The Daily Times

The homeless do reside in Blount County — on couches in friends’ homes, in cars in retail shopping areas, in tents along the riverside, campers, abandoned buildings and even under bridges.

But these faces of homelessness are mostly hidden from sight. They park in area garages at night or spend their days in public places before retiring to a remote campsite or at the door of the last person who will take them in.

The Blount County Community Homeless Coalition has met and worked for months to get a clearer picture of the homeless situation here. On Jan. 26, that picture will become even clearer when a Point in Time Count will be conducted.

During a 24-hour period, the local coalition, with help from the Tennessee Valley Coalition to End Homelessness, will have teams in the field, trying to come up with an accurate number that will then be passed on to HUD. The federal government will then disperse funds to communities based on those figures.

Easier said than done when you consider the vastness of this county. How do you garner enough volunteers to be able to make an accurate homeless count? There are no permanent addresses to check, phone numbers to access or major shelter they flock to.

Working together

Marianne Ferris, facilitator of the Community Homeless Coalition, knows how. You ask members of the community to join in.

“We need help,” Ferris said, just weeks before the count is to take place. “I want Blount County to be the eyes and ears of the community.”

Ferris said there will be teams of volunteers going out to places where the homeless might be found — places like campgrounds, 24-hour restaurants, laundromats, boat docks, parking lots and abandoned houses. But there will be places they won’t be able to cover. That’s why it’s so important for the rest of us to share what we know. There may be people who are letting someone sleep on their couch or they know of a family member who’s been sleeping in his car. On Jan. 26, Ferris and the other coalition members want those community members to call in and provide minimal information.

Volunteers will be manning the phones at the United Way beginning at 5 that morning, Ferris said. She said people can call in anonymously. They also don’t have to give names of the homeless people they know. Gender, age and where that person slept the night before are all that’s required.

The definition of a homeless person is someone who is sleeping in a place not meant for human habitation, Ferris explained. “Cars, campers, tents, under a bridge, in an abandoned building, in a house that has no running water or heat,” she said. “It’s a pretty simple definition.”

Those who are sleeping on someone else’s couch are what is referred to as the precariously housed. Ferris said these individuals are being counted as well.

“We aren’t trying to invade anyone’s privacy, we just need an accurate account,” she explained.

Final figures

A Point in Time Count was conducted last January here in Blount County, and the number at that time was 72. Ferris said she and the coalition feel that is a low number. She expects this one to be much higher.

Blount County can’t, however, count its residents who check into homeless shelters in other counties. In one recent quarter there were 190 homeless in Blount County who were served at facilities in Knox County. Those in our own shelters, such as Heaven Sent Home and Haven House, will be counted.

The groundwork has been laid for this 2012 count that could result in Blount County getting as much as $700,000 in federal money. Kathi Parkins, executive director of Blount County’s Family Promise, said she isn’t sure who all would be eligible to receive that aid. Her nonprofit provides temporary housing for homeless families and provides them with the resources to build their lives back. It might be able to get a grant based on the Point in Time Count, she said.

“This is the precursor to all of that,” Parkins said. “If you don’t have numbers you can’t play in the game.”

Parkins stressed the count will not be a means for tracking down personal information on the homeless. When calls are made to United Way on Jan. 26, the information will be taken over the phone; no one will attempt to make a personal visit.

“We are not going to go out and try to find them,” she said. “We need a number, not a name or a face.”

It is also important, Parkins said, to wait until Jan. 26 to call in. The count is supposed to be during a specific 24-hour period that begins at midnight on Jan. 26. Should you not get through on that day, however, calls will be accepted up until 5 p.m. the following day.

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