ADMISSION CRITERIA

Clients accepted for admission must meet the criteria listed below.

Be homeless according to one of the following definitions:

Please note that those who are literally homeless will receive preference for admission*

Literally homeless – An individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence, meaning the individual or family has a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not meant for human habitation or is living in a publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living arrangements. This category also includes individuals who are exiting an institution where he or she resided for 90 days or less who resided in an emergency shelter or place not meant for human habitation immediately prior to entry into the institution.
Imminent Risk of Homelessness – an individual or family who will imminently lose (within 14 days) their primary nighttime residence provided that no subsequent residence has been identified and the individual or family lacks the resources or support networks needed to obtain other permanent housing. Referral must be accompanied by an eviction notice.
Homeless under other Federal Statutes – unaccompanied youth (under 25) or families with children and youth who do not otherwise qualify as homeless under this definition and are defined as homeless under another federal statute, have not had permanent housing during the past 60 days, have experience persistent instability, and can be expected to continue in such status for an extended period of time.
Fleeing/Attempting to Flee DV – any individual or family who is fleeing, or attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking. Chattanooga Room in the Inn is not a DV facility and will require that any referrals in this category originate from a DV program.

*Definitions for homeless status are determined by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

Have a referral from an authorized referral source:

Referral source must know the person being referred well enough to supply information about the person’s homeless situation and family, medical, educational/employment, mental health/counseling, and/or substance abuse history/treatment and efforts already being made toward helping themselves.

All admissions are offered an initial 45 days of temporary shelter.
To be eligible to remain longer, participants must be willing to work on setting goals to achieve self sufficiency: seek employment until hired, attend vocational/educational classes, perform community service hours if unemployable, save money, get housing, complete daily assigned chores, attend life skills and parenting classes, etc.
Women with any substance abuse issues and/or mental health issues and/or a criminal history will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Once an opening becomes available, a telephone assessment is completed. Following that, a cursory criminal background check is done for safety purposes. Women are admitted for 45 days of temporary shelter. During that time, each party can decide if the transitional program would be appropriate. If so, the participant will be offered the transitional program until permanent housing is obtained as long as their goals are being worked on.

REFERRAL REQUIREMENTS:

The professional must submit a Chattanooga Room in the Inn referral form completed online via our website or a hard copy may be faxed to 423-624-6061. The referral form must be completed in its entirety.

Women in the following categories will NOT be admitted to the program:

Women with active warrants. Any criminal charges will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Women with a persistent severe mental illness involving psychosis.
Women who are a danger to themselves, others, or the community.
Women incapacitated to the degree of not being able to care for themselves and/or their children.
Women previously served by the program twice or were discharged due to disruptive behavior.
Women who are in imminent danger.

UNPLANNED DISCHARGE FACTORS:

Due to the need for everyone (participants, staff, volunteers) at Chattanooga Room in the Inn to feel safe, anyone who makes someone feel unsafe will be asked to leave.

 Services provided by Chattanooga Room in the Inn are offered on a non-discriminatory basis without regard to age, race, religion, gender or disability. While our residential facility is only offered to women and children experiencing homelessness, community based services such as case management and housing assistance are available to anyone experiencing homelessness by way of the Coordinated Entry System offered through the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition.  To access the Coordinated Entry System, please go to https://www.homelesscoalition.org/.