CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – There’s no denying that Clarksville is growing quickly, and the resulting lack of affordable housing can only make the problem of homelessness worse.
Last week, we looked at the reality of mental health and substance abuse, and how they can inhibit homelessness recovery. We also looked at the real costs of having a criminal record when your very existence is criminalized.
While dozens of charities and ministries have banded together to help with immediate needs – such as clothing, showers and temporary shelter – what is the City of Clarksville doing to help in the long-term?
Not-so-affordable housing
From 2010 to 2019, the population of Clarksville grew 19%, making the city one of the fastest growing in Tennessee, according to information from the Census Bureau.
Along with population growth comes economic growth, and that includes higher costs. Clarksville has the fifth most expensive housing market in the state, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, and approximately 41% of those who live in Clarksville rent their homes.
The average price of a home increased 11.4% in 2018, as compared to a 6% increase in 2017. And data from the NLIHC suggests that without paying more than the recommended 30% of income on housing, a resident in Clarksville must earn at least $16.71 per hour to afford a two-bedroom home at fair market price.
This number assumes a 40-hour work week at 52 weeks per year.
The problem is exacerbated by stagnant wages in Tennessee.
Back in 2009, the federal minimum wage increased from $6.55 to $7.25. The state of Tennessee has not changed its minimum wage since, while other states like Missouri and Arkansas have raised their minimums to $10.30 and $11 respectively.
A person working at the $7.25 minimum wage in Clarksville would have to work 73 hours per week to afford a modest, one-bedroom home, according to statistics from the NLIHC. This roughly equates to holding almost two full-time jobs.
Nonprofits filling the gap
Dennis Newburn, director of the city’s Housing and Community Development department, said the city has often relied on nonprofits to take care of those experiencing homelessness.
“In the last year, COVID has changed everything. There used to be an abundance of organizations that would take on sheltering. So a lot of organizations are giving gift cards out for a hotel stay and things like that, but it doesn’t begin to address the problem,” Newburn said.
Among the solutions has been the United Way Showers of Love event put on by nonprofits on Fridays at The Well, 224 Union St. Started by the United Way of the Greater Clarksville Region, several other organizations participate including YAIPaks Outreach, Urban Ministries and many others.
“This right here is just a pause on their life,” said Valerie Guzman, chief executive officer and executive director of the United Way of the Greater Clarksville Region. “Sometimes people need a pause, and that’s our Sunday afternoon. But when you’re homeless, every day is working, whether we like what it looks like or not. Food is work. Safety to sleep is work.”
Another organization that comes out to UW Showers of Love is Big Hearts at Home Care. The organization was started by Laporsha Gordon as a non-medical, in-home care agency to the help elderly and those with disabilities with companionship, housekeeping, transportation and other services. Then Dedra Harris came in, and the pair started working on transitional housing.
“We do have a home open now that sleeps six, shared rooms, to be able to give them somewhere to stay. They’re fully furnished with a washer and dryer, you know, to help them get back on their feet and get back out into the community,” Gordon said.
They also provide financial mentoring to help with credit recovery, and they employ folks living with them through Harris’ cleaning agency.
“I’ve noticed a big ordeal about your credit score and making three times the rent, and some people can’t make three times the rent. It’s hard out here struggling with minimum wage in Clarksville the way that it is,” Harris said. “We do all this so that, when they do leave us, they’ll be able to go proudly to their own place and they’ll qualify independently.”
The city’s plan for a plan
Despite having only been on the job since August, Newburn feels he and his team have identified some key housing solutions.
“Part of our long-term strategy is focused on things to figure out ways that we can develop more long-term, transitional housing for people who are homeless,” Newburn said.
One such avenue the city is pursuing is establishing their own 501(c)3 non-profit and using federal funds to build transitional and affordable housing.
“One of the things that the mayor has charged me with doing is to create a nonprofit organization, one of our own.”
By having a nonprofit, they can apply for federal funds, and pair those with private donations and matching city funds to make all of the money go farther.
“Right now there are not a lot of developers in the area, in Clarksville, that are doing it, but we can,” Newburn said.
The nonprofit will be affiliated with the city but function as a separate nonprofit to develop affordable housing.
While Newburn recognizes this doesn’t solve all of the underlying reasons for homelessness, it would increase the supply of short-term, temporary shelter while addressing the larger problem of developing affordable housing.
“Our focus is going to be a unified effort, which for a lot of reasons really hasn’t existed. But I really think that what COVID has done is that there is a much greater understanding from folks that at any point in time, it could happen to you. And ‘it’ meaning not only the virus, but losing everything that you have, including your life,” Newburn said.
Homelessness safe zones
One solution mentioned was the establishment of safe zones within the city, where those who are struggling with homelessness can set up tents without facing arrest for trespassing.
For Sherry Nicholson of YAIPaks, that vision comes in the form of micro-homes that her organization could build and manage.
“I told them that YAIPaks is willing to do all that we can to help oversee that safe zone. Whether we’re putting up cameras and establishing micro-homes. I can build, from beginning to end and fully-furnished and ready to go, a micro-home that is $3,500. We can do that,” Nicholson said. “If we don’t get ahead of it, we’re only going to see the problem with our homeless increase greatly.”
Guzman with the United Way said leaders in both the city and county governments want to see something change, and they have prioritized making affordable housing accessible and maintainable. She has been working with Newburn and Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts’ office on a plan that she said will be announced in the coming months.
“It’s going to be a more comprehensive plan, and a plan that doesn’t look like just putting everybody in a Lincoln Homes,” Guzman said, adding that while the “projects” concept might have worked in the past, it created additional barriers that have affected families for generations.
“We don’t want a Band-Aid anymore. We’re going to do surgery on our situation,” Guzman said.
Part 3 in a series, “Homeless in Clarksville.” Read Part 1, “One man’s big step to get back off the streets.” Read Part 2, “How a life in limbo can lead to $200,000 in debt.”