Historically, as with many communities, homelessness went unrecognized as a concern among Blount Countians. We did not see folks sleeping in alleyways or panhandling on our streets and assumed the problem did not exist in our midst. So when the United Way of Blount County engaged our community in the 2012 Point In Time Count sponsored by the Tennessee Valley Coalition for the Homeless, we were stunned to discover a population of 390 persons who were classified as homeless in our community. Not only were we surprised by the numbers, we were shocked to realize that the majority were working folk and families who simply could not afford a place to stay in Blount County. Individuals and families throughout our community were sleeping in cars, tents, on couches and temporarily with family and friends.

     In response to this new information, United Way (UW) led a coalition of 30 local agencies and organizations in drafting “A Community Response to Homelessness in Blount County Tennessee 2013-2023”. This ten-year plan was endorsed by an array of partners including the Blount County Ecumenical Action Council and the Blount Chamber of Commerce as well as officials from the governments of Blount County, Alcoa and Maryville. During the following years, UW held stakeholder meetings to update key leaders on the status of the plan and, as a result of one such session in 2018, a volunteer committee formed to study the need for short-term transitional housing. The committee and UW ultimately determined that, in order to continue making progress on the ten-year plan, it would be necessary to establish a central non-profit agency charged with coordinating on-going efforts to address homelessness. As a result, the volunteer committee formed A Place To Stay.

     In 2020, A Place to Stay was incorporated by the State of Tennessee and was granted 501c3 status by the IRS. We are a member of the Tennessee Valley Coalition for the Homeless as well as the Alliance for Better Nonprofits and a partner agency of the United Way of Blount County. In 2021, the Community Outreach Resource Center was opened in the Blount County Public Library as a gateway to partner with and as a resource to our neighbors experiencing homelessness.

     The first of the quarterly Street Outreach Services days occurred in July 2021. The community events Together We Thrive and Blessing Bowls were added in 2022. The number of neighbors experiencing homelessness in Blount County increased during the pandemic and continue to increase with a lack of attainable housing in Blount County. A Place to Stay continues to build strong partnerships in the community to address immediate needs and to move toward the goal of partnering to end homelessness in Blount County.