By Kenny Halt

Asking for help isn’t easy.  Unfortunately, sometimes finding it isn’t any easier. Bruce Quinn knows firsthand how difficult it can be to seek help in an environment where you feel you’ll be seen as weak for doing so. While Quinn was able to overcome the stigma himself and get counseling following the passing of his parents; the lifetime Dixie Homes resident has also seen firsthand how much harder it can be for people to try to ask for help when they don’t know where to find it. 

The idea of a Resource Park was born as a potential answer to the question of how to bridge the gap between help and those that need it. The park aims to meet people where they are. In this case, that is 826 Orphanage Ave, a small property in one of the highest foot traffic areas in the Smokey City neighborhood. The creation of this park would provide countless residents with immediate access to a hub for literature directing them to resources (ranging from addiction counseling to instructions on home-winterization) as well as a site to directly receive certain specialized care on a periodic basis. While Brothers Linked Together being the end-user for the park has never been in question, there was one question that both CRA and BLT felt it was extremely important to ask before moving forward: “Do the residents want this?” This question was answered by doing exactly what the park would be constructed to do – meeting people where they are.