KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — In northeast Knox County, neighbors said sights of homelessness have increased raising some concerns among the community.
"We're bringing it up now because it doesn't look like anything's getting done," said Michael Snow, who owns a home on Harris Road. "It's at all times during the week, night, day."
He owns the home with his brother, Rodney Snow. He said that his 91-year-old mother has lived in the area since 1965 and said homelessness issues started becoming more of an issue around five years ago. They said a nearby home was demolished and two of the owners set up tents in the vacant land.
They said that after, more people from outside the neighborhood settled in. He said he has taken films and photos of warming fires being started steps from other homes, and said that overdoses and behavior-related emergency calls have become a concern among people there.
"It's not just this one incident. It's been multiple, multiple incidents," he said.
According to the Knoxville Homeless Management Information System, 3,501 people are experiencing homelessness in Knox County, and most of them have no place to go. The county reported that the top contributors to homelessness include a lack of housing that people can afford, substance misuse, mental health issues and domestic violence issues.
"The current conditions of homelessness and the drug addiction and abuse have grown so much," said Rodney.
Both brothers said they reached out to both the Knoxville Police Department and the Knox County Sheriff's Office. Recently, leaders in both the city and county announced they would create a new office meant to prevent and respond to issues related to housing instability and homelessness.