OHS Prepares Expanded Winter Shelter Response, But Is It Enough?
By Jeaneane Payne, Publisher
November 13, 2026, 3:09 p.m.

A homeless veteran in Knoxville tells his story to a Knoxville Daily Sun reporter. Image by Knoxville Daily Sun staff

KNOXVILLE, TN — The Joint Office of Housing Stability (OHS) is confident that Knoxville and Knox County will have sufficient shelter capacity to meet the needs of neighbors experiencing homelessness this winter. Is it enough?

“Last winter, approximately 700 people sought shelter during Knoxville’s coldest nights, and no one was turned away,” said Erin Read, Executive Director of the Office of Housing Stability. “With the work we have done with our partner agencies, I am confident we will be able to meet the demand for shelter again this winter.”

Through extensive collaboration over the past several months, approximately 700 beds are currently available, with discussions continuing to secure additional capacity.

The 2026 winter shelter response includes three components:

### Year-Round Emergency Shelter

Approximately 386 beds are available through year-round emergency shelter providers, including Knox Area Rescue Ministries and The Salvation Army.

### Seasonal Shelter

An estimated 100 additional beds will be available every night from December 1, 2026, through February 28, 2027—regardless of the temperature.

For the second consecutive year, the City of Knoxville and Knox County are providing funding through OHS to operate a seasonal shelter and help address the increased demand for shelter during the winter months. The location or locations will be announced in the coming days.

### Church-Based Warming Centers

When temperatures reach 25 degrees or below, church-based warming centers will provide additional overnight shelter. Approximately 200 beds are currently confirmed across four locations:

- **Church Street United Methodist Church** — 900 Henley Street - **Cokesbury Church** — 9919 Kingston Pike - **Eternal Life Harvest Center** — 1801 Western Avenue - **St. James Episcopal Church** — 1101 N. Broadway

## Coordinated Community Support

Facilities partnering with OHS receive a range of support to help ensure warming centers operate safely and effectively, including:

- Overnight security guards at each site
- Free Knoxville Area Transit rides for individuals traveling to an open warming center in the afternoon or evening
- Additional transportation assistance from church partners
- Food rescue services from the University of Tennessee, Mobile Meals, and United Way, including excess food from UT football games prepared in easy-to-serve trays
- Fire safety inspections and planning from the Knoxville Fire Department and the City of Knoxville
- Real-time coordination among first responders, shelter providers, and warming centers
- An OHS Amazon Wishlist to supplement warming-center donation drives
- Self-paced online volunteer training provided by OHS and Knox County

This effort depends on collaboration across the community. Partner churches provide volunteers, transportation, supplies, and other essential support. Homeless service providers throughout the Knox Housing Continuum are also helping plan for winter by collecting supplies, coordinating referrals to appropriate shelter and warming-center locations, and connecting people with daytime respite and other services when available.

## Part of a Broader Strategy

The centrally coordinated warming-center effort began in 2023, shortly after OHS was established. Since then, OHS has organized the warming-center network and helped secure seasonal shelter beds, providing practical options beyond the community’s year-round emergency shelters.

With year-round shelter capacity expected to grow substantially over the next two years, Knoxville and Knox County are continuing to expand their response. Shelter and warming centers are essential, but they are only one part of the solution. Housing, case management, outreach, and other services are necessary to help people move from homelessness into long-term stability.

In September, OHS coordinated the largest local application in Knoxville and Knox County history for federal Continuum of Care funding—more than $3.5 million. If awarded, the funding would support transitional housing, case management, permanent supportive housing for people with disabilities, street outreach, and improved data and referral systems. Award announcements are expected in December.

Regardless of these claims, many homeless people do not have access to shelters. These reports look good, and they sound good; however, they do not depict the whole picture.

Per Anthony Jackson at Vestal UMC, in 2025, we lost 161 unhoused neighbors — the HIGHEST number ever recorded.

The average age was only 47.

We still feel the weight of January 2024, when temperatures dropped to 0° and several people died of hypothermia in the snow.

This winter, a strong El Niño is expected to bring wetter conditions and a higher chance of ice and wintry mix across East Tennessee. Cold, wet weather is just as dangerous when you have no door to close.

Knoxville’s only overnight shelter is full every single night.

Warming centers do not have enough beds.

Hundreds of our neighbors will still be outside when the temperature drops.

What can the community do to help?

Visit knoxtnhousing.org/warming-centers.html to find information and donate via the Amazon wishlist. If your church would like to help support an existing warming center with volunteers, donations, or in other ways, contact Katie McIlwain at katie.mcilwain@knoxtnhousing.org. To donate directly to the needs of the homeless through the Knoxville Daily Sun: PayPal, Venmo: @Jeaneane-Payne, Cash App: $mtneagles

For more information on homelessness in Knoxville, visit knoxvilledailysun.com/homelessness.html