How has homelessness affected you, your family and your workplace? What are your hopes for our community moving forward?

The Knoxville-Knox County Office of Housing Stability (OHS) is kicking off a series of public listening sessions to gather input for its five-year strategic plan to address homelessness.
 
Input from the public, local homeless service providers and related sectors like education and law enforcement, will help shape the proposed plan, which will be available in late spring 2025 at www.KnoxTNHousing.org.
 
This effort builds on many successes in our community. For example, in just the past four years, service providers have helped nearly 5,000 people move from homelessness into housing.
 
Despite such successes, data from the local Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) shows that the number of people accessing homeless services has trended up since 2018, from just over 1,000 to 1,800 this year – with increased housing costs being the major problem.

In this year’s second quarter, 72 percent of unhoused individuals reported the reason for their homelessness was eviction, lack of affordable housing, or loss/lack of employment. East Tennessee Realtors reports that effective rents in the Knoxville metro area have risen 56 percent—or $524—since the beginning of 2020.
 
Although high housing costs are the main driver of homelessness, housing is not the only solution. Supports such as mental health and substance abuse treatment, job training, and community-building are key parts to repairing our community. The Office of Housing Stability welcomes any and all residents of Knoxville and/or Knox County to this conversation.
 
In-person listening sessions will be held:

• Tuesday, Nov. 5, 5:30-7 p.m., Powell Branch Library, 330 W Emory Road

• Wednesday, Nov. 6, 5:30-7 p.m., Cedar Bluff Branch Library, 9045 Cross Park Drive

• Monday, Nov. 18, 5:30-7 p.m., Burlington Library, 4614 Asheville Highway

• Wednesday, Nov. 20, 5:30-7 p.m. South Knoxville Community Center, 522 Maryville Pike


If you would like to be part of the conversation but can't attend a listening session, submit your input online at https://knoxtnhousing.org/strategic-plan.html.
 
At this website, residents may sign up for email updates as the planning process continues. In addition, groups that would like to hold their own listening session can utilize the Meeting in a Box materials, available starting Nov. 8.