Oak Ridge Today

Hidden needs in our community—filling the gaps

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Altrusa Oak Ridge, TN

A panel of community organizations assisting the homeless and precariously housed will be presenting to the Altrusa Club at their lunch meeting on Wednesday, October 8. This panel will be comprised of Annie Cacheiro from ADFAC, Zabrina Minor from TORCH, Teresa Brittain from the Free Medical Clinic, and Jennifer Enderson of Emory Valley Center. The meeting will take place at the Doubletree Hotel Oak Ridge.

“ADFAC places emphasis on the prevention of homelessness and the development of self-sufficiency,” Cacheiro said of ADFAC’s services here in Anderson County. “Short-term financial assistance and counseling are provided with the goal of stabilizing the family during times of crisis. We respond to over 6,000 requests each year.”

“Everyone should have access to health care, regardless of their ability to pay or insurance status,” Brittain said. “These clients exist here in Anderson County, and these services must be provided.” [Read more…]

TORCH has Brew Review, a beer-tasting fundraiser

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A nonprofit organization that helps homeless people and low-income families has a new fundraiser, a Brew Review.

It’s a one-of-a-kind fundraiser for Trinity Out-­Reach Center for Hope, or TORCH. The Brew Review will be Friday, September 12, from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Historic Grove Theater located at 123 Randolph Road in Oak Ridge.

“The evening will include beer tasting, finger foods, silent auction, and live music,” a press release said. “Guests can mingle in the lobby with their food and beer, dance to live music in the auditorium, and bid on fantastic items in the silent auction.”

Beer is being provided by Cheeroke Distributing, Alliance Brewing Co., Yazoo, and Downtown Brewery, with more breweries to be announced closer to the event, the release said. Hard cider will also be available for those who cannot drink beer or would like to try something different.

The silent auction items include signed Lee Child and Tess Gerritsen books, a Jackie Collins autographed picture, gift cards, a Keurig Platinum K-Cup, gift baskets, crafts, a two-night stay in Pigeon Forge, and many other exciting items, the release said. [Read more…]

TORCH’s kickball fundraiser to kick off in Oak Ridge

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TORCH’s “Kickin It for Homes” kickball fundraiser is an opportunity for the community to relive the fun of a favorite childhood sports. At the same time, every game played is a “hand-up” for the homeless, a press release said.

Participants are needed to play in the tournament, which is set for June 28 at Carl Yearwood Park located on Laboratory Road in Oak Ridge. The event will start at 9 a.m., and end when a winner emerges. The cost per eight-person team is $160. There is no cost to come out and cheer on the teams.

Teams can register by printing out a form from the website www.oakridgetorch.org and send or drop the form at the office. There is a box at the door if the office is closed. Teams can also register and pay directly online.

Trinity Outreach Center of Hope (TORCH) is located at 320 Robertsville Road in Oak Ridge. Families, church groups, work mates, and friends are encouraged to join in the fun, the press release said. [Read more…]

Helen Ross McNabb coordinator to discuss Safe Place outreach on Monday

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The residential program coordinator for the Helen Ross McNabb Center will discuss Safe Place outreach efforts of businesses and community volunteers during a Monday evening meeting in Oak Ridge.

Desiree Miller will be the guest speaker at a Monday evening meeting of Parents, Family, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, or PFLAG, at the First Presbyterian Church of Oak Ridge, a press release said.

“Miller will share information about Safe Place outreach efforts of businesses and community volunteers in the Knoxville area seeking to establish a network of easily accessible places (schools, fire stations, libraries, youth-friendly businesses, etc.) to which children and teens can turn when they are in need of help,” the press release said. [Read more…]

Anderson County homeless counted Jan. 28, training on Thursday

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An annual 24-hour count of the homeless in Anderson County is scheduled for Jan. 28, and the first of two hour-long training sessions is Thursday morning.

The Point in Time Count is organized by TORCH, and the count is used by Congress to determine funding for the area.

Those who volunteer for the PIT count must attend a one-hour training session that will teach them how to fill out the homelessness survey and provide input on where homeless families might be located.

Thursday’s training session is from 10-11 a.m. at the TORCH office, which is at 320 Robertsville Road, Suite 5, in Oak Ridge. There is a second training session from 6-7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23. Volunteers will be signing up for a three-hour volunteer time slot at the training sessions. [Read more…]

TORCH will count homeless in January, will train volunteers who want to help

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Each year in January, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, coordinating with county mayors in conjunction with the Tennessee Valley Coalition to End Homelessness, do what is called a Point in Time Count of the homeless. This is an unduplicated count on a single night of the people in a specific county who are experiencing homelessness.

The Point in Time Count of 2011 showed 28 homeless individuals. The PIT count of Jan. 24, 2013, found a total of 86 people were homeless (sheltered and unsheltered) and 68 people were precariously housed (almost homeless).

Unsheltered means that the people sleep outside without a roof over their heads or in places not fit for human habitation like a car or an abandoned building. Sheltered means that they were either in transitional housing such as half-way houses or they were actually living in a homeless shelter. Precariously housed are more commonly called “couch surfers.” They live at the homes of friends or family but do not have an address of their own. [Read more…]

Film shown Friday features families struggling after economic crisis

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A new nonprofit organization that helps homeless families in Anderson County will show a documentary on Friday that features families struggling after the Great Recession, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The 7 p.m. screening of “American Winter,” an HBO documentary, has been organized by TORCH (Trinity Out-Reach Center of Hope). The film was produced during one winter in one American city, and it presents an “intimate snapshot of the state of the nation’s economy as it is playing out in millions of American families, and highlights the human consequences of the decline of the middle class and the fracturing of the American Dream,” a press release said. [Read more…]

Free community meal at Grace Covenant, homeless invited

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As part of an effort to count homeless individuals and families for the Jan. 24 “Point In Time Count,” or PITC, a free community meal at Grace Covenant Church at 5 p.m. Thursday is open to community members who are homeless, a press release said.

The dinner is being organized by Trinity Outreach Center of Hope, or TORCH, a new nonprofit working to support the most economically challenged in our area and leading the Jan. 24 homeless count in Anderson County.

[Read more…]

Help needed for homeless count in Anderson County this month

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A local organization known as TORCH will conduct a street count of homeless people in Anderson County on Jan. 24 as part of the 2013 Point-In-Time Count coordinated by Tennessee Valley Coalition to End Homelessness.

The Point-In-Time Count is a survey of homeless people in every county across the United States. Volunteers are needed to help with the count in Anderson County, a press release said.

[Read more…]