Sheila Michel wants Anderson County to set an example for the nation.
“I firmly believe we can put an end to homelessness in Anderson County, Tennessee,” the Tennessee Out-Reach Center for Homeless, (TORCH) founder told a large audience at the DoubleTree Hotel in November.
Andy O’Quinn, TORCH executive director, said over the last year the nonprofit organization has been in contact and tried to help 1,325 homeless people whether by phone, email or in person. TORCH has provided temporary housing in Bookhart Village and Agape House to families; assisted others who have some income find a place they can afford to rent; and given people living on the streets needed items such as tents, blankets, sleeping bags and food and, if needed, drug and alcohol recovery treatment if they are willing.
Cassidy Whalen, left, and Sheila Michel of Tennessee Out-Reach Center for Homeless. Whalen is communications director and the executive director’s assistant, but as a child she was one of the homeless helped by TORCH, which Michel founded.
The crowd heard from Cassidy Whalen, O’Quinn’s assistant and TORCH’s communications director. Besides working at TORCH, she’s a full-time college student aiming for a career in business finance and a student mentor.
And she was one of the homeless children TORCH helped in the past – only to help her again when she became first an intern in 2021, and then an employee.
“TORCH game me a sense of belonging,” Whalen said.
She shared how her parents were addicts when she was growing up and how she always wanted stability.
“We bounced from place to place,” staying with friends or family, she said of their living environment,
When she was 8, she said, the family had no place to call home and TORCH provided them with an apartment. It represented stability, she said, but the stable situation didn’t last long.
“Addicition doesn’t let go easily,” she said of her parents’ problems. Her mother and father broke up and for a while she stayed with her Mamaw, whom she cherished. But then, Whalen said, she made the decision to live with her dad in Sunbright, Tennessee.
The bouncing between friends and family began again.
Whalen said she finally told her great-aunt what was going on and the woman gave Whalen and her brother a place to live. The living conditions were calm and quiet, she said, with no late-night police visits.
In 2018, her father died from his addiction. Four months later, her Mamaw died.
“Being hired at TORCH changed everything for me,” she said. She reiterated that it gave her a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging, as well as the chance to help people like herself.
“I was the (homeless) child,” Whalen said, giving the audience a face to the word or concept of “homeless.” She asked audience members to help TORCH offer others the same chance for a better life – and to listen to them without judgment.
“It is people like Cassidy that TORCH is helping,” Michel said. “We are so proud of her.”
Rapid Rehousing
O’Quinn said providing homeless people with housing is getting more difficult because of the rising cost of rent and more people in need.
Andy O’Quinn
He said TORCH had been helping about 75 families. In the past year that has jumped to 108 families, he said.
Plus, he said, the cost of rent has increased drastically as well.
In 2022, the average two-bedroom rental space in Oak Ridge was $980 a month. Now the average is $1,410 a month, he said.
It’s costing a lot more to house fewer people. TORCH could help more people if it had more money, O’Quinn said.
Michel said she believes it is a moral obligation to take care of Anderson County’s own homeless. She asked audience members to leave the luncheon with the positive spirit of believing Anderson County could end its homeless problem, take care of its own homeless population.
“And love people, wherever you go,” she urged them.
The website for TORCH is oakridgetorch.org. Contact TORCH by phone at 865-318-4788, or email at info@oakridgetorch.org. TORCH also has a Facebook page at facebook.com/oakridgetorch. The office is at Ridgeway Center #152, Oak Ridge, TN 37831.
The Oak Ridger’s News Editor Donna Smith covers Oak Ridge area news. Email her at dsmith@oakridger.com and follow her on Twitter@ridgernewsed.
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This article originally appeared on Oakridger: Ending homelessness in Anderson County can happen, TORCH founder says