HOMELESS

…BUT NOT HOPELESS

Averted glances, a quickened pace, avoidance of the issues before them; these are the ways many individuals typically react when they encounter one of the hundreds of homeless individuals throughout the Northeast Tennessee/Southwest Virginia region.

If you are currently homeless, or walking the delicate line between sheltered and homelessness, you need an advocate to help you navigate through the sea of programs and services that may be available to assist you. Whether your situation has been dictated by disability, addiction or circumstance, ARCH can help! ARCH fights to end homelessness in our region by coordinating and empowering the efforts of diverse charities, civic organizations, nonprofits and public institutions working to improve the homeless situation.

ARCH also provides direct services to veterans & veteran families.  We also provide referrals to community links and can help if you are not a veteran. If you or someone you know is homeless, or at risk of becoming homeless, please contact us at 423-928-2274.

APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COALITION ON HOMELESSNESS (ARCH)

The Appalachian Regional Coalition on Homelessness (ARCH) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that serves as the HUD administrator for homeless assistance in Northeast Tennessee through the Continuum of Care grant program.

We are the first “point of entry” for those with immediate housing needs and help to secure community supportive services in the counties of Carter, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington.

At ARCH, we organize, facilitate and provide services to end homelessness in Northeast Tennessee by coordinating front line service providers, collaborating with community partners, and empowering the efforts of charities, civic and non-profit organizations working to improve the homeless situation and targeting the direct causes of homelessness.

We provide a variety of services to these organizations, including: Technical Assistance; Consulting; Program Evaluation, Homeless Management Information System (HMIS), Education and Public Awareness Advocacy. Through the provision of these key services, ARCH is able to track results and help local groups qualify for needed state and federal funding.

Housing First Program

AmeriCorps Housing First

The AmeriCorps Housing First Program utilizes members to provide services to the homeless and economically disadvantaged population in Upper East TN. The purpose of the Housing First Program is to provide access points in every county we serve to provide the homeless with resources they so desperately need. AmeriCorps members work at one of our host sites in the community to utilize the HMIS (Homeless Management Information System) in order to find appropriate resources and assess vulnerability of clients.

SUCCESS STORIES

“So far, I’ve not had to live under a bridge, out in the country or the fields or anything terrible like that. My advice would be if you’ve got a great job or making steady income, no matter how bad it seems, stick with it, because it can get a whole lot worse…”

“We’ve got a good group of veterans here right now and most of them have positive attitudes, because of the situations they’re in. You know, they could be worse. They keep their heads up and keep looking forward to better things.”…

“I grew up in Tullahoma, Lynchburg, Tennessee. We grew up very poor, so there was a lot of family abuse. There was a lot of alcohol abuse. However, my mother was a good mother. She did the best she could with the tools she had. We were raised with very high morals.”…

VISION

That no Parent will wonder where her child will lay their head at night, no Veteran feel the sting of homelessness, and no person feel as though they have no place to call home.