Manna House The Manna House is a transitional housing facility of Fairview Housing Management Corporation. Corporation was founded to provide low income housing to the Northeast Tennessee area and beyond. The Manna House, was established in 1999 when Mr. Robert L. Garrett, CEO of Fairview Housing, was looking for a bed for a friend who was homeless. Upon seeing The Manna House and the possibilities that existed to help those in need, Mr. Garrett convinced the Board of Directors to purchase The Manna House as a facility for the homeless. The Manna House is designed to serve individual males who have been chronically homeless and who may have psychological issues and/or substance abuse problems. We are not a detox facility and we do require a definite period of stability before admittance. We consciously attempt to have 80% of our admittance from either an inpatient facility or a 28-day program. The other 20% come to us from emergency shelters. We at The Manna House believe that the majority of persons "falling through the cracks" of society are middle aged males, many which are veterans, who are perceived as "drunken lazy bums". These individuals have the most difficulty accessing and navigating the system, because the system is designed to defeat them. The Manna House is attempting to be a safety net for those persons whom society has deemed criminal, worthless or even expendable. The Manna House survived the first several years on no funding or some Veterans Administration funding. During the past three years, The Manna House has been 75% funded under a grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The House has grown in size and accomplishments. As of this writing, 10 of the 21 men at The Manna House are pursuing some form of education. From GED to Masters degree. Each person in the House has a job to do, even those who are disabled are kept busy and helpful to House and the community. During the past year, 69 homeless males came through the House. Fifty-seven ( 57 ) of those were chronically homeless ( 82.6% ). Thirty-eight ( 38 ) of those 69 were veterans ( 55.07% ). Forty-eight ( 48 ) homeless individuals left the program with 34 moving into permanent housing ( 70.83% ). Seventeen ( 17 ) of the 48 had completed the program and moved into permanent housing. As of this writing 15 remain in permanent housing ( 88.24% ). Of the 69 individuals who entered the program during this period, 40 came in with no entitlements ( Food Stamps, Tenn-Care, etc. ) and 37 of those gained access to different sources while in the program ( 92.5% ). Forty individuals came into the program with no source of income. all but 3 left the program with some means of economic survival ( one of three had successfully applied for SSD ). Over 85% of our members attend budgeting ( survival skills ) or computer classes while in the program. There is so much that can only be seen or experienced with a visit to the men of The Manna House. The air of community, the gift of companionship, the feeling of belonging and the chance to begin again can only be seen in the eyes of the men who are here at the House. We invite you to join us in our efforts to keep The Manna House alive and our efforts to show love of Christ and our community to those who need us the most.