Homelessness in our community remains a serious issue. The public input and discussion engendered through Compassion Knoxville’s efforts have been a welcome thing, and it is my hope the community interest and serious discussion of this issue will continue. The level of coordination and accountability around this issue has improved significantly over the past five years, but there is still a lot of work to go towards achieving the goals of preventing, reducing and ending homelessness in Knoxville and Knox County.

Mike Dunthorn
Project Manager
Ten Year Plan

Small teams of mentors are invited from congregations throughout Knox County to participate. The program’s coordinator provides training so that the teams will understand the basic purpose, expectations, and goals of a mentoring team and provides an understanding of the issues faced by the chronically homeless. Here’s a glimpse:

Each mentor team is matched with a formerly homeless neighbor and is partnered with a professional case manager and other social workers. Mentor teams are focused on helping their neighbor understand and relate to the community at large. This could be anything from simple housekeeping, decorating an apartment, understanding basic money management, or engaging in social and recreational activities. Each mentor team is matched with a formerly homeless neighbor and is partnered with a professional case manager and other social workers. Mentor teams are focused on helping their neighbor understand and relate to the community at large. This could be anything from simple housekeeping, decorating an apartment, understanding basic money management, or engaging in social and recreational activities.

Lowe’s piece is focused on Marjorie Lopes, a woman who used to be chronically homeless and who now resides at Guy B. Love Towers, a KCDC property that houses several people who have left chronic homelessness behind and who are now succeeding in permanent housing with case management support. Marjorie’s story is moving, and Lowe tells it well.

The piece doesn’t mention Jessica Bocángel, the Mentoring Program Coordinator for the Compassion Coalition. Jessica played a key role in creating Circles of Support and helping to grow the program to its present scale. We believe this program is unique in some significant ways, and that it has the potential to move members of the faith based community in a new direction as it engages the issue of homelessness.

Circles of Support gives faith based communities (churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, etc.) a new way to get involved in ending homelessness. Each faith based community assembles a team of five mentors who are trained, and who commit to maintaining a relationship with one neighbor in permanent supportive housing for one year. Two members of the mentor team will get together to visit their neighbor each week for a specified time period. Mentor teams are trained not to proselytize, but if their neighbor wants to join them for event in their faith community, that’s certainly okay.

The emphasis in Circles of Support is on relationships instead of transactions. Relationships like the one Marjorie has with members of her mentor team have really transformed her life, as she will tell you.

Rita and I share a special love. I have changed a lot because of her and the group, and for the better. After all the hell I went through for 12-13 years, it means a lot to have somebody now.

The TYP is focused on ending homelessness. We’ve said since the beginning that homelessness is a community issue that the whole community needs to address ending it. We all acknowledge that the purpose of ending homelessness goes beyond just helping people get off the streets. It also means giving them the opportunity to build the kind of life they desire in our community. This story exemplifies that.  As Mike Dunthorn points out,

Marjorie has proven that, with a little help, someone who has spent considerable time lost out on the streets can successfully live in permanent housing. Even better, when a few everyday people offered her a welcoming embrace of friendship, her housing actually became a home. This is what ending chronic homelessness looks like.

So thanks, Jessica. And thanks to Rita and your team. And Marjorie, thank you for sharing your story.