Chronic homelessness in Nashville increased 43%; millions have been invested to curb issue in recent years

Adam Mintzer
·2 min read
12

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Despite continuing to spend $50 million in federal funding on curbing the issue, the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness in Nashville continues to rise.

In 2022, Metro Council approved $50 million in American Rescue Plan funding to fight homelessness.

“A bold and ambitious plan to get Nashville’s most vulnerable population off the streets and into stable, safe environments,” then-Mayor John Cooper said at the time.

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However, despite that one-time funding, there has been a 43% increase in chronically homeless people in Nashville over the past year.

According to Metro Nashville’s Homelessness Dashboard, 1,027 people were chronically homeless in March 2023 and 1,472 as of March 2024.

All for Him Ministries founder Heather Young has noticed this increase while providing resources to the Nashville homeless population.

“I’ve seen an increase in women and children. I’ve seen an increase in mental health that needs to be addressed,” Young said.

Young believes the main issue is the cost of living in Nashville. She said she works with people who are chronically homeless and have jobs but can’t afford to leave the homeless encampments. “There is not a way for these people to get up and running. They can’t get affordable housing. Sometimes they can’t get the treatment that they need for mental health.”

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She expects without more affordable housing options, the issue will only get worse. “I guarantee you it’s going to double from where we are now.”

Open Table Nashville advocacy and outreach specialist India Pungarcher said lots of groups in Nashville are working to address homelessness the best they can with the resources they have, but they still need more funding.

“If a one-time $50 million investment was going to end homelessness in Nashville, you know, homelessness wouldn’t exist anymore, right?” Pungarcher said. “We need hundreds of millions of dollars in order to, you know, even just make a dent in homelessness here in Nashville.”

She also stressed that some of the new housing this federal money has funded simply isn’t built yet, but will be helpful once they’re ready.

“I’d encourage people to stay the course this isn’t a problem that we got into overnight, and it’s going to take us a while to get out of it as well,” she said.

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At the last Metro Homeless Planning Council Meeting, officials said they will not close down any more encampments until they have the rooms to relocate the people who live there.

Metro Nashville Office of Homeless Services did not respond to requests for comment or an interview.

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