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Post-Mortem for a Homeless Woman - September 06, 2006
For us it was just a post-lunch leisurely stroll on a Friday in early August at the Riverfront Park along Cumberland River in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. We were visiting our middle daughter who had moved there in early June.
A large concert stage on a barge floated near the edge of the Cumberland. A youngish man lay sleeping on the amphitheater-type steps, his guitar covering part of his body. By the looks of his clothes and ratty hair, he didn't look like he was just a young college student taking a noontime nap. Our daughter noted that there were a lot of homeless people in this section of town. I had to wonder if he came to Nashville looking to break in to the music business.
But then our stroll became a brush with the difference between life and death; rich and poor; homeless and over-housed. A tragedy had occurred which reminded us of the underlying problem that exists not only in Nashville, but all across prosperous, affluent North America.
We were river-gazing near the bank when we noticed a red fire/rescue boat getting ready to take a whirl on the water. At first it was just a diversion for us; something interesting to look at. It came upriver, and the men on board seemed to be looking into the water. Why?
On the TV news that night, we learned that there had indeed been a drowning; a young homeless woman had been pushed into the river by two men about 3:00 a.m. Witnesses had seen them. She, too, had been sleeping down by the river.
It took about ten days, but authorities finally looked under the barge/concert stage and found the body of Tara Cole, 32. Advocates for the homeless raged that had it been a wealthy person, the searching would have been more intense. Family members noted that the woman had suffered from mental illness, and she had stopped taking her medication.
Two weeks after the murder, two young men were arrested who witnesses said had been drunk that night and had commented that they wanted to "rough up some homeless." Numerous Web sites carry the story.
People lack decent or affordable housing for a myriad of reasons, including the difficulties of untreated mental illness. It is troubling when it is easy to dismiss the drowning murder of one member of our society as "it was just a homeless woman" or because someone is mentally ill. Her death (and many others like it) should not be dismissed, but indeed, trouble us long into many a night. The Bible says that God cares for even a little sparrow that falls, and I know God cared for Tara Cole.
But the current problems go way, way beyond the lack of housing for the "down and out." Today's affordable housing crisis affects everyone: those in suburbs and rural farmlands where city dwellers keep pushing further and further out because they cannot afford to live closer in to the city; middle class workers like school teachers, firefighters, and police officers who cannot afford to live in the areas where their jobs are in affluent areas; children of current middle class homeowners who won't be able to afford homes of their own.
Most people would never go so far as to push a poor, sleeping homeless young woman into a river, but thousands die every year from society's neglect, and from disease due to exposure to the elements. And yes, there are a hundred reasons people are homeless, from making poor choices, to disability, to not being able to find a job with a living wage, to not being able to afford any place to stay, much less a decent one.
How can we help? Become educated on issues related to housing. It comes down to greed and how much is enough and how such desires and longings affect each of us. Get involved in advocacy efforts, asking developers to include low and middle-income housing options in their neighborhood plans. The biggest problem facing most efforts to provide affordable housing comes from middle and upper-income folks who "don't want it in their backyard." Help out with Habitat housing projects or other worthy efforts that give people a "hand up" rather than a "hand out."
Contributed by Melodie Davis: MelodieD@MennoMedia.org Melodie is the author of eight books and writes a syndicated newspaper column, Another Way
For us it was just a post-lunch leisurely stroll on a Friday in early August at the Riverfront Park along Cumberland River in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. We were visiting our middle daughter who had moved there in early June.
A large concert stage on a barge floated near the edge of the Cumberland. A youngish man lay sleeping on the amphitheater-type steps, his guitar covering part of his body. By the looks of his clothes and ratty hair, he didn't look like he was just a young college student taking a noontime nap. Our daughter noted that there were a lot of homeless people in this section of town. I had to wonder if he came to Nashville looking to break in to the music business.
But then our stroll became a brush with the difference between life and death; rich and poor; homeless and over-housed. A tragedy had occurred which reminded us of the underlying problem that exists not only in Nashville, but all across prosperous, affluent North America.
We were river-gazing near the bank when we noticed a red fire/rescue boat getting ready to take a whirl on the water. At first it was just a diversion for us; something interesting to look at. It came upriver, and the men on board seemed to be looking into the water. Why?
On the TV news that night, we learned that there had indeed been a drowning; a young homeless woman had been pushed into the river by two men about 3:00 a.m. Witnesses had seen them. She, too, had been sleeping down by the river.
It took about ten days, but authorities finally looked under the barge/concert stage and found the body of Tara Cole, 32. Advocates for the homeless raged that had it been a wealthy person, the searching would have been more intense. Family members noted that the woman had suffered from mental illness, and she had stopped taking her medication.
Two weeks after the murder, two young men were arrested who witnesses said had been drunk that night and had commented that they wanted to "rough up some homeless." Numerous Web sites carry the story.
People lack decent or affordable housing for a myriad of reasons, including the difficulties of untreated mental illness. It is troubling when it is easy to dismiss the drowning murder of one member of our society as "it was just a homeless woman" or because someone is mentally ill. Her death (and many others like it) should not be dismissed, but indeed, trouble us long into many a night. The Bible says that God cares for even a little sparrow that falls, and I know God cared for Tara Cole.
But the current problems go way, way beyond the lack of housing for the "down and out." Today's affordable housing crisis affects everyone: those in suburbs and rural farmlands where city dwellers keep pushing further and further out because they cannot afford to live closer in to the city; middle class workers like school teachers, firefighters, and police officers who cannot afford to live in the areas where their jobs are in affluent areas; children of current middle class homeowners who won't be able to afford homes of their own.
Most people would never go so far as to push a poor, sleeping homeless young woman into a river, but thousands die every year from society's neglect, and from disease due to exposure to the elements. And yes, there are a hundred reasons people are homeless, from making poor choices, to disability, to not being able to find a job with a living wage, to not being able to afford any place to stay, much less a decent one.
How can we help? Become educated on issues related to housing. It comes down to greed and how much is enough and how such desires and longings affect each of us. Get involved in advocacy efforts, asking developers to include low and middle-income housing options in their neighborhood plans. The biggest problem facing most efforts to provide affordable housing comes from middle and upper-income folks who "don't want it in their backyard." Help out with Habitat housing projects or other worthy efforts that give people a "hand up" rather than a "hand out."
Contributed by Melodie Davis: MelodieD@MennoMedia.org Melodie is the author of eight books and writes a syndicated newspaper column, Another Way
