SENATE BILL 634
By Campbell
HOUSE BILL 325
By Bulso
HB0325
002036
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 15,
Chapter 2, relative to special days of observance.
WHEREAS, Father Charles Frederick Strobel was a Nashville native, grew up in the
Germantown neighborhood, and fostered deep connections within the community and churches
in the area; and
WHEREAS, Father Strobel believed in living his faith on a daily basis, pulling inspiration
from the Sermon on the Mount, among other holy texts and divine inspirations; and
WHEREAS, upon becoming a priest, Father Strobel quickly and effectively set his sights
on bettering the lives of the homeless and impoverished by opening up a school for homeless
people so they could have a warm place to stay at a time when endemic poverty and other
social concerns were impacting Tennessee and the nation as a whole; and
WHEREAS, Father Strobel founded the Room in the Inn, a sanctuary opened in a
church parking lot in the winter of 1985; and
WHEREAS, the Room in the Inn has since blossomed into a national model for assisting
the homeless, with over 200 congregations and 7,000 volunteers that shelter nearly 1,500
individuals from November 1 to March 31 of each season; and
WHEREAS, this state seeks to honor Father Strobel and how he combatted
homelessness to enact positive change, and created programs for the homeless that have
become a successful model for the entire nation; now, therefore
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 15, Chapter 2, is amended by adding
the following as a new section:
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March 13 of every year is observed as "Father Charles Strobel Day", to honor his
mission and the valiant and noble strides Father Charles Frederick Strobel took to
combat homelessness in Tennessee, and the positive impact his efforts have had
nationwide.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.