Homeless evicted from camp near Community Kitchen

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Dozens of homeless now need to find a new place to stay, after a landowner told Chattanooga Police to clear the property.

The camp is located between 10th and 11th streets off Baldwin Avenue. Many see it as the perfect location — being less than a block away from the Community Kitchen.

Now, people are being told they need to be out by Thursday, or they will be arrested.

“I’m too old for this. This is… I mean, I can’t continue to call myself a man and have my wife living on the streets,” one man told News 12.

Last week, the people living under the railroad bridge near the community kitchen were told by officials they had to leave. That railroad is under federal regulations — which prohibit anyone to live under the bridge.

The encampment only became a problem when the owner of the adjacent land filed a complaint with the Chattanooga Police.

“We try to make a home situation the best we can, and then they turn around and just jerk it out from under us and make it even worse. And where are we supposed to go?” Miss B told News 12.

“A lot of them are upset about the situation because they’re going to lose all their items and valuables,” Makesha Parker with Ninevah Homeless Outreach said. “Also, the spot is a perfect location because it’s close to the Community Kitchen. They can take showers. They can wash clothes there and eat three times a day.”

The eviction deadline was Wednesday at noon. Due to the recent heavy rain, CPD has allowed them one extra day to figure out the next step.

However, with two extended stay motels closing their doors, the options are limited.

“This problem just really just goes to underscore the need that we have in our community. Homelessness is a growing problem. There are more and more Chattanoogans that are finding themselves with nowhere to go,” Chattanooga’s Homeless Program Coordinator Sam Wolfe said. “That’s why we collectively as a community need to respond to these situations and permanently end someone’s homeless by putting them into housing and supporting them once they’re there.”

The city says any open land around the community kitchen has been contaminated by old factories — which makes it unsafe to have a communal area for homeless.

Wolfe says the city is working to find temporary and permanent solutions to this problem.