Note: This story was updated on Dec. 8 to correct the timing of the judge's issuance of corrective steps for the motel to take before reopening.
Funding for temporary housing for people displaced by the closure of an East Ridge motel last month has nearly run out, according to the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition.
Hotel rooms for nearly 300 people displaced from the Budgetel Inn have been paid through Dec. 14, coalition director Mike Smith said in a Wednesday news conference.
"That is the date that our funds are projected to be exhausted," Smith told reporters outside the shuttered motel, which closed Nov. 16 following a motion by District Attorney Coty Wamp that called the property a "nuisance" with high levels of crime.
(READ MORE: As support weakens, need persists for Chattanooga's displaced Budgetel residents)
"The week before Christmas, we will no longer be able to offer emergency support for these 112 children and their families and their pets."
Smith said he estimates it will take around three months to find longer-term housing for around 70% of the residents being helped by the coalition. To keep them all in hotel rooms during that time, he said, will cost around $400,000.
So far, crowdsourced donations and $50,000 from the Tennessee Housing and Development Agency have provided about $100,000 toward hotel stays.
Finding housing now, before families lose temporary shelter, is much easier than trying to find it once they lose housing, said Kacy West, the coalition's director of system performance. That means staff time, money and resources can be saved to help Chattanooga's already rising homeless population.
(READ MORE: East Ridge motel closed due to high crime, residents given 4 hours to leave)
The coalition has been helping displaced residents apply for affordable housing, West said, and works with private landlords to encourage them to accept rental applications from those in need. On average, the coalition estimates it costs around $2,700 for an individual and $3,500 for a family to move into a leased home -- including deposits, fees and up to two months' rent.
"If you think about how much it costs to start living somewhere, that's what keeps people in hotels," West said.
Jon Berestecky, the coalition's development director, appeared in front of the Hamilton County Commission during a Wednesday meeting to stress the need for continuing funds.
"Without an immediate and significant influx of cash, many of these families, these children, will be on the street one week from today," Berestecky told commissioners, according to a recording of the meeting. "Let me be clear, this is not exaggeration, this is a crisis."
The county government does not currently fund the homeless coalition, which serves the entire Chattanooga region, said coalition spokesperson Mackenzie Kelly on Wednesday.
The motel's closure has put a strain on local homeless services, Smith said, which already struggle to reach the estimated 1,080 people without housing in Hamilton County.
(READ MORE: Hamilton County judge to inspect closed East Ridge motel before deciding its fate)
While motel staff initially estimated 700 people were living at the motel just before its closure, the number of registered guests was closer to 400, said East Ridge Assistant Police Chief Josh Creel at a court hearing Monday.
Many of the hotel rooms paid for by the coalition are in Chattanooga, or elsewhere outside of East Ridge. Smith said that makes it hard for some residents, whose jobs were close to the Budgetel, to get to work reliably.
Several residents who spoke with the Chattanooga Times Free Press said they'd been on waiting lists for affordable housing for months or years. Others said they struggled to save enough to qualify for apartments while paying anywhere from $1,000 to $1,400 per month at the Budgetel.
"I'm tired of living in a hotel," former resident April Floyd, now staying at another East Ridge motel nearby, said outside the Budgetel on Wednesday.
A Hamilton County judge on Tuesday issued an order laying out the road map for the motel to reopen. He plans to inspect the property himself on Friday.
DONATIONS
You can make a donation to the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition’s emergency hotel fund on the coalition’s website. All funds go directly to hotel stays for displaced residents.
Contact Ellen Gerst at egerst@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6319. Follow her on Twitter @ellengerst.