As temperatures drop this winter, the Bowling Green nonprofit Room In the Inn is providing emergency resources for unhoused individuals looking for a safe and warm place to stay.
The organization is a nightly ministry that coordinates shelter for anyone in need. It works with partnerships through the Salvation Army and 20 local churches in Bowling Green. The organization is volunteer-based and is a vital resource to get shelter for an individual in desperate need, specifically during the winter season.
DeWayne Conner has been involved with Room In The Inn for four years and serves as the board chairman of the organization. He said during his time working with the group he’s seen the need for the organization's services increase.
“I hope and pray that soon there is no need for Room in the Inn, but I know that will probably never happen,” Conner said. “But if the number of guests grows I want us to grow, I want our church base to grow; to show them kindness, love, and respect. That’s something everyone deserves.”
The nonprofit relies on volunteers and donations to provide transportation to shelters, and warm-weather essentials like blankets and coats to anyone that chooses to forgo shelter. In the summer, when temperatures can reach dangerously hot levels, Room in the Inn also provides water and reprieve from the heat to anyone in need.
Volunteers can also put guests in touch with local community organizations, Life Skills and Hotel Inc. to help find permanent housing and medical resources. Guests are welcome to use Room in the Inn's services for as long as they’d like. Conner said if it were not for the hundreds of volunteers at Living Hope, Hillvue Baptist Church and Greenwood Church the unhoused population would suffer.
Conner said the organization helps roughly 50 unhoused individuals in Bowling Green on any given night. But anticipates that number could be higher during the winter months.
“I believe it will,” Conner said. “Some guests will wait until the last moment until they can't bear it anymore and then they’ll come.”
According to Conner, he believes there is an increase in the amount of unhoused in part due to the lack of affordable housing in the city.
“There’s a lot of Section 8 housing vouchers that are being released but there’s many more vouchers out there than housing available,” Conner said. “There’s a lack of housing.”
A new law in Tennesseethat makes camping on public property a felony in the state has also caused more displaced homeless people to relocate to Bowling Green, according to Conner.
Anyone in need of shelter can call or show up at Room in the Inn’s registration center where a volunteer coordinator will arrange transportation to a warm, safe shelter that often includes a hot meal. According to Conner, many of the volunteers have experienced homelessness at some point in their lives, which makes helping others in a similar situation more impactful.
“With Room In The Inn, one of the greatest things you can see is when a volunteer cleans themselves up and they come back next year and volunteer with us that's full circle. That’s what makes your heart smile,” Conner said. “When you see someone who has picked themselves up and turned it around and they want to give back to the community that’s helped them. ”
The group recently lost the lease to its registration center but an agreement with the Salvation Army has given the group a new location on Main Street in Bowling Green near the Salvation Army.
“We lost the lease we had at our location on the Bypass,” Conner said. “One of our directors made the joke that ‘the homeless ministry is now homeless.’” The Salvation Army was wonderful and helped us there.”
With the White Flag notice for freezing temperatures expected in the coming months, Room in the Inn is prepared for another winter season and if they can help one person then they have done their job.
“With the unhoused community, they’re just like everyone else,” Conner said. “They’re still human beings and they need to be treated like human beings. They need to be cared about.”
