There are more than 11,000 homeless persons in Hamilton County and about a third of those are children with an average age of 6 years, said Mary Ellen Galloway, executive director of the Interfaith Hospitality Network.

Ms. Galloway, speaking at the dinner meeting of the Signal Mountain Lions Club, said, “Homeless families with children is the fastest growing population” of homeless people

The Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) is a partnership among Chattanooga churches with the mission of helping homeless families with children achieve and sustain independence.

The network’s mission is to provide hope, shelter, meals, understanding and comprehensive social services to the homeless families.

Since 1998 the network here has served 968 homeless individuals including 612 children, she said, in 290 families. Of those, some 200 families have found housing.

There are 100 such networks in 29 states.

Explaining how IHN works, she said churches with space not used on a regular basis open that space to families in the network. The network brings beds, bedding and personal belongings of the families to the church where the families stay at night for a week before being moved to another church.

Network churches host the homeless families once a quarter. Ms. Galloway said four churches on Signal Mountain participate, Signal Mountain Baptist, Signal Crest United Methodist, St. Augustine Catholic and St. Timothy’s Episcopal.

During the day, the families are at the network’s facilities on East 11th Street or at jobs they have found or at school.

She said, “We now have 40 congregations that participate. Thirty of those are host congregations that have facilities to open for homeless families.” Those that don’t have space available provide support for those that do.

She said the network now “can serve up to 28 persons, about six to ten families depending on the makeup.” The families are housed in two churches per week. The program is volunteer driven with each church providing about 50 volunteers.

A father with five children, she said, recently went through the program and moved into an apartment and has now been approved for a new home to be built by Habitat for Humanity of Greater Chattanooga. She said there are also two mothers who have been approved for Habitat homes.

A high percentage of the homeless who come into the program are on the Families First welfare program. The goal of the network is to work with the people to get them on their feet.

“We only take families with children,” she said, and “we screen them really well.” The network screens out any with serious mental problems or drug problems.

She stated, “We worked hard on some partnerships so now we are able to get more help for families” providing counseling, parenting skills, consumer education and other assistance. The network has someone to help with legal problems, works on employment opportunities, financial aid to take classes at Chattanooga State and has the services of a visiting nurse.

Many low income families, she said, are one or two paychecks away from homelessness. It happens because of the loss of a job, increase in rent, sudden illness, family breakup and absence of family support.

Homelessness happens, she said, because “right now there is a lack of decent, safe, affordable housing” along with “a growing gap between family income and the cost of apartments or homes.”

What helps, she said, is “a community that responds” and helps homeless families with children. The program provides congregations with a meaningful way to meet the needs of these people.

This program builds public awareness and when people know of the needs, it results in calls with offers of donations, leads for jobs and housing and other assistance for families in need.