CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – “She suffered from such severe mental illness,” Deborah Ashcraft said. “She didn’t know how to behave, and she became very angry, very hostile.”
The young woman was staying at the Clarksville Area Urban Ministries Emergency Warming Shelter, which wrapped up operations recently after about three months of providing overnight shelter during sub-freezing weather.
“A couple of our friends who were staying at the shelter pulled her to the side and said, ‘Look, they’re here to help you, but you have to do your part,'” Ashcraft said. After an hour, the young woman cooled off, and she told Ashcraft her story. “We were able to connect those pieces for her, and, within two days, her dad came to pick her up. Just seeing her get in her parents’ car and drive off knowing she was going to be safe was incredible.”
That was just one of the success stories that came out of a simple idea: to provide overnight shelter for people living on the streets during freezing weather. Between November 2024 and January 2025, Clarksville Area Urban Ministries, in a joint effort with Madison Street United Methodist Church, provided beds to over 200 unhoused individuals.
But they did more than provide beds. Along the way, they also helped guests with securing jobs, reuniting with their families, entering rehab and restarting their education, helping them battle the circumstances to rise above. Ashcraft, Grace Assistance Program director at Urban Ministries, is celebrating the successes of 14 guests of the shelter, and she is committed to seeing many more.
Victims of circumstance, job scams and more
The recent sub-freezing weather created a dangerous situation for homeless camps, but it also created opportunities. “A lot of our friends (unhoused individuals) choose to stay in their encampments,” Ashcraft told Clarksville Now. “Trust is a big thing for them. … When it got really, really cold, I think that was the breaking point for them.”
Whenever guests arrive at the warming shelter, the team is ready to sit down with them to talk and to hear their stories.
Four individuals were victims of job scams or other situations gone wrong. “A couple of them had gotten here on Greyhound buses and were promised jobs when they got here and found out it was a scam.” The team was able to coordinate with their families to get them transportation home and help to mend their relationships.
Another four individuals, Ashcraft said, were permanent guests and stayed at the shelter every night it was open. These four, although still unhoused, were able to secure employment and begin working toward getting affordable housing.
“We had also had four individuals who got into (drug) rehab, which is always great,” Ashcraft said. “That gives them that fresh start so when they get out they have a clean slate and something to build a foundation on.”
The last two, Ashcraft said, were accepted into school at Austin Peay State University when classes started in January. Urban Ministries helped them and continues to assist these two with school supplies and monthly food boxes for their dorm rooms.
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How warming shelter works
The warming shelter, set up at Madison Street UMC, opens for guests when it’s 32 degrees or below for three days in a row, Ashcraft said. The shelter is only open during the afternoons/nights to give the guests warm respite from the cold during evening and early morning.
There are three shifts, and typically six volunteers on each shift. There are two, four-hour shifts 3 to 7 p.m., 7 to 11 p.m.; and an overnight shift, 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. Checkout is the next day at 7:30 a.m., but if the weather is still too cold, the warming shelter has worked with the city to coordinate a bus to take them from the shelter to Loaves & Fishes, where they can stay warm during the day while they wait for the shelter to reopen.
The shelter is able to house up to 125 individuals. Families with children are placed in hotels, as the warming shelter isn’t the place for young children. Guests are also able to take showers, get clean clothing, eat a hot meal, and get case management.
Urban Ministries also works to give the homeless population hygiene items, diapers and even formula for babies. They partner with several local nonprofits, including YAIPAK Outreach, Manna Café Ministries and Loaves & Fishes.
Even when the warming shelter isn’t open, Urban Ministries’ case management services are open and available daily.
For more
For those interested in learning more about the warming shelter or volunteering, Ashcraft advises to check out Clarksville’s Emergency Warming Shelter’s Facebook page, or to contact Clarksville Area Urban Ministries at 931-648-9090.
Information about the warming shelter’s hours of operation is routinely updated on the Urban Ministries website and the Madison Street UMC website.
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