A New Home for Former Chattanooga "Tent City" Resident

The demolition of Tent City left many of Chattanooga's homeless without a place to live.

But not so for one lucky man.

For the first time in six years Richard Waldrep has a home to call his own.

Waldrep has spent the last several years on the streets, for the last few months he called "Tent City" home.

But, now that home has been destroyed.

Due to safety concerns and liability issues Norfolk Southern Railroad bulldozed the property leaving Waldrep and almost 30 others to find another place to live.

Karen Blevins, Interim Dir. of the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition says, "We have to be able to advocate for them. We have to be able to say 'Look, your community as we know it is gone. Now how can we help you?'"

Karen Blevins is serving as director for the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition.

She says Waldrep was not alone in his search for place to sleep at night.

She says as many as 4,000 people in Chattanooga would call themselves homeless, and without vital social services another 18,000 soon would be.

Blevins says, "Homelessness, I think, is just a symptom of much deeper problems."

She says homelessness will never be solved but it can be treated.

She says, that only comes though a collaborative effort of social services, faith based organizations, and local government.

Blevins says, "There is no one entity that can do it alone."

Thanks to a partnership between the Homeless Coalition and the Chattanooga Housing Authority Blevins was able to help Waldrep find his new home.

She says 14 others from the Tent City site will be placed in public housing and the rest are either in the process of being cleared, or will be helped some other way.

As for Waldrep and his new home...

Waldrep says, "I like it."

Belvins says the process of helping the homeless goes way beyond simply finding them a place to live.

She says you also have to give them the tools and the coaching they need to succeed.