Patten Towers Relief | The Enterprise Center

Did you know the nearly 180 residents of Patten Towers were displaced on March 27th, 2020 when there was a fire in their building? The building was condemned due to structural, smoke, and fire damage and all of the elderly, and or disabled residents are now residing in a series of hotels across the city.

The Enterprise Center, along with others, have been providing assistance in the form of volunteers to support daily meal delivery, help to pick up mail, laundry services, Food Bank deliveries, mental health and health care supports, provisioning of needed clothing and medical devices, and more. One of the biggest challenges has been the residents' inability to be mobile - to shop, to bank, to go to medical appointments, to purchase money orders to pay their rent (due June 1) and to visit with family.

Our $3,000 grant was used to provide each resident who is without transportation with an Uber voucher that would address mobility needs. The Enterprise Center will manage the process and will work with partners to disseminate the vouchers and to train the residents on their use.

Cat Medical Expenses for Homeless and Seniors | The Alice Fund

Whether or not you like cats, our $3,000 May grant helps seniors and homeless people in Chattanooga. In many instances, the feline pet is the primary source of interaction for the applicants. Because of the nature of cats - i.e. that they can thrive indoors and do not have to be walked - they are pets of choice for seniors and those who are homebound. This project would specifically benefit our neighbors who are economically deprived, homebound, and/or homeless, with special preference given to senior citizens. The reality is sometimes they make a choice between their own medical needs and those of their best friends.

So who will be redistributing the money? The Alice Fund is a 501c 3 named in honor of a feral cat named Alice. It was established to assist Chattanoogans in need who do not have funds to support the care of their best friends and companions - their feline pets. The Alice Fund accepts applications from all in our community and partners with veterinarians to provide effective, low cost support for the pets' medical needs. Applicants must have a good prognosis for their cat, show financial need (through vetting by the veterinarian helping their cat) and contribute financially in some way regardless of how small the amount is.