NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After thieves vandalized several homes in west Nashville by stealing copper wires and pipes, residents found an unexpected source of help - the very homeless community they initially suspected.
Michelle Rae walks to the back of her west Nashville home to show the latest improvement projects, all completed by people living in nearby homeless camps.
"Come take a look at my house now. He washed the back of my house, really," Rae said. "There's the beautiful artwork. No one's getting through, and they haven't got back through it yet."
About a month ago, Rae contacted us after thieves entered her crawl space and cut pipes and wiring. She suspected some homeless neighbors were responsible.
After seeing our report, several people from the nearby camp approached Rae to apologize.
"The fourth one, he was like this big," Rae said. "He said 'we just want you to know we're sorry and we don't know who did this' and he's like 'I feel so bad. What can I do to help you?' I said, 'Man, you don't have to do anything, just get your act together and find out who did this, and we're gonna get you help.'"
The Office of Homeless Services intervened after learning about the situation.
"Why can't we help these folks that can't help themselves?" Rae said.
"See the power of the media? Unbelievable," she added.
The Office of Homeless Services says this camp is now on their radar, and they are increasing outreach services to those unhoused in the area.
"He said ever since he came out there and had that report done, we haven't seen any traffic, nothing, no one's walking down our street," Rae said.
While Rae still bolts awake at every bump in the night, she knows it's a process to get help to those who need it.
"There is still the fear because once you're invaded like that, you know your peace is gone," Rae said.
Rae also had to deal with a $1,800 water bill from the leak caused by a cut pipe. Our report helped her case in getting that bill resolved.
The Office of Homeless Services says everyone from the camp has been added to their database to connect them with the right services.
This story was reported on-air by Amanda Roberts and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Do you know of other community issues that need attention? Contact me at Amanda.Roberts@NewsChannel5.com, and your story could be the next one we help solve.
