Army veteran Russell Bowman lived homeless, sleeping in the woods and at the Chattanooga Community Kitchen for nearly a year until social services helped house him just days before Christmas.
“I didn’t believe there was any hope at all of getting housing,” Bowman said. “After you live my life you wouldn’t have much hope, either.”
With the help of the Chattanooga Housing Authority and other agencies, Bowman got a job at Burger King, landed a housing voucher, and moved into a one-bedroom duplex in Ridgedale. Now the 38-year-old artist looks forward to getting a library card and displaying his drawings and sculptures at the Hart Gallery on Main Street.
Housing Bowman brings the city one step closer to its goal of ending chronic homelessness for all veterans here before the end of 2016.
Heather Cook, homeless program coordinator for the City of Chattanooga, brings some home items as she visits Russell Bowman on Tuesday in Chattanooga. Bowman, a U.S. Army veteran who has been homeless in Chattanooga for the past year, was recently placed in an apartment in Ridgedale through a city program to prioritize ending homelessness for veterans in the area.
Heather Cook is homeless program coordinator for the City of Chattanooga.Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke wanted to end veteran homelessness by 2015, but didn’t reach that goal. He vows to keep working until he does.