Homeless in TN

[DawnM]

I had a thread from about a year and a half ago about this family member.   She is once again needing a place to live.  She is somewhat disabled and so she has very little money.   She SAYS she looked into HUD and doesn't qualify, but I honestly don't know what she has done or not done.

I know some people posted some resources on that thread and now I can't find it.  

The area is near Cookeville, TN.

In that thread I had even considered taking her in a few days but that isn't even an option right now with my elderly father and our 2 year old foster child.  I am not able to take in someone who would stress me out further.   And you all advised not doing that and I think that is wise.

[kiwik]

I can't remember if the disabled was purely physical or included mental.  I would probably ring all services myself as it would be easy for her to get overwhelmed and not push past roadblocks.

[TravelingChris]

Cookeville, TN had an awful tornado go through this year and I would think places there may be all full.  A place like Nashville would more likely have resources.  I know in my city that we have public housing available (or available on waiting lists??) for disabled people.  They live in the same housing complexes as the elderly.

[Scarlett]

Here it is 

 

[DawnM]

2 hours ago, Scarlett said:

Here it is 

 

 

THANK YOU!

[DawnM]

4 hours ago, kiwik said:

I can't remember if the disabled was purely physical or included mental.  I would probably ring all services myself as it would be easy for her to get overwhelmed and not push past roadblocks.

 

On paper it is only physical, but I would bet money there is a mental component too.

I am frustrated because everything I suggest she shuts down immediately.   I get the feeling she really wants to just move to my house, but we cannot take her.

[SpecialClassical]

One “out” for you is the legality of the foster care agreement. Isn’t it true that if you have a foster child, she was not part of the initial home study and so she cannot be part of the household with the child there? When we applied for a license every member of the household was evaluated.  It’s not your fault that the law requires these things and you have to follow the law. 
 

As far as her situation, I would call a local housing non-profit and ask for direction.  They will have more resources than you.  If she isn’t willing to go through a charitable agency to get housing, there isn’t anything you can do.  

[Sweets]

Hello, I live in Tennessee. About 10 years ago, I had a slightly similar situation, but it was with my sister, my only sibling, and my two (over age 18) nieces. My sister lived in another state and became totally disabled mentally due to a complete psychotic break after the death of her oldest daughter, my sweet, sweet niece. It totally devastated my other nieces. So, I had three adults that we had to take responsibility for everyday necessities of life:  food, clothing, shelter, transportation. I won't sugar coat it:  I found absolutely no help here in Tennessee from disabled and homeless organizations. All of the charity organizations were overwhelmed (due to the Great Recession) and the government agencies were totally uncaring.  HUD?  They don't even take applications for our area for the last 10 years; most landlords won't accept HUD anymore. 

Since it was my sister, my family did accept full financial responsibility. Our house was too small but we found them a small apartment and paid rent for a time. They came to our church and found some fellowship there. We joined a grief support group and that was a wonderful group that helped us all. I did all the paperwork for Social Security Disability for my sister. She went from being a nurse to being totally unable to work and in and out of psychiatric hospitals until they got her on some good medications. My sister did qualify for disability, and when that started, it really helped to have that monthly income, but it took about a year to get it started. Between my sister's savings and our help, they were just able to make it until disability kicked in. Before Obamacare, people who qualified for disability had to wait two years to get Medicare, which made no sense at all considering my sister's extreme medical situation. I found more help in just contacting companies directly:  pharmacies help me with reduced medication costs, doctors agreed to decreased fees, found the food banks, and got information about education assistance for my nieces. 

I realize that I'm not being much help in your questions, but from our experience, Tennessee is no help at all for people who are facing homelessness or disability. I doubt it's changed in the last 10 years. Since you don't live near your relative, I would recommend trying to contact a local church. The churches in our area are great sources of information about food banks, rental assistance, etc. My SIL recently needed to help a friend with a similar situation to yours, but she did not want to give money directly to her friend. So, she gave $500 to her church, and they "gifted" the money to her friend in the form of a rental voucher. 

Your are so nice to try to help. In our case, my nieces are doing wonderfully. They are now late 20's and working and both have new cars and went to technical training schools. They were able to rebuild their lives. My sister is still in the "valley of the shadow of death" as she struggles with the loss of her eldest daughter still, but she is on a good regimen of medications and has been able to live on her own and babysit her grandson. I still watch over her finances. If anything, this whole situation taught me that the majority of people seeking assistance as not welfare queens or scammers . I met so many people who have full time jobs but ended up still in my sister's situation. Good luck and God bless your relative. 

[DawnM]

14 hours ago, SpecialClassical said:

One “out” for you is the legality of the foster care agreement. Isn’t it true that if you have a foster child, she was not part of the initial home study and so she cannot be part of the household with the child there? When we applied for a license every member of the household was evaluated.  It’s not your fault that the law requires these things and you have to follow the law. 
 

As far as her situation, I would call a local housing non-profit and ask for direction.  They will have more resources than you.  If she isn’t willing to go through a charitable agency to get housing, there isn’t anything you can do.  

 

OHHHH!  I didn't think of that!   That is great.   Thank you