After two-plus decades on Lookout Mountain, the Chalmers Center, which promotes an expansive Christian philosophy of poverty alleviation, has moved to a new office on Chattanooga’s Southside.
The physical change marks a symbolic one. Amid coffee shops and restaurants, the new exposed-brick interior space at the corner of Chestnut and Main streets has a kitchen, a foyer, a training area and visitors walking in and about – a stark contrast for an organization that, despite prizing relationships as a means of combating poverty, found itself for years working out of what a founder jokingly described as “no-man’s land” at its rented space on the mountain.
Even as ministries around the world deploy what the nonprofit calls its “principles of Biblical poverty alleviation,” its direct customer base in Chattanooga has generally been limited to a few institutions, like First Presbyterian Church.
“We would like to see that number grow,” Chalmers Center staffer Justin Lomas said by phone.