Board Responds to Increased Criminalization of Homelessness in Nashville

As homelessness continues increasing in Nashville, so does the cruel criminalization of our neighbors. This summer, NPR reported on the arrest of two of our unhoused neighbors who were charged under the most severe anti-camping law in the country.

The city we promote as welcoming to visitors and new businesses was exposed for cruelly punishing our most vulnerable residents for the crime of escaping record-breaking heat and threatening storms in a public picnic shelter. Sadly, many Nashvillians were completely unaware of this harmful law. Enacted by the Tennessee Legislature in 2022, this law makes it a class E felony — punishable by up to six years in prison, a $3,000 fine, and the loss of voting rights — to camp on any public property, unless specifically permitted.

As board members of Open Table Nashville, we are saddened by our community’s collaboration with those in government who push to address the homelessness crisis with fines, arrests, and prosecution.

Instead of being met with care and resources, our neighbors were unnecessarily and unjustly arrested and harmed for simply existing. One of these individuals was tased in the process of the arrest — an undeniably harmful use of force.

This was the first time Nashville Metro Police have enforced the state law rather than issuing warnings or other interventions, and we fear that it signals a shift in our city’s approach. Not only are such arrests physically and mentally harmful to our neighbors experiencing homelessness, they are counterproductive to the goal of ending homelessness. A felony charge or conviction does irreparable harm to an individual’s ability to gain or keep employment and further damages eligibility for housing — extending the cycle of living outside. And even though the charges against these individuals were pled down to misdemeanors, the reality is that even that lesser conviction can prevent them from accessing housing.

Despite the growth and prosperity experienced in the Nashville region, our most vulnerable neighbors are falling further behind. The number of people experiencing homelessness has grown by 30% in less than a year, to more than 4,300 in December 2025, per the city’s Homelessness Management Information System.

The acceleration of camp closures, together with the lack of affordable housing options, has contributed to the number of friends who have no other place to sleep than on public or state property. The true answer to ending homelessness is to dramatically increase the availability of affordable housing, fund critical services and service providers, and build trust with our unhoused neighbors while assisting them with survival support and navigation through the process of gaining stable housing.

We continue to call on Mayor O’Connell, Chief Drake, D.A. Funk, and the Metro City Council to address this pattern — as we see arrests continue across the city — with the outrage it deserves and to build measures that ensure no other neighbors will be harassed and harmed. We specifically ask that Metro Nashville provide clear options for residents who call in with concerns to choose a non-police response alternative.

There are many organizations and agencies in our community like Open Table Nashville that stand ready to support our neighbors with compassion and mutual aid. Our city should be investing its resources in proven solutions rather than harmful punitive responses.

Nashville has the opportunity to stand up to the escalation of harm and to serve as an example of treating our unhoused neighbors with dignity, care, and support. Housing, not handcuffs, is the only real answer.

Open Table Nashville Board of Directors

· John Lozier, Chair

· Margot Fosnes, Treasurer

· Kelsey Wilson, Secretary

· Alaina Boyer

· Chris Coleman

· Farhang Heydari

· David Spivey