NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – Last summer, a new state law criminalizing camping on public property went into effect. Now a man is working on a project to highlight how the law is affecting Tennessee’s homeless population.
Terence Lester heard various stories on the streets of Nashville.
“I spoke to one person and he said, ‘I have a ticket and a fine, but how do I pay the fine? And I get caught in this cycle,'” Lester said.
He also told News 2 about a person who described how difficult it was to gain access to shelters or other shelters due to a lack of ADA shelters.
‘It’s getting treacherous’: Concerns are mounting over the growing homeless camp at Wentworth-Caldwell Park
According to Lester, the cycle of homelessness is something people rarely learn from those who face it.
“We never get a chance to hear the emotions, the stories, the narratives from their perspective,” he said.
A dissertation and a draft law led the native Georgian to Tennessee.
“I was tasked with this task of finding a policy problem, and it was around the time the law was actually being formulated and about to be passed,” Lester explained.
| READ MORE | Latest headlines from Nashville and Davidson County
Tennessee’s anti-camping law went into effect last July, making camping on public property a criminal offense.
“To be honest, I burst into tears,” Lester recalled.
Lester knew this law would have a serious impact on the homeless.
“I’ve found that in the state of Tennessee there are actually more homeless people than there are beds,” he said.
As a result, Lester decided to focus his doctoral research on the implications of this bill. This week he’s touring the Volunteer State speaking to homeless people and community leaders for research.
“Many of the people I’ve spoken to just want to be seen, want to be heard, and want the same access to a safe space as any other person and the opportunity to pull themselves out of the experience of homelessness,” he explained lester
The owner of an SF art gallery who was filmed spraying a homeless woman with a hose has been arrested
It’s these stories he hears that Lester hopes to share with others once his work is complete.
“When you speak about the issue of homelessness, there is often a lack of compassion and that needs to change,” he said.
Lester will travel to Knoxville and Chattanooga later this week to speak with the homeless and community leaders in those cities.
Lester says he is making a documentary about his trip in Tennessee as part of his PhD. He plans to return to Nashville with his finished documentary to present it to lawmakers.
