GATLINBURG — Coaches and team jerseys were absent from Rocky Top Sports World Friday morning, but the sports-complex-turned-Red-Cross-shelter surged with activity as Dec. 2 began.

Cold temperatures have arrived, but efforts to ensure the future of Jackson Neighbors in Need are heating up. 

When the days get short and the nights get cold, a collection of Jackson County organizations comes together with the shared goal of getting the county’s less fortunate safely through the winter. Called Jackson Neighbors in Need, the group works to get homes winterized, heat bills paid and — as a last resort — nighttime shelter provided for those who would otherwise be left out in the cold.

Work will begin on establishing a shelter for Cherokee’s homeless following passage of a resolution Principal Chief Patrick Lambert introduced this month.

A $15,000 contribution from Jackson County Commissioners will ensure that housing for the county’s homeless continues through the winter.

Things are coming down to the wire for Jackson County’s only homeless shelter. Without a fast infusion of cash, Jackson County Neighbors in Need is set to run out of money in under two weeks, and winter is far from over. 

Macon New Beginnings, a new nonprofit in Macon County working to address homelessness, has been hard at work trying to come up with a plan to shelter people in need through the winter.

Lowell Monteith is tired of hearing “No.” It seems like everywhere he turns for help, the answer is always the same.

Lowell Monteith, pastor of The Father’s House ministry, says the shelter has many needs right now. However, Macon County’s only homeless shelter’s most pressing need is community support.

A plan to create a homeless shelter next to Mark Watson Park in Sylva is dead, but Jackson Neighbors in Need isn’t giving up on having a shelter in place by the time cold weather hits again.