Low-income housing represents the last frayed netting that tries to catch men as they fall from whatever safety their lives once represented toward homelessness and the streets. Tennessee is a state without much safeguard in that regard. Residents pay no state income tax, and many social services suffer as a result. Which is to say that the social lattice is weak, has many holes, and often fails to catch men, such as the ones with whom I’m speaking, on their way down.
