Cheatham County Homeless Coalition

​CHEATHAM COUNTY HOMELESS COUNT

 

The Central Tennessee Continuum of Care conducted its annual Point-in-Time count on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, which is a one-night count of people experiencing homelessness. This count is demanded by the federal government for regions called Continuum of Care (CoC) to receive certain federal funding to address homelessness. The Central TN CoC covers a 19-county area including Cheatham County. People who are counted typically sleep in shelters or outdoors/in cars.

 

The Cheatham County Homeless Coalition organized the first-ever outdoor count on January 28. We ended up submitting 15 individuals as part of the federal Point-in-Time count. Most of them are sleeping in cars. However, through canvassing ahead of time and follow-ups a few days later, we found at least 30 people. This does not include anyone living in dilapidated homes, meaning they are staying in places without plumbing, holes in walls or ceilings, no electricity, or all of the above. While those households could be included in a Point-in-Time count, it is logistically nearly impossible to do so. Therefore, we know that in rural areas, like Cheatham County, our homeless counts are absolute minimums. 

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The Cheatham County Homeless Coalition is a volunteer organization that brings together nonprofits, government agencies, churches, and business entities to create more awareness of the housing insecurities people in Cheatham County experience. 

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WE DO NOT PROVIDE DIRECT SERVICES and are unable to coordinate services at this point.

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However, we hope to bring providers and their groups together to learn about each other, increase awareness, and eventually raise the question what rural areas, like Cheatham County, can do to participate in a larger effort to access and maintain affordable, safe housing for our residents and meet their basic needs. 

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Sign up for our email list and to participate in our quarterly meetings by emailing your name and contact information to: CheathamHomelessCoalition@gmail.com

 

We are considering another outdoor homelessness count that will not be bound by federal regulation during the summer months, to gain an improved picture of what homelessness in Cheatham County looks like.​​

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Location Questionnaire: We continue to seek information about potential sites and locations where people experiencing homelessness are known to stay in Cheatham County. Please help us identify locations in Cheatham County by completing our online location questionnaire to report locations. We will alert Colby's Army, a local nonprofit doing street outreach, and other members of our coalition to follow up with people.