On The Outside In Chattanooga

Turning The Page On An Iconic Piece Of Chattanooga’s History

The Chattanooga Choo-Choo [https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9149ed0/2147483647/strip/false/crop/3839x3923+0+0/resize/517x528!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F4d%2F22%2F7533e1704ce6a3b22c9aa0059be9%2Fchattanooga-choo-choo.jpg]The Chattanooga Choo-Choo(Chattanooga Tourism Co.) This month, Preserve Chattanooga - the historic preservation nonprofit in this city - sold its portion of the Terminal Station complex on Market Street. The sale to Northpond Partners also protects both the complex’s interior dome and its exterior facade from demolition or “inappropriate architectural changes.” Todd Morgan is executive director of Preserve Chattanooga.

The Conversations Continue

On the Outside in Chattanooga, an ongoing conversation with the men, women and children living on the street in Chattanooga and the people who're daily doing all they can to help find them a home, has expanded to an hour. In this first hour-long show, we talked to some of the people who daily criss-cross the city and the county, offering solace and support to the homeless. We also talked to the former Mayor of Chattanooga, Ron Littlefield, about 11th Street and the "campus" for the homeless that he began creating in the early 2000's and his continuing efforts to help the homeless in the city. We also talked to Merri Mae Williamson. Ms. Williamson represents the residents of the neighborhood surrounding 11th Street who are opposed to expanding the services for the homeless on 11th Street, particularly, an overnight shelter.

Part Eight: Housing First (Pt. 2)

For too many people in Chattanooga, the cost of renting an apartment is beyond their means. According to Zumper, an online apartment search site, in the last year, the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Chattanooga jumped by 18.3% over the past year to an average rent of $1,550 a month, Realtors are reporting that the rise in rental prices is now slowing, but for many people finding affordable housing is almost insurmountable. And when they lose their job and don’t have a family to help them until they find a job, they have no other option than to live on the street. According to the CHATT Foundation over 4000 people, including over 1000 school-age children, were forced to live on the street in Chattanooga last year. In this second part of a two-part look at the fundamental issue facing both the city and the unsheltered--finding an affordable place to live, we talked to Casey Tinker, the manager of The City of Chattanooga’s Office of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. Mr. Tinker talked about the city’s plans to convert the Airport Inn motel on Lee Highway into 80 apartments along with an on-site support staff helping people with the practical and emotional challenges they face as they leave the ad hoc community on the street to independent living in an apartment.

Part Seven: Housing First

In this first half of a two-part episode in our continuing series On The Outside in Chattanooga, titled Housing First, we’re talking about a policy that everyone we spoke to helping the unsheltered told us was the only place to start. Before they can do anything to help the unsheltered person, they first have to find them a permanent place to live. One of the reasons that is becoming ever more of a challenge is because Chattanooga is growing so quickly. In fact, Nashville is the only city in Tennessee growing faster than Chattanooga. The population of the metro area increased by more than 80,000 people between 2000 and 2020.

Part Six: Families and Children

Life on the outside in Chattanooga is a daily challenge for single people, but for parents with young children, it can be devastating. One reason for that, according to the people we talked to on 11th Street in the past year, is that many cities do not make any provision for unsheltered families, and when they do they split them up making a difficult situation almost impossible to bear. Here in Chattanooga, The McClellan Family and Children’s Shelter on 11th Street provides shelter for up to thirteen families at any one time. The families, some with two parents, some single mothers, and occasionally single fathers almost all have children under five years old are allowed to stay together in the shelter for up to three months in a room with bunk beds and an en-suite bathroom. The only caveat is that within the three months they are living in the shelter at least one parent is expected to find employment. Once they’ve secured a regular income, the CHATT Foundation sets about helping them find a home of their own.