BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — According to a federally mandated count of the number of people experiencing homelessness in Blount County, around 300 people may not have a home to call their own.
The Place in Time Count considers the number of people living on the street and in encampments, as well as the number of people sleeping on the couches of friends and family, or who are sleeping inside their cars. A Blount County organization said that often, people without homes often go unseen.
"The homeless community, to some degree, is out of sight," said Ron Day, who works for the Salvation Army in Knoxville. "Recognizing that we do have a fairly large homeless community in Blount County."
The report said around 140 homeless people in Blount County are woman, around 120 are men and one person is transgender.
"That would be families, individuals who are single — both men and woman, with or without children," said Day.
He also said that the homeless community in Blount County may differ from the one in Knoxville. He said Blount County does not have a centralized location where people can find resources, resulting in them being scattered across the area.
"We have a lot more people coming in, and with that, the homeless community is going to continue to grow," he said. "If you go to the public library, you'll see some of the homeless community come there."
He said for more than a decade, the Salvation Army Maryville Corps. has stepped up to provide gas cards, groceries and housing to people who may not have a place to live. The Maryville Corps provides programs and services exclusively to Blount County. It is part of the Salvation Army Knoxville Area Command, which includes six counties.
"One of the biggest problems we're facing is just making people aware that we are there in Blount County, serving folks," said Day.
He said the county is growing, and so is the cost of living. And that can lead to an increase in the number of homeless people across Blount County, he said.
"We have a lot more people coming in, and with that, the homeless community is going to continue to grow," he said.