Community Kitchen hosts mental health fair to help homeless find services

Radio talk show host Jeff Styles speaks to mental health fair attendees Thursday at the Chattanooga Community Kitchen.
Radio talk show host Jeff Styles speaks to mental health fair attendees Thursday at the Chattanooga Community Kitchen.

The Chattanooga Community Kitchen hosted a mental health fair Thursday to connect mental health services with the city's homeless population, but some people just took free snacks from tables without discussing the services offered.

"I need a house, somewhere to stay," said a 64-year-old man, who identified himself only as Ron, when asked why he didn't take any information.

photo Bill Sweenie, seated right, talks with Daryl Lollis, Sr., during the mental health fair Thursday at the Chattanooga Community Kitchen on E. 11th Street.
photo Chattanooga Community Kitchen COO Jimmy Turner welcomes attendees to the mental health fair Thursday at the E. 11th Street facility.

He was among dozens of homeless people who filled the kitchen for the facility's first mental health fair, called Love Yourself.

The man said he didn't talk with mental health representatives because he didn't think they could help him.

"To be honest, I'm a drug dealer," he said. "I can't get housing because of my record. I got put out of Patten Towers."

But Community Kitchen officials said they were not discouraged, and this fair is the first of what organizers want to become an annual event.

"It may take lots of these before someone is reached, but if you don't have the information available to people, then they won't be able to take advantage of it," said LaDonna Guffey, a case manager at the community kitchen.

Kitchen officials want to make the city's homeless population more aware of the mental health services available to them, including services to end substance abuse. And staff want to do it in a way that is fun and not confrontational or demeaning, said Jimmy Turner, the facility's chief operations officer.

The fair was held in the day center, decorated with red, white and blue balloons. Kitchen staffer Carol McKenzie randomly called names of people for door prizes.

Local radio talk show host Jeff Styles talked with the audience about his own battle to overcome alcoholism. He's been sober for more than nine years, he said.

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that at least 75 percent of people who are experiencing homelessness also are mentally ill, said Eve Nite of the Mental Health Cooperative, who helped organize the event.

Nite said she suspects the count is even higher when considering substance abuse with mental health issues.

Bill Sweenie, a substance abuse counselor with the Homeless Health Care Center's VIP program, said he sees about 150 people a year for substance abuse counseling, all of them homeless.

Spires L. and Marshal Baker offered information about the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Chattanooga. Jackie Thomas manned a table for the Helen Ross McNabb Center, which offers mental health and substance abuse services, and Jerry Evans of the AIM Center told attendants about its job assistance program and its facilities such as a full gym and cafe operated by AIM members.

"We want them to know that they are welcome," Baker said.

Local yoga instructor Emily Bourland called volunteers from the audience to participate in a demonstration and Publix provided healthy snacks.

Wanda Shumaker, a 61-year-old homeless woman, won a purse at the fair.

She doesn't like coming to the Chattanooga Community Kitchen, but said she appreciated the event.

"It breaks the monotony of the day," she said. "I don't like this place. This is not me. I wish I wasn't here, but I have to be here because this is the only help I'm getting."

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

Upcoming Events