The Chatt Foundation, one of the largest service providers to homeless people in the city, has identified four potential locations for a large low-barrier shelter and shared those proposals with city officials, the nonprofit’s CEO, Baron King, said in an interview.
But Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly’s administration isn’t convinced a large shelter would be effective, and it may become an ongoing expense siphoning resources away from other programs, said Ellis Smith, the city’s director of intergovernmental affairs.
“Further, many of our residents have expressed fear that the wrong type of shelter may actually exacerbate homelessness in Chattanooga as other municipalities illegally transport their homeless residents to the city,” Smith said.
Low-barrier shelters aim to provide shelter to individuals experiencing homelessness by removing or diminishing barriers to entry and continued residency, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The model is particularly important for people who use drugs because they are often not served by traditional shelter models.
The local Homeless Coalition’s most recent report, from 2025, says about 85% of the people the organization tracks through its intake system reported living in Southeast Tennessee before becoming homeless. Casey Tinker, the city’s director of homeless initiatives, has said during public meetings that the amount of people who are homeless in Chattanooga who were not originally city residents is about 10% to 15%, depending on the month.