Chattanooga's first emergency family shelter to open soon, in time for winter

photo Director Jens Christensen shows off the atrium of Chattanooga Community Kitchen's new family shelter, scheduled to open this winter, as construction continues on Friday.
photo Designed to be a short-term emergency shelter, the Maclellan Shelter for Families will serve as the first stop for families (with children) finding themselves in a sudden situation of homelessness.
photo Designed to be a short-term emergency shelter, the Maclellan Shelter for Families will serve as the first stop for families (with children) finding themselves in a sudden situation of homelessness. The shelter is not a destination, but instead serves as a starting point toward permanent housing and self-sufficiency.

If all goes as planned, Chattanooga's first emergency family shelter for men, women and children will open in mid-December.

"It should be a place that on the very night a family becomes homeless, they would come to the shelter," said Jens Christensen, executive director of the Chattanooga Community Kitchen.

The number of homeless families in the 10-county region around Chattanooga has more than tripled since 2010 - from 27 to 73 this year, according to the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition. Those families comprised 198 children and adults.

Families account for one-third of the nation's homeless population, according to the National Center on Family Homelessness. Not since the Great Depression have so many families been without homes.

A desire to provide an emergency shelter where children could remain with their families prompted the Maclellan Foundation to provide $600,000 for the facility. Research done in late 2012 on Hamilton County's homeless population also "identified a pressing need for additional shelter services designed to meet the unique challenges faced by homeless families," Maclellan Executive Director David Denmark said.

Children as young as age 5 are not allowed in some shelters and, therefore, sometimes are separated from their parents, he said. Some families choose to sleep in cars to remain together.

"Having a 12-year-old son sleep in a different location from his mother was adding trauma to an already traumatic situation," Denmark wrote in an email explaining why the Maclellan Foundation is supporting the shelter.

ABOUT THE SHELTER

Tower Construction trucks sat curbside this week at the shelter, located on East 11th Street in the former homeless health care center. A large utility fan cooled the inside while workers ran electric drills and saws. Metal beams and wooden boards littered the dust-covered concrete floors, but by mid-December the facility will be transformed into a 13-room, 64-bed, furnished shelter complete with children's play area and laundry room, construction superintendent Scott Poulson said.

Each room has an individual heating and air unit and a bathroom. Five units have pass-through doors so larger families can stay together. And one room has a larger bathroom intended to accommodate a person in a wheelchair.

Chattanooga Community Kitchen staff will monitor the site 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Poulson said.

Christensen said an adult must be accompanied by a child to be considered a family. People will not be allowed to come to the shelter when inebriated, and they must respect other residents, he said. People who follow those guidelines will be accepted as long as space is available, he said.

Final occupancy rules are still being determined, but a family's stay is intended to be short term, Christensen said.

He said caseworkers will help families find more permanent housing.

The facility is going to have a big impact on homeless families, said Stephen Wright, executive director of the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition, which advocates for the homeless population.

"This gives more opportunities for families to get off the street, out of their cars and to have a roof overhead at night," Wright said.

All proceeds from this year's Grateful Gobbler Walk, one of the city's largest fundraisers of the year for homeless people, will go toward funding the shelter.

Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yput man@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.

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