nowhere else to sleep. Are you kidding me?
Why isn’t Tennessee addressing the root cause?
Is he just expecting to hide the homeless problem? If the state wants to make it a crime to sleep pretty much anywhere outside at this point except for in a vehicle, they should also make it illegal for people to be forced out of their homes in the first place.
The rising cost of living and high rents coupled with forced unemployment is the reason most of the time for people to get into a situation where they have to live on the streets anyway, or in our case, find an alternate form of housing. We were lucky and fortunate, though, to have the resources and the time to get ourselves out of a bad situation and into a better one.
Our own alternative living situation and relating to those down on their luck
In the long term, we’re going to save money by not having to pay a landlord or costly bills. Many people don’t have the same luxury or timing that we do. There are thousands of homeless currently living in the state of Tennessee. Many of them are forced to sleep in tents, under bridges, and in parks. This law is essentially looking to just move the problem out of sight and not actually address the problem of homelessness itself. They’re even making the punishment jail time from 1–6 years and a large fine.
Lack of empathy and not addressing the why
I’m absolutely horrified and sickened by the lack of empathy that these lawmakers are showing towards human lives. Imagine, if this were their sons, daughters, or any other relative facing this. Would they be just as callous toward them and make them face their hardship and struggle with the additional threat of a fine they probably can’t pay and jail time?
The way America, in general, treats the homelessness issue is very troubling and one I’ve always had a great deal of stress with. Sweeping reform needs to be made nationwide to change our attitudes about what it means to be homeless. Not only that, but we need to move towards a way to guarantee people without any viable housing options a way to either transition into them through more programs or to just have guaranteed universal housing.
There are plenty of empty homes to house the homeless but universal housing isn’t a viable solution for those in power
Did you know that there are more empty houses in America than there are homeless people? And it’s by a lot. The only big barrier between filling those houses through a guaranteed housing program and addressing the homelessness problem is profit. Money really is the bottom line behind all of this. That’s why the homeless exist.
We live in a country so greedy that instead of guaranteeing everyone housing we choose to let some people slip through because their situations aren’t profitable to address. Such a sad state of affairs. Shame on you, Tennessee!!
I know I said they won’t win this battle but the sad truth is they already have. They’re just toeing the mindset of many Americans and their attitude about homelessness. If only they’d worked harder. If only they’d learned a skill. If only they’d make more money. What?!
We should all be outraged at Tennessee for being so blatantly against people who’ve fallen down on their luck. This mindset is toxic and disgusting and it needs to end here.
