TN Valley Coalition for Homeless (TVCH) is a small, non-profit organization with a primary goal to house the homeless. They do this through their Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) program. TVCH works to house the homeless; educate the community; and provide permanent solutions to homelessness in 12 East TN counties.

Their work is strictly rural; they do not work within the cities of these counties. Anyone who is homeless or facing homelessness in Union or surrounding counties can request help by calling 888-556-0791.

Additionally, the TN Valley Coalition for Homeless has a program called Flex Funds in some of the 12 counties that can be used for homeless prevention (such as temporary rental or utility assistance). This is not yet available in Union County. The Flex Funds are entirely provided by private donations and small, county specific grants.

The TVCH Street Outreach program travels to the homeless populations in the same 12 East TN counties and generally comes to Union County about once a month. Macrea Love has walked the hills, ridges and shorelines of our county visiting all the homeless camps that he can find. His team offers food, clothing, shoes, tents, sleeping bags, and hygienic necessities (including menstrual supplies). The Street Outreach team works with Live Free Claiborne, a drug rehab program in Tazewell. They bring their shower trailer and supplies there 2-3 times a month. (NOTE: The shower trailer will be at 1316 Cedar Fork Rd in Tazewell from 1:00-5:00 Tuesday June 24 and 1:00-5:30 on Tuesday July 8 – free to anyone who would like a shower. Shower supplies are provided.)

On the days that the team travels through Union County to get to Claiborne, they would be happy (if requested) to make an extra stop in Union with supplies, including clothes for job interviews. Macrea can be reached for Street Outreach supplies by individuals or businesses at 423-871-8013.

The Point-in-Time (PIT) Count is a one-night count of individuals experiencing homelessness, whether sheltered or unsheltered. Local Continuum of Care agencies collect these statistics, and the PIT Count provides Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with a means to evaluate the effectiveness of local agencies' efforts to address homelessness. They use this data to determine funding amounts for these agencies and compile this data into the Annual Homeless Assessment Report, which is provided to Congress. In one 24-hour period in 2024, Campbell County reported 40 unsheltered people, and Anderson County had 95. None have ever been reported in Union County. Union County has no infrastructure in place to support the homeless beyond its food pantries. We have a unique homeless community due to the lack of available services. There is no way to estimate the number of homeless folks at any given time. Macrea believes that the options individual counties have are to mask the issue of the unhoused, move the unhoused to another county, or treat the problem. Mask. Move. Or treat.