Some Antioch residents are upset they were never included in the decision to relocate a homeless camp to their neighborhood. Dozens showed up to vent their frustration at a three-hour town hall meeting Thursday night.
Many who attended said they’re all for helping the homeless, but are upset they woke up one morning last week to find a homeless camp in their community without any discussion.
“This was like a real slap in the face. I’m sorry.”
In the weeks after the homeless camp, known as Tent City, flooded, homeless outreach workers started looking for a new site. Prominent Nashville businessman Lee Beaman offered two acres of a large empty field he owns in the Hickory Hollow area, and within a couple of days the camp was up and running. Neither Antioch’s councilmen nor citizens were notified. Beaman apologized to the crowd.
“It didn’t even occur to me that it could be a violation of any codes and I thought it won’t be any harm for them to be camped on some property.”
Roughly 40 people are living at the new Tent City in Antioch.
The camp is a violation of codes. The city has notified Beaman that residents must be gone by July 5. He promised to comply with that order.
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