This Tennessee prison is leaving LGBTQ people unhoused behind bars

by October Krausch | Feb 18, 2026 | Article, LGBTQ, Prison Industrial Complex, prison reform, Prisons and Policing, Reprint

This story was originally published on Truthout on Feb. 16, 2026. It is shared here under a  Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.

In the United States, it is possible to be unhoused even inside a prison. At the South Central Correctional Center in Tennessee, people sleep in doorways, closets, or even in the showers. “Anywhere that’s pretty much off camera,” said Bishop, a man imprisoned in the facility who chose not to use his last name out of fear of retaliation.

Atticus, another man in the prison, told Truthout he knows at least a couple people living within the prison “who are actually homeless on a more permanent basis, people bouncing around from place to place.” These folks have no bed to sleep in at night, and no place to leave their belongings.

Sources imprisoned at South Central described a different sort of housing crisis, one that takes place inside the walls of the institution that is charged with providing for them. The prison is run by CoreCivic, and, like other CoreCivic prisons in Tennessee, has been the subject of recent investigations because of the rampant violence and extortion that gang members in the prison perpetrate on newer or unaffiliated people. LGBTQ+ people in the prison say this violence often targets them specifically.

Conditions at South Central are just one example of the broader problem that LGBTQ+ people face inside prisons, particularly around housing issues. Although prisons claim to take seriously the safety of the people they confine — CoreCivic’s website highlights that they operate “safe facilities” — the people inside tell a very different story.

Instead, people inside are organizing to protect themselves. Bishop and Atticus are both part of

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