ORHA

TORCH lights the way toward housing homeless families in Anderson County

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, August 29, 2023
Future Home of the Living God, Housing, Emergency shelter, ORHA, Case management (mental health), OAK, Public housing, Element, Homelessness, Child, Case management, Family, Grocery store, Building, Property management

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Aug. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to quickly provide permanent housing to homeless families in Anderson County, the Tennessee Out-Reach Center for Homeless (TORCH) has developed a unique path using the Housing First concept to get families off the street by providing a more streamlined approach.

Key Points: 
  • OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Aug. 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to quickly provide permanent housing to homeless families in Anderson County, the Tennessee Out-Reach Center for Homeless (TORCH) has developed a unique path using the Housing First concept to get families off the street by providing a more streamlined approach.
  • TORCH owns two temporary housing units called Agape House and Bookhart Village where they can house up to nine families temporarily.
  • However, since there is no emergency shelter in Anderson County, homeless families had to go to a shelter in Knox County or be placed in another type of communal living facility.
  • "Areas like Anderson County and other smaller communities find it difficult to provide emergency shelters for families who find themselves homeless.