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Chattanooga area homeless more likely to be unsheltered than in other major Tennessee cities

Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / DeTory Douglas talks about his experience being homeless at the Chatt Foundation Community Center in March. Staff Photo by Seth Carpenter / DeTory Douglas talks about his experience being homeless at the Chatt Foundation Community Center in March.

By Siena Duncan May 2, 2026 33 min read

DeTory Douglas feels like an invisible Chattanoogan.

Each night, he searches for someplace to sleep — a parking garage, a side street, a patch of grass behind a store. He knows that if he’s discovered by law enforcement, he could go to jail for camping on public property.

But most nights, there’s nowhere else for him to go, said Douglas, 31, who has been homeless since his grandmother died about three years ago. He’s trying to get scholarships to attend Chattanooga State Community College and complete a computer science degree after years of struggles with his mental health, he said.

“I’m like a wanted man right now, just trying to sleep,” Douglas said. “It’s illegal to survive.”