The Daily Times

Homelessness. You might think this problem is for only cities such as Knoxville, that it isn’t happening in Blount County.

“Fred” knows better. He is one of 70 men, women and children identified through a Point-in-Time Count of the county’s homeless on Jan. 27 by the Homelessness Task Force, a group formed by United Way of Blount County and the Salvation Army to provide accurate data to assess the need and obtain funding to alleviate it.

Sgt. Jared Martin, Corps Officer for the Salvation Army in Blount County, said, “The interesting thing that came out from the Point-in-Time Count was the proportion of unsheltered people, that about half of the people who showed up in the count were single men. That showed us a big gap in the social services that we are moving toward filling.”

Unsheltered individuals are living in cars, abandoned buildings and outside. Most of the 33 unsheltered people are adult males, Martin said, although there is one couple with adult children living in a car. Those who have found shelter are being served by organizations such as Family Promise of Blount County and Haven House.

One man’s story

Fred agreed to talk about his situation anonymously.

“It’s embarrassing,” he said. “It really is. I used to have a good job, my own place. I used to love to play golf. I hadn’t hit a golf ball in who knows when.

“I was doing good until the economy went bad, then I was doing some side work and got hurt on the job,” he said. “I just ain’t able to do what I used to do. I mow grass in the summer. I sleep in my car. I get food stamps. I do odd jobs. I do anything I can to make money.”

Fred, in his 40s, has lived in his car for eight months. He has been unemployed for three years.

“I used to do heavy labor and I can’t do that anymore, so when I go to put in an application, I have to put down that I ain’t able do certain jobs,” he said. “Nobody will call me back.” He is qualified to do carpentry, floor covering, mechanics �1/2" but without heavy lifting. “I can do about anything except electricity.”

Trying to get by

Fred is single. His mother helps when she can, and an uncle allows him to park his car on property he owns so Fred will be relatively safe at night. He survives those long days and nights with the aid of local food banks �1/2" since he has no way to heat food, he takes only what he can eat right out of the can �1/2" and the Salvation Army.

“If it hadn’t been for these folks here, I don’t know what I’d done,” Fred said, referring to the Salvation Army and its recently implemented “Gas for Go-Getters” program in which people who are actively seeking employment receive aid in purchasing fuel for their vehicles. The organization also provides vouchers for clothing from the thrift store so individuals have a decent set of clothing to wear during job interviews.

Fred said some homeless people choose this lifestyle. Not him.

“I actually really give a flip,” he said. “A lot of them choose to be like that. They don’t want to work. They enjoy what they do. ... But I know a lot of honest people that’s homeless. I’m going to say 50 percent of them are, anyway, just trying to get by until the economy improves.”

Fred would like to start a lawn service. Unfortunately, that takes money he doesn’t have.

“Anything you start new, you’re going to have to have somebody to back you,” he said. “I’m religious. I don’t believe in the lottery. If it hadn’t been for the good Lord and good people, I don’t know what I’d have done.”

Fred spends many hours at the library, reading. He studied for his GED credential and obtained it; so far, that has not helped in finding a job. He walks a lot. He spends time in stores, until security officers ask him to show what’s in his pockets. He doesn’t drink or do drugs, he said. He waits for the phone call from a potential employer that to date has not come, on his government-issued cell phone.

Warm weather welcome

The return of more moderate temperatures has been a welcome respite.

“Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful weather today,” Fred said. “When it got cold, I got sick. I take blood pressure medicine. I can’t even afford it. I have to stretch it out. It’s tough, it really is.”

Health care is obtained from the Good Samaritan Clinic. In a recent scare, however, Fred’s blood pressure was dangerously high, so he drove himself to Blount Memorial Hospital’s Emergency Room where he was immediately admitted.

“My blood pressure was 205/160,” Fred said. “They couldn’t understand why I wasn’t dead. The whole side of my face is still numb from it. They said I’d had a mini-stroke. They admitted me and they kept me for a couple of days. That’s the first time I’d laid in a bed in a long time. Lord, it ain’t no telling what the bill’s going to cost.”

The mental and emotional toll is as painful as the physical toll. Fred said his former friends have abandoned him. “When you don’t feel wanted, you don’t feel there’s a reason to be on Earth,” he said.

“I’ve had some spooky thoughts since all this has been going on,” he said. “I wished it’d all just end sometimes, especially when you’re laying there and it’s 15 degrees and you can’t feel your own feet. ... All I can do is keep praying and keep trying.”

To help others understand how homelessness feels, Fred offers a suggestion.

“Sleep in their car for a week when it’s cold and see what it’s like. Eat out of tin cans,” he said. And when you become acquainted with a person who is homeless, treat them with respect.

“We’re real people with a problem,” he said. “Pray for us.”

Resources

Due to the lack of shelters in rural East Tennessee, the homeless are harder to identify and harder to serve. The Homelessness Task Force surveyed more than 20 different locations in hope of getting the most accurate homeless count possible.

Several social services organizations, including the Salvation Army, Family Promise of Blount County, Haven House and Community Food Connection of Blount County, interviewed specific individuals to arrive at the count. Martin said, “For every single one of those people, we have their birth month and year, the reason for their homelessness, how long they’ve been homeless, how long they’ve been in the county, if they have disabilities. We have specific information. It was anonymous. We did not record their names or social security numbers.”

Martin said the homeless can receive immediate aid from one of four Salvation Army shelters in Knox County. “Luckily, that’s only about half an hour away. It doesn’t push people too far away from where they feel is their home. Long term, we can use this data to apply for grants. That’s one thing the Salvation Army plans to do, to apply for government grants, so we can more thoroughly address the needs.”

When you meet the homeless face to face and hear their stories, the situation becomes much more real, Martin said.

“This is about people,” he said. “This person has a name. I’m glad we can play a little part of trying to help people in that situation.”

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