KINGSPORT – Neal Harrington heard he had to move after church.
He came home to his room at Westside Inn, where he’s lived for 15 years and his wife broke the news.
“She told me, ‘Honey, you’ve got to leave,’” he said. “I said, ‘You throwing me out?’ She said, ‘No, they done got rid of the building.’”
Residents of Westside Inn are to vacate the building by Friday. The move comes after the hotel received multiple violations from the Tennessee Department of Health, who deemed it a health hazard.
The department sent the hotel owner a letter in December, stating the hotel needed to be closed immediately.
Dozens of residents who pay week-to-week or month-to-month now find themselves looking for new homes. Many spent this week just trying to live their lives, bringing in groceries from the store, standing outside looking at the sky or walking back and forth talking to each other.
Changes will come soon. A contract is being brokered with Friendship Family of Car Dealerships to acquire the property and turn it into a Hyundai dealership. The deal should be completed by April 15.
Until then, residents face the unknown.
Harrington said he’s talked with the Kingsport Housing & Redevelopment Authority and a local church about housing.
He’s tried looking for a hotel in Johnson City.
On the second floor of Westside Inn, two tables sat with stuffed bears and DVDs on top of them. He peered toward the parking lot.
He thought about his future.
“I don’t know,” he said.
Trying to help
Jonathan Anderson, with United Way, and Erin Gray, with the Kingsport Police Department, first heard about the closing of Westside Inn at the end of February. So, the social workers went to the hotel to try and help.
They started distributing information and different options to residents to seek help.
Then they hit a roadblock.
“Unfortunately, we were banned from the property,” Anderson said. “The owner didn’t want us speaking to the residents there, so he banned us from the property.”
That set them back, he said.
“It really tied our hands,” Anderson said. “The people who reached out, we tried to do what we could over the phone.”
The owner, C.P. Patel, lifted the ban about a week ago.
When asked about the ban, Patel referred a reporter to the city of Kingsport.
Gray and Anderson have been playing catch up ever since. They said they have recorded more than 75 people and two children who need help.
Gray said the children have homes to go to.
“Our priority will be the families with children, the elderly and those with disabilities,” Anderson said.
Next steps
Anderson said the next steps for the residents are complex and handled on a case-by-case basis.
“Our goal is to basically help facilitate a plan for the residents are there,” he said. “Some folks have already told us they do have a plan, they have places to go. Some need assistance with that.”
By the end of the week, Anderson or Gray had contacted every resident of the inn. Besides them, they have been working with Grace House and the local shelters.
Many of the residents will find new homes.
“The residents are currently paying for their rooms, so they do have incomes,” Anderson said.
He said there are currently about 30 beds available within the three shelters in Kingsport. There is not an accurate count yet on who may need the beds.
“We have some who have said they don’t want to go to shelters,” Anderson said. “There’s no one concrete plan. These are adults and they can make their own decision.”
Social workers can use state and federal grants to help. The city of Kingsport has a grant that will help residents pay a deposit on an apartment, as well as help pay deposits to turn on the water and electricity.
Those who are elderly can qualify for help, as well as those with children.
“There’s a plethora of different programs,” he said.
But it takes the pair going door-to-door and seeing what needs the residents have and how to meet those needs.
It’s just not for now. It’s for the future as well, Gray said.
“We have a whole long-term case management program established that we are using,” she said.
Not leaving
Les Dorton, a resident who’s lived at Westside Inn for almost a year, said he’s going nowhere. He will have to be forced out.
“I’m staying put until they actually make me leave,” he said. “I’m not moving.”
He said he believes he still has 30 days after the April 5 deadline before he has to move. Limited options are available to him because of his income, he said.
He works at a gas station.
Dorton said there are more just like him.
“None of these tenants are going to want to move,” he said.
To read the original Times News Article click here.
