Stop the raids! Please join our mission to end destructive raids of unhoused encampments during hazardous weather conditions. When the city of Knoxville conducts bulldozer sweeps to clear encampments of unhoused people during or right before extreme weather conditions, our neighbors risk injury and death as a direct result of having their shelter and personal belongings destroyed. 

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the CDC has recommended against camp sweeps to prevent the unnecessary forced movement of individuals who shelter there. While it is the City of Knoxville’s position to not perform these raids during the cold, at present, there exists no law or ordinance to prohibit this practice. During the first week of January 2021, the Knoxville Public Service Department along with Knoxville Police Department again performed a sweep of a local encampment. Dozens of people lost their shelters, warm weather gear, personal belongings, and even vital paperwork and identification during this sweep. 

The night of the raid in early January 2021, temperatures dropped to 28 degrees. Worst of all, several people lost their lives due to the cold weather. Their bodies were recovered by a local aid worker, who confirmed that these individuals were members of the unhoused community. Since then, Knoxville has performed additional raids on camps during cold weather conditions, further threatening the safety of our unhoused community. 

We have reason to suspect that Knoxville is planning another raid on a large camp in the near future. We need your help now to stop this cruelty and prevent future loss of life. We are calling for the city to pass an ordinance that ensures that no person will be thrown out into the cold. 

If you don’t know a lot about this issue, here is a short FAQ to help:

Q: Won’t raids encourage these people to seek out better shelter?

A: Even if people are forced to seek shelter at KARM or another local organization after having their tents destroyed, those individuals still have to walk to the shelters during inclement weather, exposing them to further danger. Furthermore, forcing individuals to go to a shelter is a violation of their free will and dignity, and amounts to the criminalization of homelessness. Essentially, these individuals are forced to choose between either seeking shelter at KARM or face terrorization by city workers and cops. 

Q: Why would anyone rather sleep in a tent when there are shelters?

A: Many people who haven’t experienced homelessness aren’t aware of the conditions of shelters, or what it’s like to spend the night there. Here are a few reasons why someone might choose a tent camp instead of a large shelter:

1. Many people have had traumatic experiences at shelters, including battery and sexual assault. In light of this violence, many feel safer sleeping in a tent group with other individuals they know and trust, instead of sleeping cheek to jowl next to strangers at a shelter. 
2. Shelters also have restrictions that prevent people from bringing in pets and certain personal belongings. 
3. Due to rooming arrangements divided by sex and age for safety in larger shelters, family units have to sleep apart. 
4. Shelters also have curfews that prevent residents from leaving or entering after a certain time. This too is done for safety, but this can be difficult for residents who work at night.
5. Encampments are communities with members who look out for one another and work together to support each other, like a family. This represents a real safety net and offers benefits that traditional shelters do not. 
6. Like all of us, the unhoused community is concerned about the spread of COVID-19. People who are unhoused are particularly at risk of coronavirus. Large shelters provide ample breeding grounds for the virus, and individuals may choose to stay in encampments where they feel safer. 
7. Shelter restrictions also include “bans” on individuals who have transgressed the rules of the shelter. Sometimes these bans are made for safety reasons, but of course, this means that the person who has been banned is forced to sleep outside.
8. Religious/ideological conflicts are another reason why someone might choose to sleep outside rather than take refuge at a shelter. Most shelters are religiously affiliated, and in Knox, the majority of them are run by Christian ministries or churches. Some organizations provide food and shelter only if the resident sits through a religious service or listens to a sermon. This practice offends the dignity of the individual who does not share the faith or denomination of the organization. Individuals who do not wish to participate in religious activities in exchange for services may choose to sleep in camps instead. 

Q: Won’t this ordinance just enable/encourage these camps to grow?

A: This ordinance is focused on preventing raids during extreme weather conditions, in other words, we are fighting for the bare minimum respect for human life. To throw someone out of their shelter, and to destroy it along with their personal possessions during the bitter cold is unconscionable!

This is a shameful tragedy for which we as a community are responsible. Stand up for the basic needs of our unhoused neighbors by signing this petition that will be presented to the Mayor of Knoxville Indya Kincannon’s office alongside the language of our proposed ordinance included in an update later this week. This project is a collaboration between members of the Knoxville community and the Knoxville Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild at the University of Tennessee College of Law.