They sleep in cars, in abandoned buildings, and sometimes in cardboard boxes.
Every night when the weather gets cold, many of Chattanooga's homeless struggle to find a warm place to stay.
But starting next weekend, the number of available beds in the city will double.
TONY FERGUSON, HOMELESS "You have to sleep on the streets. Have you slept on the street a lot? Yessir..under the bridges."
The Chattanooga Community Kitchen has been serving three meals a day to homeless people, and those who are just down on their luck, for 30 years.
Last year, this dinning room was turned into a dormitory on cold nights to accommodate those who had no place to go.
There was no extra funding to provide that service, just the recognition of a need.
JENS CHRISTENSON, ASST. DIR., THE COMMUNITY KITCHEN "We learned a lot of things , one of them was on average 118 people stayed here each night."
BO HIXSON, CHAIRMAN , CHATTANOOGA HOMELESS COALITION "Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition applied to the city of Chattanooga for a cold weather shelter grant..we're partnering with Metropolitan Ministries and Family Promise and the Community Kitchen."
The city came up with 75-thousand dollars for the effort.
Mayor Ron Littlefield has been proposing a permanent shelter near the Community Kitchen, which would provide most of the services the homeless will need.
MAYOR RON LITTLEFIELD, CHATTANOOGA "We knew this was going to happen when the Rescue Mission moved so far away. One reason we're tried to kind-of get all of our services and such in the same general vicinity."
JENS CHRISTENSEN "Every year actually, we've had people who died on the streets. A couple of years ago we had a man die right behind the kitchen here...while we were open..he just didn't make it inside...he died from exposure"
The Homeless Coalition says there will be anywhere 300 to 500 homeless people needing food and shelter on any given night this winter.
The Chattanooga Rescue Mission can accommodate 46 men and 14 women every night.
The cots on the floor at the Community Kitchen will double the available bed space in the city.
