CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan has secured a $147,613 grant from the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) to help the city provide emergency shelter for people who are homeless or fleeing domestic abuse.
A recent survey estimated the number of homeless people in Clarksville at about 500 on any given night, and about half of them are children. A city-owned shelter is currently under construction and may be open as early as August.
The City of Clarksville competed with other municipal governments and nonprofits throughout the state for a share of Tennessee’s Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) funding. Clarksville’s grant was one of 37 totaling $2.8 million recently approved by the THDA Board of Directors.
The ESG program is funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and administered in most Tennessee counties by THDA. Grant funding can be used for essential social services to local residents who are homeless or fleeing domestic abuse, as well as street outreach, rapid rehousing assistance, and Homeless Management Information Systems.