Life on the outside in Chattanooga is a daily challenge for single people, but for parents with young children, it can be devastating. One reason for that, according to the people we talked to on 11th Street in the past year, is that many cities do not make any provision for unsheltered families, and when they do they split them up making a difficult situation almost impossible to bear. Here in Chattanooga, The McClellan Family and Children’s Shelter on 11th Street provides shelter for up to thirteen families at any one time. The families, some with two parents, some single mothers, and occasionally single fathers almost all have children under five years old are allowed to stay together in the shelter for up to three months in a room with bunk beds and an en-suite bathroom. The only caveat is that within the three months they are living in the shelter at least one parent is expected to find employment. Once they’ve secured a regular income, the CHATT Foundation sets about helping them find a home of their own.
Richard Winham joined WUTC five years after the station began broadcasting to the Chattanooga area and the Tennessee Valley.
