In many political disagreements, most of us often recognize the same problems but differ greatly on the offered solutions. The worsening issue of homelessness is no exception — as seen in Chattanooga amid the debate over where to build a low-barrier shelter, if at all, to help house and stabilize homeless people.
At a City Council meeting this week, Baron King, CEO of the Chatt Foundation, which offers various services to the local unhoused population, proposed the organization’s 11th Street property as a prospective location for a low-barrier shelter.
As of now, the city and the surrounding area lacks such a shelter, one that has few requirements for admission and continued stay — no sobriety requirement, income verification or other barriers to entry.
“We really believe that the absence of such a structure in this city exacerbates what is already a really big crisis,” King told the City Council.