The Williamson County Homeless Alliance is asking cyclists to ride 200 miles in October and raise $500 each for unhoused neighbors in Franklin.

The inaugural Zach Riggs October Cycle Challenge, first reported by Williamson Source, carries the name of Zach Riggs, the son of alliance Executive Director Kevin Riggs. Zach was killed in a car accident in April 2023. The elder Riggs said the challenge helps him keep his son's memory alive, noting that some of his fondest memories are of riding bicycles with Zach when he was young.

Registration costs $25. The challenge is self-paced with no race day, no set route and no required speed. Two hundred miles over 31 days works out to about 6.5 miles a day. Non-cyclists can donate directly or sponsor a rider.

Homelessness in Williamson County

Riggs estimated up to 1,500 people are homeless in Williamson County, according to a FOX 17 report. An estimated 12,000 county residents live below the federal poverty line, per the latest U.S. Census Bureau data cited in the same report.

Many of the people the alliance works with live in their cars, Riggs told WSMV in June. Some park in the organization's lot and use its day shelter to shower and wash clothes before heading to work. Senior citizens are the fastest-growing group experiencing homelessness in the county, he said.

Riggs described the trend in that June interview. "People in their 60s and 70s are coming to us, they're living in their cars … because rents have escalated so quickly," he said.

What the alliance does

Riggs, who also pastors Franklin Community Church, began working with people experiencing homelessness in Franklin in 2012, providing emergency shelter on cold winter nights. He founded the alliance in 2018 because no nonprofit in the city or county focused solely on the issue.

The group runs a day shelter at its Franklin offices on West Meade Boulevard, open Monday through Friday. Visitors can shower, wash clothes, use computers and meet with case managers. The alliance also operates a transitional group home, though it closed a permanent housing group home in 2025 due to finances, according to WSMV.

Separately, the alliance has proposed a $10 million transitional housing facility called The Stable House on city-owned land off Old Carters Creek Pike. As of a NewsChannel 5 report on Sept. 8, that proposal and a competing city water department plan for the same property were both expected to come up again in October.

How to help

Riders can register and pay online at the alliance's payment portal or via Venmo at @WilliamsonCounty-HomelessAlli. Questions about the challenge can go to Kevin Riggs at 615-440-7553. More information is available at wilcohomeless.com.

Upcoming Franklin area events

  • Franklin Christmas Parade registration is open for the Dec. 5 march through downtown.
  • Free pet vaccinations funded by Darrell Waltrip Subaru are available for Franklin-area pets.
  • Free car seat checks are being offered by Williamson County.