Organizations band together to combat homelessness in Rutherford County

RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Rutherford is one of the fastest-growing counties in Tennessee. But with that success, also comes pain.

An estimated 10,000 families are homeless every year just from evictions alone.

For many, nighttime is a moment to rest but not everyone has a safe place to lay their head.

We know that it’s not a simple issue to solve, or it would have been solved already,” explained Kristen Swann, President/CEO, United Way of South Central TN.

It’s up to community leaders like Swann with the United Way to figure out what to do about it. In a one-night census this year, Rutherford County found 367 people living on the streets.

“The thing that we have learned is that it really is a bigger issue,” said Swann.

Leaders believe immediate access to help is also critical. Someone experiencing homelessness in Rutherford County on average is homeless for as long as five months.

“We know that there’s not one agency that’s going to solve this problem, so it’s really a community effort,” said Swann.

Recently, Rutherford County’s leading organizations on homelessness began to collaborate. Stepping Stones houses women and children. The Salvation Army helps men and families. Journey Home provides meals. Cold Patrol reaches out to the encampments. And that’s just to name a few. But all these groups emerged with a single idea.

Let’s develop a streamlined set of questions, one document, that all organizations in Rutherford County can use to help the homeless.

In just a few months, 270 households filled out the common assessment. The form helps pinpoint the specific help a person needs and prevents the homeless from having to repeat their story multiple times to different organizations.

“It really cuts down on trauma for folks that are having to retell their story over and over again. I think that’s one of the unintended consequences of living in poverty that we don’t always think about,” explained Swann.

Another Rutherford County program called Bridging the Gap is in its second year of funding. It fills a critical void in the system when police need to find a shelter for someone who is suddenly homeless, but it’s the weekend or overnight and shelters are closed.

The program pays for a hotel to bridge the gap until a more permanent shelter is found.

“They have a great system worked out where if an officer does come across someone, they have a way to handle that…recently, they came across an older woman who was experiencing domestic violence. And they were able to get her out of that situation and connected to a program a few days later,” said Swann.

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In many Middle Tennessee counties, Rutherford included, if you are experiencing a crisis such as homelessness, you can call 211 for help. The hotline is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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