MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Police escorted the last homeless person from the abandoned vehicle inspection station near downtown, on Monday.
The inspection station is the future site of a homeless shelter for women built by the Hospitality Hub. Kelcey johnson, the Executive Director of the Hospitality Hub, said their mission is to build a shelter to homeless women in Memphis.
“Our plan is to build a “worldclass” women’s shelter,” Johnson said. “We don’t have one of those here in the City of Memphis. In Memphis 37-percent of all homeless people are female.”
It did not take long for crews to start demolishing the structure. A cavernous building where remnants of blankets, sleeping bags, and garbage show how often people called it home, people like Teresa Harris.
Harris was forced to find shelter here after a fire destroyed her South Memphis home. She recalls her nights as nothing less than horrifying.
Harris said she stayed homeless all winter for at least three months.
“Oh yeah, oh yeah, I had to keep, I had to stay protected some kind of way because men were not right,” Harris said. “Coming in drunk, high on drugs, and I’m trying to stay sober and keep my mind focused on the right things: getting out of homelessness.”
Harris found a new life and job through Hospitality Hub and believes the new shelter will make a difference for other homeless people.
The Hospitality Hub plans are to house around 32 women in dormitory style rooms and offer a full range of services including this resource center which is already open and provides lockers, charging stations and counselors.
A giant step away from the gloomy inspection station and into a new way of life.
