Source: Room In The Inn-Memphis
On both cold winter nights or blazing hot summer days, Room in the Inn workers are waiting by their phones for a call. The volunteers from all walks of life have been trained in assisting individuals experiencing homelessness, and with every call they have one goal in mind: How can we get a roof over this person’s head?
Room in the Inn is a local non-profit with a core mission to focus on providing emergency shelter for individuals experiencing homelessness (based on the Nashville program with the same name). Founded in 2010, the group initially provided support during the winter and operated out of a single church. As the need for its services grew, however, it switched to a ten-month shelter model and now encompasses 55 congregations around Memphis.
“As other churches in the city saw the work that we were doing, they asked if they could come aboard,” says executive director Lisa Anderson. “Soon, we had more than half the city covered through churches.”
Despite the rate of homelessness dropping throughout the Mid-South in the past few years, it is still one of the most visible problems affecting Memphis. More than 1,300 individuals are without permanent housing in Shelby county, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“A very small percentage of the population is chronically homeless. Most of those experiencing homelessness are homeless due to circumstantial reasons,” says Anderson. “For a lot of people, it can happen overnight. A lost job, a broken car so they couldn’t get to work, medical bills. It can be a long list of reasons why someone ends up without a home.”
Room in the Inn relies heavily on volunteers and tries to approach homelessness as a temporary setback. It also tries to break down the stigma surrounding homelessness.
“We really highlight the commonalities of all people when they come here,” she says. “Those experiencing homelessness want shelter, safety, and peace of mind; the same things we all want. Room in the Inn offers a positive space for people to find those commonalities. We try to take down the barriers that stop people from experiencing one and other.”
The global covid-19 pandemic provided a whole new set of challenges for Room in the Inn. It was initially not equipped to safely engage with the population. The closure of churches also hampered their work with the public.
“Our model was designed around us working out of churches, so it wasn’t safe to send people out once covid started to ramp up. We instead started thinking of ways that we could still support those that were at risk.”
While closed, Room in the Inn piloted a recuperative care program that utilized empty hotel rooms. Homeless individuals that were discharged from local hospitals were given hotel rooms where they could safely and comfortably recover before being around. Caseworkers would bring three meals a day and help those in the program figure out their next steps.
As the heat began to rise and the severity of the virus became more apparent, Room in the Inn decided to reopen. The staff made steps to revamp their practices so that they could keep themselves and guests safe, and limited their services to a few locations. Though Room in the Inn had to suspend many of their daily programs they still were able to provide a place of refuge and peace of mind for the homelessness. Recently it has also hosted testing events where people experiencing homelessness were able to receive free covid testing.
“Having a safe place that can respond to emergencies and provide shelter from heat — after we closed no one thought of providing that,” says Anderson. “We felt like we had to do something.”
Although the number of homeless had been trending downward before the outbreak of covid– 19, Anderson says she expects numbers to rise in the coming months.
“Before the pandemic, many people were one very serious illness away from losing their jobs or homes. With covid, it’s even easier. It seems like everyone knows that this is a reality for many people, but no one is planning for what to do when it happens.”
Room in the Inn is looking to expand their campus so that they can better serve the Memphis Area. More information on how to support Room in the Inn can be found on its website.
