CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Clarksville City Council is considering purchasing property on Union Street to partner with Clarksville Urban Ministries for a permanent shelter for those experiencing homelessness.
The notion has sparked debate between downtown residents and advocates for those unhoused.
The property, currently owned by Trenton Crossing Church of Christ, already provides some homeless outreach services. The church is willing to sell the land to the city at a reduced price to expand services offered there. A final decision could come as early as Thursday.
Last Friday, Urban Ministries hosted a community meeting to share more about their future plans. At times, the meeting got contentious. You can watch it, from start to finish, here.
We spoke to proponents and opponents of this plan Monday, to get a better idea of what Clarksville City Council will have to consider.
The Need
Currently, Urban Ministries operates a temporary warming shelter, only on the coldest nights of the year, at Madison Street United Methodist Church. However, the church also houses a preschool on site, meaning for safety reasons, shelter guests have to leave early each morning
"We have to move folks out of here by seven o'clock every morning," said Jodi McBryant, Executive Director of Clarksville Urban Ministries.
This limitation prevents the organization from offering educational programs during the day that could help break the cycle of homelessness. "We can get them jobs, we can look at their employment, do they need to be on benefits?" McBryant said.
McBryant said, like a lot of initiatives, if they get the property on Union Street, they plan to ramp up their services gradually. Initially, it will be similar to the emergency shelter services they provide now. In the future, they could see the shelter being open year round with a full kitchen, laundry equipment and showers.
McBryant and her colleague Deborah Ashcraft believe a permanent downtown shelter makes sense because many resources the unhoused need are within walking distance.
"The further out you try to push something like this, the less your chances of success go down because they simply won't come — they're going to stay where the services are," McBryant said.
The Concern
However, downtown resident Justin Swallows, who built a home in the area about five years ago after seeing potential in the downtown growth, has concerns about the proposed location.
"Downtown Clarksville just feels like it's about to go off," Swallows said. "I've seen the momentum continue to build and it excites me."
Swallows points to investments like the F&M Bank Arena and future renovation of the Roxy Regional Theater into a regional performing arts center as examples of the area's growth potential. He questions what impact a permanent shelter could have on those projects.
"Why would we concentrate them into an area where we have poured millions in public taxpayer money for parking garages and arenas and performing arts centers?" said Swallows.
The Next Steps for all parties
Swallows believes the city should slow down, create a community task force and explore other areas of town that haven't received millions of dollars in public and private investment.
"People are struggling in North Clarksville, people are struggling in Sango. Why are we concentrating the solution in the same area where all that public and private investment has been poured in over the course of the last 5 to 10 years," Swallows said. "This is my taxpayer money to pay for all this and now they want to use my money to do something that could be counter productive to all that?"
Urban Ministries contends that instead of being a problem, they can be part of the solution. "It's going to be baby steps. It's not going to be solved overnight. But this is the right step forward for not only this population but for our city as well," said Deborah Ashcraft, emergency shelter manager at Clarksville Urban Ministries.
Ashcraft added, if the project moves forward, she is more that willing to work alongside Clarksville businesses to make sure both coexist peacefully. "If there’s a homeless person in your doorway at your business or sitting on the bench, and you think it’s affecting your business, call me and I will send someone down to take that person to the Well," Ashcraft told us.
Clarksville City Council will discuss the issue Tuesday night at an Executive Session of the council, and then again during a regular session Thursday night.
Chris Davis grew up in Clarksville, still has family there, and remains an active and invested member of the community. Do you have a topic Chris should look into in Clarksville, or elsewhere? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
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