Homeless in Hohenwald

Complaints of panhandling, theft and loitering have risen in 2023, and a majority of those are coming from citizens referring to unsheltered, unemployed people walking the streets of Hohenwald. Prior to the recent uptick, the homeless population in this community has stayed almost hidden. Staying on a friend or family member’s couch, living night-to-night at motels and in abandoned buildings around town has been the norm in this circle. However, according to the outcry of many locals, it has become an epidemic. But why choose Hohenwald, and what can we do to help to get them off the streets and safely sheltered? September 5, 2023, several members of the community came together to work on a solution to help the growing population of homeless in Hohenwald. From Lewis County and City Governments to churches to rehabilitation centers, all were there for the common good.

Homeless people may live in cities for a variety of reasons. Being near social services such as shelters, food pantries, and medical facilities is at the top of that list. Weekly food drives, the Lewis County Food and Clothing Bank, as well charity from churches has been helpful in this rural community to so many during times of need with few instances of those being taken advantage of. According to locals, one of the biggest benefits of living in this community is the ability to ask for help when needed and not feel ashamed. Because of that showing of grace, very few times have the resources been taken advantage of.

Being near free wifi and donation centers is another major reason homeless populate in certain areas. Those that are homeless and looking to better their situation can usually be found inside the Career Center using free wifi to look for job postings to apply for, or in the library answering emails, seeking out resources to feed their families. Others, still, may be using the wifi to message their dealer or buyer or look for their next spot to squat, or loitering at fast food chains using the wifi in hopes to be gifted free food in the process.

Being able to survive off of the resources of a city, such as soup kitchens, handouts, collecting aluminum cans, and the access to rivers and forests is another reason a homeless population might be greater in an area. According to marketing material for Nashville’s Big Back Yard, “Hohenwald-ians have a giant back yard full of year-round opportunities for life-land connection with abundant camping, fishing, and more along the gorgeous Buffalo River.” Bathing, camping and hunting in the vast wooded areas, rivers and creeks in this area are a gold mine for those with lacking resources. Living in the forest in the summer time is doable, if you don’t mind the heat, rain, mosquitoes and wildlife. What about when the days turn shorter and the cold of winter sets in? Being exposed to the elements during a Tennessee winter comes with its dangers. Not only do people who live unsheltered have shorter life spans due to Hepatitis A and other diseases, but they also battle death with hypothermia during those colder months.

The food pantries and free wifi are good resources for people who truly want to change their situation. They will utilize the rehabilitation centers, use the food giveaways to feed themselves and their families, and the wifi will allow them to job search and communicate through email. However, in both instances where the end goal is to become productive members of a community or to live nomadic lifestyles, there is a gap.

What happens when the substance abuse facility is used as a desperate ploy to escape the cold bars of a jail cell instead of the intended rehabilitation? When they are able to simply walk off the property and into the community they’re willing to call home so as to escape the choices they made from the previous cities they’ve lived and burned bridges in? Those food pantries and wifi hotspots then become enablers instead of resources. The gap is, in most situations, the lack of mental health counseling, shelters, and job training. If the root of the issue is not addressed through mental health counseling, how can one possess the wisdom to continue toward a stable life? And if they do become wise to their issue and begin the work needed to move forward, how will they apply for services with no address? And with no address, how do they apply to jobs? And if by some chance they do get a job, how do they get there with no vehicle? Without public transportation like the trolleys and buses available in larger cities, it’s much more difficult for people to access services and maintain employment. They become stranded. And, thus, walking the streets, camping in wooded areas, bathing in the local rivers or Taco Bell bathrooms.

According to representatives of Hope Center Ministries, “We have 48 locations, and we try not to put people in centers that are in their hometown if possible. It’s one of the reasons behind our success rate, we believe. If residents decide to leave our program, we provide transportation back to the jail or city they came here from. If they walk off in the middle of the night, we still try to help get them back to where their home is.” John Risner of Buffalo Valley agreed, “Most of our clients are sent to us from somewhere else. Medicaid/Tenncare will sometimes transport people here. We only get them for 30-45 days, then they are transported to places like Hope Center that can continue the rehabilitation process.” Jeff Gandy of the Drug Coalition encouraged, “It’s helpful to have places like Buffalo Valley here, because they act as the detox center we don’t have for those wanting to continue into a clean living journey.” “The response plan,” said Todd Laster of the Lewis County Sheriff’s Department, “is a good place to start. We need a response plan for when residents walk off the properties.” Commissioner Caleb Feichtinger agrees and takes it further, “the root of the issue may be the homeless encampments or groups congregating. If that wasn’t an option, the homeless population may become a non-issue. They may choose to work toward stable shelter instead of becoming comfortable with a group of people in the same situation.” Kevin Baker of Hope Hohenwald Food Distribution takes it a step even further. “In my line of work, I see a majority of our homeless and impoverished population, and I am afraid our focus is not broad enough. The homeless population now is not the same one that it will be soon. It’s shifting, and I’m terribly afraid that what we will be seeing sooner than any of us expect is our neighbor in that same line waiting for food to feed their children. Someone that had $10,000 in the bank a few months ago is now homeless, and it’s nobody’s fault. People get laid off and get two weeks behind on rent, and the owner is jumping at the opportunity to evict them, because that makes way for a new renter (and there is no shortage of people looking for housing) to pay the newly doubled rent price. Something that used to cost $500 a month is now $1,300-$1.500 dollars. It’s not hard to see there is a real problem here, and the only way to fix it is for rent to go down, and the only way for that to happen is for an economic collapse, and then we’re all in trouble.”

Vice Mayor Don Barber spoke up, “We’ve sat here for nearly an hour questioning this and that with not much in the way of resolution. And that’s fair, because how can we help if we don’t know how many and who to help? Let’s work on a system for finding out how many homeless are in Hohenwald, so we can truly fix this problem for our neighbors before it gets even more devastating.” While funding is available through grants and other resources, it’s inefficient so