HART Looks To Address Homelessness With “Point In Time” Count

The Homeless Advocacy for Rural Tennessee (HART) conducted a count of the Upper Cumberland’s homeless population last week.

HART Representative Terry Burddett said the annual “Point in Time” count helps the organization reach its goal of ending homelessness across the region.

“It helps us identify what our homeless numbers are and certain needs of the homeless population because we also ask questions,” Burddett said. “We conduct a survey as part of this and help identify how many of the homeless people have mental health conditions and how many people have addiction issues.”

Burddett said HART doesn’t control funding but can assist other agencies in securing money for filling gaps and working with selected populations of homelessness.

Last year, HART counted 258 homeless people across the Upper Cumberland. Burddett said that figure has remained stable over the past several years.

“For me, that’s a little surprising because as we were coming out of the recession I expected numbers to be dropping,” Burddett said. “But I think that actually matches the national trend, in that we seem to have plateaued.”

Numbers from the most recent count won’t be released until next month.

Burddett said the Upper Cumberland has made excellent strides in addressing homelessness over the years but could improve when it comes to affordable housing.

“There’s a lot of research pointing towards affordable housing being a key issue of new homelessness,” Burddett said. “If there’s not affordable housing then people become homeless and not enough affordable housing is being built to replace the aging facilities.”

HART is made up of a collaborative group of community-based and social service providers within the Upper Cumberland.