Southeast Tennessee’s two urban counties experienced dramatic increases in unsheltered individuals in the past year, according to data released Wednesday by the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition.
The data, gathered during the annual point-in-time count of area homeless people, showed a more than 80% increase in unsheltered individuals in Hamilton County, from 201 in 2020 to 364 in 2021. Bradley County’s unsheltered population more than doubled, from 51 in 2020 to 120 in 2021.
The numbers released Wednesday offer a glimpse of some of the economic fallout from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on area residents. Advocates said the pandemic worsened existing problems, specifically the climbing rental costs and lack of affordable housing for low-income individuals.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires agencies across the nation to conduct a point-in-time count every January. The report offers a single-day snapshot of the local homeless population, which includes those in emergency or transitional housing, as well people living without adequate shelter.
The full report will be sent to HUD in April, but the data focusing on unsheltered people in the region was alarming and needed to be shared immediately, said Wendy Winters, executive director of the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition. The sharp rise in the unsheltered population, whose living conditions often make them the most vulnerable to physical and mental health challenges, is devastating, Winters said.