KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Tim Jackson, a pastor in the Knoxville area, said he opened the doors of his churches to homeless people during the winter storm this year — but it wasn't his first time. He said he also let people in during the Christmas holiday in 2022.
"That first winter in 2022, we opened our churches that weekend from Friday at noon, when it was like 10 degrees outside, until Monday, housing about 125 men, women and children as well," said Pastor Tim Jackson,
He is the pastor at Magnolia Avenue United Methodist Church and Vestal United Methodist Church. He said because he opened doors to homeless people before, Knoxville and Knox County leaders asked him to do it again as temperatures dropped.
He said they prepared churches across the area, opening church doos for around nine days at Magnolia United Methodist Church and serving more than 3,000 meals.
Now, he said he's working on transforming a space at both churches into something more permanent. He wants to add low-barrier shelters to them. A low-barrier shelter has limited or minimal requirements for people to stay.
"Our education building will be devoted to young men, 18 to 24, who are currently homeless. Our second floor becomes a low barrier shelter for the weekends, for folks who are homeless in our South Knoxville area," said Jackson. "And then in Magnolia, the same thing, our third floor, 6,100 square feet, will be transformed into a low-barrier shelter, and shelter for young men 18 to 24."
Erin Read, the Executive Director of the Knoxville-Knox County Office of Housing Stability, said the pastor's help during this year's snowstorm was appreciated.
"The Office of Housing Stability has been working closely with Reverend Tim Jackson, in both his churches," said Read. "And they were a mainstay of the warming center effort this year. It was the first time that we have had a coordinated community approach to warming centers. And it was lucky that we did because we had that 20-years snow event and really, really dangerous temperatures. I would say that the best thing about that week is that we had space for every single person who wanted to be indoors. And that was largely because of Tim Jackson, in his efforts."
Read said building new shelters in the churches is a way to help meet a need in the community.
"There's definitely a need for transitional housing, for permanent housing for people," said Read. "We have a lot of individuals, singles without family, who are homeless. And so, the sort of single-room occupancy space that Reverend Jackson is creating is definitely needed. But there's also a need for family units. There is a need for housing, just, at every price point, because the rental increases that we've been experiencing in this community are unsustainable."
Pastor Jackson said he was homeless in his youth, so he knows exactly what some people are going through.
"My dad died three or four months before I was born," said Jackson. "And there's some other tragic events happened in my family that really kind of shook my mom. And we kind of drifted — Texas, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, and in between. We were homeless. Went to 19 different schools. Failed the first grade cause we were homeless. Failed the fourth grade cause we were homeless. I didn't make it past the ninth grade because I was homeless."
Jackson said this is why much of his focus is on 18-year-olds to 24-year-olds.
"We're gonna help them get their IDs, we're gonna help them get their GEDs, we're gonna help them get job training so they can get on their feet," he said. "We have a lot of young homeless men and women in the city of Knoxville in the county of Knoxville. And they don't have many resources that are available just for them. So we wanted to zero in on them."
He said offering a helping hand to this age range is crucial. He also added that it's important to help the elderly too. He said those living in the shelters are also helping out in their communities.
"We transformed our parsonage, next to Magnolia we currently house young women, they're 18 to 24. We're getting them on their feet. And we'll do a reflection of that here at Vestal Villas. But we also will make sure that we're providing low-barrier shelters for those folks who are elderly and at-risk. So we're coming alongside them as well. And our 18 to 24-year-olds, one of the things that they're doing and they will be doing is, they'll be volunteering in those areas, where we're serving the underserved each and every week," he said.
Read says helping homeless people find homes will take work from the community.
"Last year we had over 3,000 people become homeless in Knoxville and Knox County, and it's really going to take a full community effort to address this issue and to do our best for our neighbors," said Read.
And Jackson agrees. He said it will take community members stepping up to help, and he said many already have — especially during the January snowstorm.
"That Sunday, before the snow first started to fall, there were dozens of cars outside of Vestal and Magnolia from the people and the churches of Knoxville. Not just United Methodist people in churches, but from across the spectrum. And all week long, those nine days, people and resources rolled in, like an avalanche into Vestal and Magnolia. The city and the people of Knoxville donated over $50,000 on Venmo. Most of those were $5, $10 and $25 donations, there were some big ones. And we had money left over," he said. "Just based on that alone, I have faith that the people of Knoxville will support what we're doing because they see there is such a tangible need in our community for that."