A soon-to-be-decommissioned school could become the site of a low-barrier homeless shelter geared toward students, Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp said Wednesday.
Wamp said the county is looking at using a portion of the Chattanooga School for the Liberal Arts campus, in East Brainerd, as a possible solution for rising numbers of homeless students.
“I just want you to know that’s in the works, and it would be a wonderful opportunity for this commission to speak on this issue in more of a long-term, sustainable way,” Wamp told commissioners during a discussion on funding for people displaced by the closure of the Budgetel Inn last month in East Ridge.
The building will stop serving as a school this month, more than 30 years after a facilities review first marked it for closure. In 2019, another review recommended the building be torn down. In the past few years, the facility has reported problems with water leaks, a sinking foundation and faulty window seals.
The proposal is in its early stages, Wamp told commissioners. He said he’d approached Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Justin Robertson with the idea in late November.
Wamp plans to discuss the proposal at a meeting with Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly on Friday, county spokesperson Mary Francis Hoots said in an email.
“It’s not great as a school facility,” Wamp told commissioners, “but it’s warm, and it’s got a cafeteria and a lot of the other functions that would enable it being a place to serve families.”
Student homelessness in Hamilton County is reaching record levels this school year, according to district officials.
Contact Ellen Gerst at egerst@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6319. Follow her on Twitter @ellengerst.