Enraged as we should be. I’m an outsider in Chattanooga and was appalled and outraged by what I found there. A few lawyers indicated they were going to step in but crickets as of now. The DA’s brother is the county mayor, a strange sort of local government now deep in nepotism. I understand that money is the motivator in Chattanooga, with the land slated for development by some of the DA’s supporters.

TN Governor Lee recently signed legislation making camping on government property a felony. They also have legislation that requires people who have been evicted to sho proof of financial means in order to be able to rent. So, no help there. Corruption, yeah, I’d guess. Christian corruption, the worst kind.

Since the mid-November cold spell eviction, some families and individuals have been temporarily placed in hotels, with the beleaguered local homeless coalition scraping up tens of thousands to keep them sheltered. The coalition also works hard to find the scarce permanent housing for those eligible. But many have tarnished rental history, financial problems, criminal records, dogs, and other housing barriers.

In DBQ, I’ve got a tad more ties, and it seems like the city council has been lured into oblivion by the staff promising to get rid of those visibly homeless, no matter the methods.

This DBQ story just flared up again, perhaps a journalistic trick to throw gasoline on the embers. Since the city’s actions languish while homelessness grows, maybe it’s a good thing to fire up.

Readership is fickle. Comments are few. The issue of homelessness takes work. I’m a one-woman nonprofit focused on homeless families. Doing what I can. Happy for your interest.