What one group of volunteers saw during the Memphis homelessness point-in-time count

On a misty, fog-riddled morning 41 volunteers descended upon the streets of Memphis with one goal in mind: find as many unhoused persons sleeping outside as possible and count them.

Of course, this goal is not entirely what they were responsible for doing, but the annual point-in-time count focuses on surveying all those currently experiencing homelessness in an area. Volunteers were asked to seek out unhoused persons who were sleeping outside during the early morning, wake them, survey them and attempt to guide them to resources via conversation and a flyer.

The unhoused persons found during the point-in-time count were not required to attend the Project Homeless Connect event that morning but were given free transportation to it.

The first stop of the morning was the Memphis Sports and Events Center, which the Community Alliance for the Homeless marked the space as their "home base." CAFTH is the lead agency for the Memphis and Shelby County Homeless Consortium. CAFTH led the point-in-time count by organizing volunteers and the count itself.

As the volunteers slowly marched in, the staff at CAFTH sat amongst tables passing out the supplies for the volunteers. Volunteers were given supplies like neon vests, flashlights and maps of the areas they were covering.

The assembly line production in the front of the building served as the greeting point for volunteers, they were then ushered into the cafeteria where breakfast sandwiches and coffee were on the menu. Breakfast was served free of charge for all volunteers.

At around 4:00 a.m., staff members gave brief instructions on how the morning would go and how to use some of the supplies volunteers were given. Volunteers were service providers and partnered with the continuum of care for CAFTH, which means they are eligible to get federal dollars to aid the homeless through CAFTH.

If your flashlight doesn't work, try pulling the red tab out under the batteries. Use the map as a guide, but also note locations where they encounter unhoused people that aren't necessarily marked on the map Kirsten Hipkins, the Continuum of Care Coordinated Entry Director for CAFTH.

A team from CMI Healthcare Services Project for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness, P. A. T. H., staff were amongst the volunteers. Four P. A. T. H. staff huddled into a red minivan with maps and flyers in hand were assigned areas on Union Avenue, Danny Thomas Boulevard and North Mill Avenue.

Soaking wet outside of AutoZone Park

The first unhoused person the group of four encountered was situated outside of the gates of AutoZone Park. He was surrounded by blankets that had become soaked from the days of rain the city had encountered.

The man, who The Commercial Appeal will not identify to respect the privacy of vulnerable individuals, said he has been homeless for years and has been brutalized by others sleeping on the streets. He said that recently someone had defecated on his belongings as he slept.

When the staff from P. A. T. H. asked if he would come to the Project Homeless Connect event, he was hesitant because he no longer wanted to be around other homeless people because of their behavior towards him. The man said he does not like to stay in shelters because of his past experiences with other unhoused people.

The man, who said he was a musician, said the surrounding establishments no longer allow him to use the restroom inside, even though he is a paying customer. As he stood up, he motioned at his pants and said he was recently forced to defecate himself because he had no access to a restroom.

Inside the bags that were given to the unhoused persons were a hat, gloves, socks, hand warmers, a washcloth, a toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, shampoo/conditioner, a blanket, hand sanitizer and lotion.

As the man remained standing, he said that the five dollars in his pocket was all he had. He said often times he gives money to the other unhoused people he meets, but he said the five dollars was for himself to buy a cigarette.

The hotels around the area are too expensive to stay even one night, he said, and all he wants to do is shower because he has not been able to for weeks. Crystal Anthony, a P. A. T. H. care manager said immediately afterward that the man's statement about the hotels stuck with her.

"The first gentleman was saying like 'You see all these Hiltons they're charging $200 a night.' So, he was like all this money (Downtown) and I'm over here (homeless)," Anthony said when recounting the interaction.

As the P. A. T. H. staff walked away, the man thanked them repeatedly for the bag they gave him. He walked away, with the five dollars in his hand saying he was going to buy the cigarette he mentioned earlier.

Sleeping in doorways on Beale Street

At 6:00 a.m., you will not find drunk tourists or late-night partiers that often take to the establishments on Beale Street. The dark reality for many Memphians is seen when the sun peaks over the rest of the city.

Through neon lights, Anthony, Andorian Thomas and Taurus Patton from P.A.T.H. wandered through Beale Street and searched for those who sought refuge underneath the covered doorways of the bar and restaurant entrances. Men and couples covered themselves with blankets and umbrellas, shielding their bodies from the rain.

One woman who was surveyed on Beale Street walked with a limp and before reliving herself in the privacy of a covered doorway she spoke briefly to the P.A.T.H. volunteers. She then walked back to her home for the night and curled up next to her partner and tried to fall back asleep.

The team encountered six people sleeping on Beale Street, four were sleeping in doorways and two slept under the covered roof of the amphitheater in Handy Park.

Another man the team saw was walking in front of FedEx Forum, as he approached the group, he held out a sign asking for money. The man carried a backpack and wore dark-colored clothing, the only color on his person was the cardboard sign.

Anthony said the man seemed interested in being connected with services; when he approached her, he asked if he could get help finding a job.

There was no way to ensure that he would be connected to services though. After an unhoused person was surveyed by any volunteer during the county, they were given a wristband, hygiene bag and flyers on how to get to Project Homeless Connect.

Katrill Braden, P.A.T.H. program coordinator, said that homelessness is different in every city, but it makes sense that most unhoused people congregate around the Downtown and Midtown areas.

"All the resources (are) down here so it makes sense for you to be here Downtown because we have The Hub, you have the men's shelters and women's shelters," Braden said. "If you're out in Raleigh, or Collierville it's hard to come all the way over here to get (the) resource that you need."

Rumbling cars under an overpass

As daylight crept into the streets of Downtown, the crew of P.A.T.H. staff were still canvassing the streets. Braden, the driver of the minivan, spotted three unhoused people underneath an overpass.

Before they walked to the overpass, bags were taken out of the backseat, and the volunteers walked toward the three unhoused individuals. Braden told the trio from P.A.T.H. to "proceed with caution," Anthony said, before they exited the car to survey those under the overpass.

One major difference, Anthony said, between the work they do on a daily basis and the point-in-time count is that they do not wake people up during their normal course of work. Waking people up to ask them survey questions is different than talking to people during the day while they are out and about.

"If somebody (is) waking me up...I really don't want to answer (to) that," Anthony said.

Smells of tire rubber burning on the road and morning mist accompanied the case managers as they woke, questioned and handed bags to the unhoused. One of the men was from South Africa, Anthony said. He told Anthony he was a refugee and did not want services.

The point-in-time count is not limited to reaching people who are out on the streets, it also encapsulates those who are sleeping in overnight shelters. The number of both sheltered and unsheltered individuals counted Thursday will not be available for a few weeks, said Hipkins, the Continuum of Care Coordinated Entry Director for CAFTH.

The number does not represent every unhoused person, but it gives leaders information to inform decisions about homelessness funding, policy recommendations and research.

As the morning went on, the team of CMI P.A.T.H. case managers continued to look through alleyways and parks Downtown, survey the unhoused and distribute bags. Patton, who is an outreach care manager for P.A.T.H., said that getting out of homelessness is extremely difficult as expenses for everyday life continue to get higher.

"You got to go through this everyday life of trying to, basically, you know, get yourself back on your feet and everything it's just pushing right back down," Patton said.

The unofficial total number of those sleeping outside was 120, according to CAFTH. Braden said that her team encountered close to 50 unhoused people.

Brooke Muckerman covers Shelby County Government for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at brooke.muckerman@commercialappeal.com and followed on X, formerly known as Twitter @BrookeMuckerman.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Homelessness in Memphis: annual point-in-time count reveals harsh reality