A night away from the cold: How a Memphis homeless shelter handles the winter season

Shuffling in through a gate in front of First Presbyterian Church in Downtown Memphis, carrying suitcases and plastic grocery bags, were 28 unhoused Memphians.

On the early November evening, through the gate, and in the church courtyard, were the Room In The Inn staff, ready to begin the first night of the congregational shelter winter season.

Lisa Anderson, executive director of Room In The Inn, stood inside a room filled with plastic folding tables and chairs, ready to sign people up for the season. Anderson and her staff went table to table, asking a series of questions to their guests like if they took medication or were in a family group. The forms that each guest filled out provide much-needed information while at a congregational shelter. Anderson said that questions relating to medication could prevent guests from being accused of taking unprescribed drugs.

While guests began to settle in, RITI staff began the dreaded headcount. They serve a limited number of guests per night so that those who stay can have a pleasant and non-overwhelming environment. Because they keep their guest numbers low, RITI sometimes has to turn away dozens of unhoused individuals. On this particular night, the first night of the season, RITI had 28 beds to fill and 28 guests. No one was turned away, which is very uncommon.

Among the 28 guests was Chanel, who rested her feet on the chair beside her as she answered questions prompted to her by RITI staff. Chanel is from Memphis and said she prefers to say she is "on tour" instead of homeless. She has been "on tour" in Memphis since October 2022.

Chanel's nails were painted in bright neon yellow and black to celebrate Halloween the day before. She is spiritual and speaks often about how God guides her through each day and urges her to spread love and kindness to everyone she meets. When introducing herself, she says her name is "Chanel The Earth Angel," a note to how she believes God is constantly guiding her through life.

The Commercial Appeal is not using Chanel's last name due to social stigma around homelessness, which can complicate efforts to secure housing and employment.

The nights leading up to RITI's first night of the winter season had temperatures reaching as low as 31 degrees. Chanel said she had spent the previous night at a friend's house who did not want her sleeping outside in the harsh temperatures.

RITI operates by having congregations around Shelby County volunteer to host shelter nights. Volunteers drive the unhoused guests to their host facility, cook and serve meals and watch over guests at night. Two congregations had volunteered to host shelters on the first night.

Some congregations, like St. Louis Catholic Church, do not have the space or facilities to host a shelter night inside their building, so other churches let their space be used by other congregations. St. Louis Catholic Church volunteers hosted inside Christ The King Lutheran Church's space on the first night.

As the RITI staff began calling the names of those who were staying at Christ the King Lutheran, Chanel spoke of the tough love RITI staff give their guests. Guests are not allowed to leave in the middle of the night, be actively using drugs or alcohol at the facility or be disrespectful to volunteers or other guests. Breaking these rules could prevent guests from staying in the shelter the next night, or could get them kicked out of the program entirely.

RITI tries to keep men and women separate while at congregational shelters. Men spent the night at a congregational shelter in Germantown, while the women spent the night at Christ the King.

The congregational shelters are located all over Shelby County, far away from Downtown, where many unhoused people stay. Congregations in the program provide transportation to and from the home base of First Presbyterian Church, so their guests always return to Downtown in the mornings.

On this night, Chanel was staying with St. Louis volunteers at their congregational shelter. When Chanel's name was called, she collected her things and walked towards one of the St. Louis Catholic volunteers, loaded her bags into their car and hopped inside with a smile.

Uncertainty surrounding homelessness isn't just about shelter

First Presbyterian Church holds a food pantry and clothing closet most Sundays, but due to their small congregation, they cannot host a RITI overnight. First Presbyterian Church Outreach Coordinator L.J. Weldon said that the church's Downtown location is perfect, and gives them another way to serve the unhoused community. Weldon said that the Sunday clothing closet and food pantry are hectic, but RITI nights bring a sense of calm.

"There is a lot of uncertainty for the homeless, but this feels certain," Weldon said.

Room In The Inn has been hosting congregational shelter nights during the coldest and warmest months of the year since 2009. These nights provide much-needed escapes from the cold winters and sweltering summers for Memphis's unhoused population. Congregations of all faith groups host these nights from Nov. 1 to March 31 for the winter season and May 1 to Sept. 30 for the summer season. For congregations that don't have space, some worship centers let other congregations use their dedicated space.

In Memphis and Shelby County, it is reported that almost 2,000 people are currently homeless. Every January, Community Alliance for the Homeless performs a point-in-time count for sheltered and unsheltered homeless people. Although this count is not completely accurate, the number serves as a "snapshot" of homelessness, according to CATH's website, and is required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In late July, representatives from Memphis-Shelby County Schools told Shelby County Commissioners the current student population experiencing homelessness was almost 3,000 children. The previous year the reported population by MSCS was 1,264. Anderson said that recently, the congregational shelters run by RITI have been having to prioritize families who seek their aid.

For Anderson, oftentimes the first question she is asked by others is "How many people are homeless in Memphis?" Anderson said the answer she gives does not often include a number.

"The answer is a lot more than should be and a lot more than we can know about," she said.

Chanel's story

When Chanel arrived at Christ The King Lutheran, she placed her bags down on one of the cots in the sleeping room. Christ The King recently completed a renovation and had an upstairs wing built and designed for RITI nights. There is a washer-dryer for laundry to be done, bathrooms with showers and closets filled with hygiene products and towels for bathing.

Inside the two sleeping rooms are cots for each guest, with a pillow and blankets. Chanel picked out her bed for the night and went downstairs to have dinner. During dinner, volunteers are encouraged to sit and talk with the guests and hold conversations with them.

Conversations can range from sports teams to their favorite music. Chanel talked about her struggles with being both a mother and unhoused.

"I have two different diagnoses all because I miss my child. Why (can't) you just be like a mother who misses her child?" Chanel said.

Chanel's child currently lives with her parents, she showed pictures of her daughter dressed up as a princess and ninja for Halloween. Being a mother is important to Chanel, but she believes God put her on a journey to spread love and kindness, so she is not able to stay with her daughter. One of the other guests had their daughter with them, when Chanel looked their way, she said how difficult it is to see a mother and child together but that she doesn't wish her child to be with her right now.

"My daughter knows who her mom is, understands what I'm doing," Chanel said.

Mental illness is very prominent in the unhoused community, Chanel said that many times organizations give people an array of diagnoses without any support on how to deal with them. Chanel said she has been diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder but those diagnoses do not solve her ultimate problem ― being homeless.

"You see a lot of people should focus on the emotional the emotional state of women (who are homeless)," Chanel said. "The first thing they want to do is give you some medications...what is a pill going to do, do you have a homeless pill?"

Growing up in North Memphis, Chanel said her home life was rough. She said she was always in constant competition with her sister and said she did not feel support from her parents. Chanel feels that her parents pitted her against her sister, and never celebrated her own successes, one of the reasons she fell out with them.

After not being able to graduate high school, and unable to get her GED, Chanel said she attempted to escape her rough family life and join Job Corps but did not complete the program. Job Corps allows low-income people between the ages of 16 and 24 to complete career training and upon completion be placed in a job.

Chanel said she got into a fight with someone while in the program and was kicked out.

Chanel fell into depression and drug addiction; drugs were a way for her to escape her life, she said. Unable to get a well-paying job she fell into hard times and began selling drugs. Chanel said the lack of support for those who are living paycheck to paycheck is what ultimately landed her on the streets.

"When you include insurance, car insurance, groceries, just washing your car, just maintenance on your car, we put all those things into effect, and you work 40 hours a week with no habits ― you still barely make it, you know," Chanel said. "Some jobs have PTO, FMLA but a lot of these people don't work jobs that have PTO and FMLA. Then we're falling into poverty because we got behind on money, you know, get payday loans...just to stay afloat."

After dinner, guests made their way upstairs to their rooms and began shower rotations. Before Chanel went upstairs to shower and begin getting ready for bed, she took a smoke break outside. Smoke breaks are supervised, but volunteers sometimes choose to stay inside the doors instead of going outside. As the night winded down, volunteers started to clean up dinner and get the kitchen ready for the morning. Volunteers said that everyone was in bed and almost asleep by 8 p.m.

Morning

Mornings at RITI shelters begin early. Guests are to be back Downtown at First Presbyterian by 7 a.m. the night after staying in a shelter. Because congregations from all over Shelby County host RITI nights, transportation back to Downtown can be upwards of 40 minutes.

The guests that stayed with St. Louis Catholic Church were woken up around 5 a.m. and asked to strip the beds and collect their freshly cleaned laundry. The moon was still out when many began to eat their breakfasts and have their morning smoke breaks.

Chanel emerged from her room upstairs and made her way to the designated smoking area. The previous night, Chanel said she does not like to converse with the other women in the shelter because they do not provide the healing energy she wants in her life. On this morning, Chanel referred to two women she met as her friends who were looking out for her during her stay.

Chanel said when she was getting ready that morning, a woman began to go through her bags. When Chanel confronted the woman about it she denied the action. Chanel then said that people can lose their lives over petty things like rummaging through someone's bag, or a guest with anger management issues misplacing an item.

The two women she befriended did not speak to The CA, but they sang hymns with Chanel about the greatness of God during their smoke break. Chanel and the women said repeatedly that "the devil was alive and well" that morning, referring to the woman who rummaged through Chanel's things.

Throughout Chanel's smoke break, she spoke of how she believes that the "story" of her being unhoused was already written, but she wished it did not have to happen after she became a mother. Even though she lives on the streets, Chanel still cares immensely for the safety and happiness of those she is around.

"I am live emergency services without the ambulance and lights, I work every day to uplift people and take care of them," Chanel said.

After their smoke break ended, the three women went back inside to retrieve breakfast and a sack lunch provided by St. Louis Catholic Church volunteers. Chanel grabbed a sack lunch and a banana and said that normally she gives the lunch away to others who did not get a spot with RITI.

After breakfast was picked up and lunches were distributed, guests again made their way to a caravan of cars waiting to return them to Downtown.

Chanel said she was once sitting inside Benjamin Hooks Library when she saw a bird's feather fall off as it was flying by. She went outside and picked it up and placed it in her hair, and she has held onto it ever since.

As Chanel climbed into the van, she placed the long, brown spotted bird feather in her hair and looked up towards the sky. The moon was still up, and the sun was only just starting to peek out of the horizon.

"Well, it looks like it's going to be a good day," Chanel said.

Brooke Muckerman cover Shelby County Government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at (901) 484-6225, Brooke.Muckerman@commercialappeal.com and followed on X @BrookeMuckerman.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: What it's like at Room In The Inn in Memphis during winter season