Austinist Remembers Tennessee

Austinist was deeply saddened and disturbed to hear of the horrific murder of Randall Hays, better known as Tennessee, a long-term resident of Hemphill Park. A frequent presence in the park, Tennessee was blind and spent most of his time in the immediate area. Police are still searching for Tennessee's family, but in a sense the people with whom he came into daily contact were his family. Austin's homeless community is mourning one of their own.

Several Austinist staffers and friends live, work, and play in the area around the park, and many of us had the honor of meeting this gentle, harmless man. The following are just a few memories.

Tennessee always had a radio with him and listened to it when he went to sleep. The night he died, my roommate and his girlfriend were walking back from Trudy's at 2:15am and saw him asleep on the grass listening to the radio. --Patrick
He never came to First English asking for food, money, or shelter. He pretty much kept to himself. He had lots of homeless friends -- everyone in the area knew him. I was always amazed that he got around so well. Sometimes I would see him climbing down into the Waller Creek culvert -- it's a pretty high stone wall. --David

I met Tennessee during “It’s My Park” day when we were clearing all of the trash out of the Waller Creek bed. We made sure to leave his stuff alone. The people who were working with me were all familiar with him and that he was a resident of the Hemphill/North University Neighborhood as much as anyone else. --Steph

My husband and I met Tennessee one day after our church's annual chicken barbecue. He was sitting at the picnic table in the park. We took him a huge plate of chicken, potato salad, and so on. John pointed out the food locations on the plate, but Tennessee said, digging in, "I'll be able to find it." He was very gracious. During conversation, he mentioned a local convenience store up on Speedway, and we wondered how on earth he got around so well. We were frustrated when the picnic table was removed from the park because we frequently saw Tennessee sitting there. --Julie

I didn't know Tennessee well, mostly by sight, because he kept to himself and never asked for assistance of any kind. But he was a "regular" in the neighborhood for a long time: sleeping and hanging out in the park across the street from First English Lutheran Church, sleeping in the alcove of the unused 30th street entrance to our library when there was bad weather. I've seen him waking up in that alcove frequently during the past month with all the rain we've had. He was a quiet, gentle soul by all indications. What a sad and terrible end for someone who managed to eke out an existence on the streets and in our park. Jesus in the face and person of those in need at our doorstep. --Pastor Bob

In an interview with KVUE, George Peoples eloquently expressed feelings shared by most people who met Tennessee: "He was a very intelligent individual and he was very perceptive.... That man was a man worth knowing." We couldn't agree more. It's devastating to think of what Tennessee's last moments were like. As a man, and a friend, he deserved so much more than he ever had. He will be missed.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Julie Holden on July 23, 2007 8:00 AM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

guest

Why is everybody here talking about homelessness when the issue is that he was brutally murdered?

Are all of you in the "they want to be homeless because they love their drugs too much and 'bleeding hearts' give them money" camp implying that he deserved to be killed?

Because that's what I'm getting from this discussion, and frankly you make me sick.

Wes

kenneth1,

Disabilities, such as visual impairment, do not render a person unemployable. You insult the hard working folks at places like Texas Industries for the Blind and Handicapped with your assertion.

guest

wait...the Decemberists covered the pogues? And its on itunes?

guest

If you don't want your money to go to booze and drugs, you should cut off all financial aid to college students as well.

Or you can realize that being homeless is tough, even if you do get to drink in the middle of the day. Maybe some of these "bleeding hearts" don't mind skipping another iTunes download of the Decemberists cover of that Pouges song if their $0.99 might make someone's day a little brighter, no matter if it's spent on 2 Jack-in-the-box tacos or 1 Lone Star Tall Boy.

guest

Have you ever talked to homeless people #5 - every time they get money it goes to drugs? Really? Do you know the definition of chronic homelessness? Do you realize that around 30-40% of the homeless population in Central Texas are full families?

Its not that people are bleeding heart liberals giving them money - its that too many of you are self absorbed way too righteous jerkoffs who have no idea what its like to be homeless and I'm willing to bet you've never taken a walk around town with the intent of meeting and talking to anyone who's homeless.

Go volunteer at ARCH, or any soup kitchen. Talk to and volunteer with the people from CAN and get some real insight as to who it is that's homeless and why.

guest

It's a tough issue, but yes, it's best not to hand out money. If you want to give people something, make care packages and keep 'em in the back seat of your car. E.g., we periodically fill a bunch of big plastic bags with individually wrapped beef jerky, a few packs of snack crackers, a bottle of water, a pair of socks, a small toothbrush & paste, and other convenience foods & toiletries. Every time we see a homeless person on a corner, we hand a baggie out the window. Most of the time we get a positive response.

Alternatively, give food, money, or time to one of the local food banks:

http://www.micah6austin.org/pantry.html

http://www.austinfoodbank.org/

(Not an exhaustive list by any means.)

Of course, these are just a few options. There are lots of ways to help.

--Jooley Ann (unable to log in, sorry)

guest

True, but most homeless people - not all, but most - are on the streets because they don't want to stop drinking and/or smoking crack, clean themselves up, and get a job. The shelters expect them to stay sober and look for work, so they avoid the shelters.

It doesn't help that Austin is full of bleeding hearts who give them cash. Guess what - even though the sign says "hungry," that money is going to booze and drugs. Spend some time at the intersection of Riverside and IH35 and you'll see what I mean.

guest

Agreed - I see and talk to a lot of homeless people as I encounter them. I listen to stories abotu how they got there when they are willing to share. Most seem to be ashamed or embarrased when they don't want to talk. I'm quite sure that none of them choose it as their way of life - I think that some of them may accpet and learn to embrace it on some level, but I find it hard to believe they grew wanting to be homeless.

kenneth1

The thing that you have to understand is that for many of these men choose homelessness as a lifestyle.

I seriously doubt Mr. Hayes "chose" to be blind. The simple fact is, most homeless men are disabled in some way, be it blindness, mental illness, chronic disease like diabetes, etc., or else they have some sort of drug conviction on their record, rendering them unemployable. It's not like they can just walk up to Dell and say, "I need a job."

Wes

The thing that you have to understand is that for many of these men choose homelessness as a lifestyle. You simply can't help people who do not want your help.

For the record I donate to the Salvation Army through payroll deduciton and I do not give a dime to UT athletics.

guest

If only everyone were as understanding of the homeless population as myself and the people whose comments are listed above, it may be possible that these people could have a much better life. Its sad to see everything that this city and its organizations put money into, yet hardly any goes towards the homeless population. It still amazes me that a university sports program can get $93M a year to function (mostly from donations), but somehow we can't get anywhere that kind of generosity and donations for the less fortunate. It really makes you wonder where most peoples priorities are.