For the past 18 months, Mal O’Connell and I have been talking to people living on the street in Chattanooga along with the army of professionals working to help them. For most of those 18 months, we were very much like the blind men and the elephant trying to grasp the enormity of the problem.

But over time we began to understand that it’s not one problem or one person, but a huge shifting population of people each with their own unique perspective. Realizing that helped us to begin telling the story one topic at a time.

This is our first stab at the story we have called On The Outside in Chattanooga. We decided to start by talking about food. Something most of us spend at least some time every day thinking about, but for the unsheltered and the people working to feed them every day it’s always on their mind.

It’s hot. Records have been broken. It’s the story of the Summer. We’re all wilting, but most of us can escape into air-conditioned offices and homes. For the unsheltered, there is little if any relief. The Salvation Army and The CHATT Foundation offer shelter during the day, but at night the only option is The Mission with 75 beds for men and women.

In part 2 of On the Outside in Chattanooga, we are talking about surviving the solar onslaught on the street.

Of all the services offered to the unsheltered in Chattanooga, the most valuable and comprehensive are offered by The Homeless Healthcare Center on 11th Street in Chattanooga.

Dr. Karen Moyer is the Medical Director for the Center. For 22 years she has led a team of nurses and physicians tending to the healthcare of the unsheltered population in Chattanooga. They are family doctors for the unsheltered treating them like family.

Joe Brackett is a tireless advocate for the unsheltered. For more than seven years he has spent every week visiting the unsheltered in camps spread across the city and county offering help with their daily needs as well as offering them access to the comprehensive healthcare available through the Center.

In part 3 of On the Outside in Chattanooga, we talked to Joe and Dr. Moyer about the satisfaction and the frustrations of the work they do every day.