BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — Rising rental prices, a lack of affordable housing options and legislation that bans camping in public areas are all contributing to homelessness in Blount County.
That's from people who work with homeless people on a daily basis, and who just completed the annual Place In Time Count — a federally mandated count of the unsheltered.
The count took place a few weeks ago and yielded answers from 308 people who fit the criteria of being homeless, or who are at risk of being homeless in Blount County, said Angela Stolpe. She is the United Way Community Engagement Coordinator.
Stolpe works with other agencies, like A Place To Stay, to conduct the count and said the final results of the count don't necessarily reflect the number of people experiencing homelessness in Blount County.
"We know that's not a specific number, right? It's almost impossible to completely count everyone that's homeless in our county, especially with rural homelessness," Stolpe said. "We deal a lot with people that are couch surfing, staying with relatives, or maybe staying in their cars, or RVs."
The numbers show 140 females, 120 males and one transgender person were counted in the report. Two people listed their gender as other and 45 people's gender weren't specified.
Of the 308 people included in the count, 89 people said they lived with friends or family, 59 people said they stayed in an emergency shelter and 61 said they lived in a vehicle, boat or RV.
A total of 33 people who were counted said they lived outdoors.
Last year's count identified more than 400 people were unhoused in Blount County.
"I don't know that we got a good count of say, some of our more precariously housed people that might be, say, within the LGBTQ+ community or English as their second language," Stolpe said. "We don't have a lot of resources to connect with those communities and get that count."
Mandy Proffitt, the executive director of A Place to Stay, agreed and said there are a number of people living in campers that aren't hooked up to electricity at a campground.
"A lot of folks go to the underground and they don't want to be found just for safety purposes," Proffitt said. "So, there are just a lot of areas here in Blount County where we just, we've not been able to identify where they are. I mean, we know of some camps but we don't know of all the camps."
A Place to Stay helps people who are experiencing homelessness. Proffitt said that there are ways for people to help those in Blount County who are unsheltered.
Each quarter, it hosts a Street Outreach Services event with resources for people in need and another is coming up soon.
"If people (want to volunteer) they can call our office 865-606-0714," Proffitt said. "They can call and offer to volunteer that day. We do it four times a year, and we do it on the second Saturday of each quarter. Our next upcoming is April 13."
Currently, the group has been assisting with deposits, eviction prevention, and utilities for people who need those services. Other nonprofits are also aiding with this and people can visit APlaceToStayBC.org to donate, or mail a donation to P.O. Box 6185, Maryville, TN 37802.