Smoky Mountain Area Rescue Ministries was established in 2001 through the efforts of a group of concerned citizens who came together to address the problem of homelessness and poverty in the community. After prayerful consideration, they invited Knox Area Rescue Ministries to partner with them in seeking to provide emergency relief and other basic services for homeless and needy men, women and families in the Sevier County area. Smoky Mountain Area Rescue Ministries is a Christ-centered, interdenominational ministry with a goal of reaching out to the hopeless and hurting in our community and providing them with renewed hope and an opportunity to come to faith in Christ or strengthening their faith in Christ through our meeting of their most basic needs for food, shelter, clothing and other services.
While seeking to provide these most basic necessities, the ministry committed itself to sharing the love and compassion of Christ through its work. This cornerstone, the heart of Smoky Mountain Area Rescue Ministries, is summarized in our organization’s mission statement:
Our purpose is to rescue the poor and needy of the Smoky Mountain area by providing recovery services in Jesus’ name.
The ministry began its work of rescue and relief in late 2001. Reaching out to men, women and families from all walks of life, Smoky Mountain Area Rescue Ministries began building relationships with area churches, businesses and other entities to create resources that would meet the needs of people shackled by sorrow and mired in misery. As the ministry worked to meet the challenges of serving the poor and needy of our area, we became increasingly aware of the subtle yet important distinctions between urban and rural homelessness and need.
While homelessness is a highly visible epidemic in our nations’s cities, rural homelessness and need are largely hidden. In Sevier County, with so many wonderful opportunities to enjoy the natural beauty of the Smoky Mountain area, it is difficult to realize that many people may be living out of their cars or in tents at local campgrounds without anyone ever knowing that they are homeless, hungry or hurting. Rural homelessness also tends to affect more families than single men and women, and over the last two years, the ministry has experienced that same trend as well.
While homelessness and need can suddenly come upon any person or family, there are two basic reasons that lead people to SMARM.
1. Near-homeless people struggling to make ends meet who are in need of help with rent, utilities and transportation.
2. Those who are homeless due to catastrophic events such as house fires and subsequent loss of their personal belongings, loss of employment without any available support system on which to fall back, and overwhelming medical burdens and those who come to the Smoky Mountains seeking new economic opportunities and a chance to improve their family’s circumstances. Oftentimes, these families have limited financial resources and limited knowledge of local resources, such as housing and employment, which can lead to a rapid decline in their ability to take care of their own needs.
The ministry’s experience over the last five years has clearly demonstrated that these groups exist in the Sevier County area, and that their needs are great. Obviously, homelessness and need are present, and we believe that God has called Smoky Mountain Area Rescue Ministries to provide rescue and relief to these men, women and families living amongst us.
Because of this immediate need, Smoky Mountain Area Rescue Ministries is committed to working with the Sevier County Food Ministry, Mountain Hope Good Shepherd Clinic and other organizations to provide a caring response to the plight of the poor and needy in the Sevier county area. It is our vision to provide compassionate Christian care through the coordination and provision of basic services to the needy, including shelter, food and case management services through partnerships with churches, businesses and other agencies that will guide our poor and needy neighbors toward self-sufficiency and a personal, life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ.