City of Knoxville
Madeline Rogero, Mayor
Knox County
Tim Burchett, Mayor

Monthly Archives: August 2008

Norfolk’s Ten-Year Plan: Doing what it should

August 29, 2008 – 7:52 am

People here sometimes ask the question, “Are there examples of other cities who are using Ten-Year Plans to address homelessness? Others that are doing permanent supportive housing?” The answer is “Yes,” and here’s a good example. Norfolk VA is a city not far from Knoxville. Like Knoxville, Norfolk has a Ten-Year Plan. It’s working. According [...]

By Robert Finley | Posted in General | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Meanwhile, over on Broadway and Eighth,…

August 18, 2008 – 2:58 pm

The former Fifth Avenue Motel is probably Knoxville’s most notorious flophouse. Volunteer Ministry Center now owns that property, and is moving towards rehabilitating the historic structure into Minvilla Manor, an apartment building with 57 units of permanent supportive housing for people who are chronically homeless. Minvilla Manor is not without controversy. It’s expensive, largely because [...]

By Robert Finley | Posted in General | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Mangano: Chronic homelessness declines

August 11, 2008 – 9:23 am

Fort Worth’s Star-Telegram ran this editorial yesterday. It’s written by Philip Mangano, the Executive Director of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness. It’s encouraging. The national figures demonstrate that the number of homeless people experiencing chronic homelessness — our most vulnerable and disabled neighbors — dropped from nearly 176,000 in 2005 to fewer than [...]

By Robert Finley | Posted in General | Tagged , | Comments (0)

“…we are the largest mental health facility in East Tennessee.”

August 7, 2008 – 9:44 am

Many people who are chronically homeless are mentally ill. They also have frequent interactions with the law enforcement system. They get arrested a lot, and many of them tend to spend a lot of time in jail. ““Probably about $400,000 a year is what we spend just on psychotropic drugs to treat the mentally ill. [...]

By Robert Finley | Posted in General | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)