Baby Found in West Nashville Encampment

A 6-month-old child was found in a West Nashville homeless encampment during last week’s extreme heat and is now in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, according to comments made at a July 7 Metro Council committee meeting. Council member Sheri Weiner said she went to the site with Metro Nashville Police Officer Ben Cantrell after learning an infant was living there while temperatures reached about 105 degrees under a heat warning. Weiner told the Public Health and Safety Committee that she held the child, whom she described as “soaking wet,” for three hours. She said the baby was “thankfully in really good shape” after being removed from the encampment. ### Who said the baby was found, and where did that account come from? The July 7 account came from Sheri Weiner, a Metro Council member for District 22 who sits on the Public Health and Safety Committee. During that committee meeting, Weiner said the infant had been living in a West Nashville encampment and that she responded after learning the child was there during the heat emergency. Jacob Kupin, who chaired the committee meeting, also referred to the case during the session. (fox17.com) Kupin called it an “unfortunate situation” and said “it is never appropriate to find kids in that situation,” according to WZTV’s report from the meeting. ### What details have officials given about the child’s condition? (nashville.gov) Weiner said the child was “soaking wet” when she arrived and that she held the infant for three hours. She told the committee the baby was later in “really good shape,” but she did not identify the child or the family. (fox17.com) The same account said Weiner saw items including a stroller and a changing table inside the encampment. She credited Metro police officers, the Department of Children’s Services and other responders with removing the child from the scene, telling the committee, “The simple fact is we saved a life.” (fox17.com) ### What happened to the parents? Weiner said at the July 7 meeting that the child’s parents were in custody, but she did not provide additional details. Metro Nashville Police had not posted a public newsroom release about the case on its news page as of July 9. Because police and DCS had not publicly released fuller case records, key details remain unconfirmed in public, including the parents’ names, any charges, and the exact location of the encampment. (fox17.com) The publicly available account so far comes from Weiner’s remarks at the committee meeting and subsequent local news reports. ### How does Nashville say encampment outreach is supposed to work? Nashville’s Office of Homeless Services says a coordinated network of outreach workers conducts daily visits to outdoor communities across Davidson County. The office says those visits are meant to connect people experiencing homelessness with resources, support and housing pathways. The city’s homelessness response is coordinated through the Office of Homeless Services, which also serves as the lead entity for homeless data and coordinated entry. (fox17.com) Nashville’s outdoor homelessness strategy says Metro outreach teams assess encampments and connect residents to services as part of the city’s response framework. ### What role does Tennessee child welfare play in a case like this? (nashville.gov) The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services says it is responsible for promoting the safety and well-being of children and families. The agency says suspected abuse or neglect can be reported at any time through the Tennessee Child Abuse Hotline, which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Tennessee’s reporting guidance says emergency situations involving immediate risk of serious harm should be called in rather than submitted online. (nashville.gov) In this case, Weiner said the infant is already in DCS custody, indicating the state child-welfare system has taken over the next steps in the case. ### What happens next in this case? As of Thursday, July 9, the next public steps were still limited to agency handling rather than a scheduled court or council action. (tn.gov) DCS custody means child-welfare investigators, not Metro Council, now control the case response, while Metro’s Office of Homeless Services continues its regular outreach to outdoor encampments across Nashville. (fox17.com) (carat.app.tn.gov)