Erin Creal of Chattanooga Room in the Inn, left, talks with Charles Partridge in the dayroom of the Chattanooga Community Kitchen on Thursday as a group of volunteers collects information for a survey of the homeless population in the area.
Sherrie Raines and Danielle Contarino speak to some homeless people on Thursday. Raines and Contarino were part of one of the groups that went to survey the homeless population.The Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition will complete its annual Point-in-Time count of homeless people today in hopes of generating at least $2.8 million in funding to serve them.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development mandates that the count be done each January and awards the coalition grant money based on the number counted.
The area usually gets about $2.8 million that funds 17 programs hosted by nine agencies under the coalition umbrella.
The agencies, including Southeast Tennessee Human Resource Agency, Chattanooga Room in the Inn, and the Council for Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services, provide case management, shelter and substance abuse counseling. The city’s homeless population numbers more than 600 people, according to coalition officials.
However, some people who are homeless question how much of the federal money benefits them.