CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — As cold weather settles into Middle Tennessee, Clarksville Area Urban Ministries is once again operating its emergency warming shelter — offering men experiencing homelessness a safe place to escape the dangerously low temperatures.
For people like Dave Hood, the shelter is a lifeline.
“To stay warm I wrap myself in a blanket. I sleep in my chair, put my hat on, put my gloves on and hope for the best,” Hood said. But inside the shelter, he finally has what he calls security: “We got a warm place to be, we got a good bed; this is heaven for us. I wouldn’t make it if wasn’t for this.”
The warming shelter is now in its third year. It’s located inside the gym at Madison Street United Methodist Church, which donates the space while Clarksville Urban Ministries oversees all operations. The shelter can hold up to 125 men. Women and families are housed separately at the Salvation Army.
Program Manager Deborah Ashcraft said Clarksville’s growing homeless population made the shelter necessary. “It’s not a permanent shelter here,” she said. “Nashville has multiple — we don’t have one.”
Urban Ministries and several local nonprofits recently formed a homeless initiative known as the Canopy Coalition, which coordinates services and tries to close gaps in support.
Ashcraft noted that the recent federal government shutdown pushed some residents into homelessness almost overnight. Others are coming from Kentucky and Nashville, she said.
With a long, cold winter forecasted, Ashcraft said the ministry needs more support.
They’re asking for volunteers, meal sponsors and monetary donations to keep the shelter running on the nights it’s open. “It’s very important to try to get as much help — to get the community involved,” Hood added. “That’s how you get a permanent shelter.”
The shelter opens when temperatures reach 35 degrees or below for three consecutive days. When active, guests have access to shower nights, hygiene items, clean clothing. They also offer on occasion haircuts and a health clinic that visits several times a week to provide basic prescriptions.
Because the church does not have a kitchen, all meals are donated by community members — everything from soup to meatloaf. The shelter will close Saturday morning and reopen Sunday at 4 p.m., staying open continuously until temperatures rise above the threshold.
Hood, who became homeless after his wife died, said he’s grateful for the help. “Without her paycheck and her Social Security check, mine just didn’t go far enough to pay the rent,” he said. “We’re all fighting battles no one else sees. It’d be nice not to have to fight it by myself all the time.”
Ways to support the shelter are available here.
This story was reported by reporter Aaron Cantrell and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Aaron and our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy
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