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Contributed commentary by Victoria Barber-Emery:

In Clarksville, we talk a lot about growth: new subdivisions, new developments, bigger homes and expanding neighborhoods. But somewhere along the way, we stopped asking a very important question: Who exactly are we building this city for?

Because if most new housing being built is $300,000, $500,000, $700,000-and-up homes with four bedrooms and three-car garages, where are young couples supposed to live? Where do new families go when daycare costs as much as a mortgage payment? Where does the middle-class family land after a layoff, a divorce or a catastrophic illness changes everything overnight?

Affordable housing is too often discussed as though it only affects “other people” – the poor, the irresponsible or the lazy. That stereotype is not only false, but dangerous.

Life can humble anyone. Consider a serious illness, disability, job loss, a spouse walking out or a parent becoming sick. We are all just a moment away from that one accident, that one diagnosis or that one unexpected crisis.

Many hard-working middle-class families are only a few paychecks away from financial instability, especially in an economy where wages have not kept pace with housing costs. When housing disappears, everything else unravels quickly.

Without stable housing, keeping employment becomes harder. Without an address, applying for jobs becomes harder. Storing food, preparing meals, maintaining hygiene, staying safe, helping children succeed in school, all become monumentally more difficult.

Housing is not simply a financial issue. It is the foundation that supports every other part of life.

For people who become disabled, the situation can be especially devastating. Many Americans do not realize that after qualifying for Social Security disability, there is a mandatory 24-month waiting period before Medicare eligibility begins.

Say that with me: Two Years.

That means someone who has lost their health, their income, and often their lifestyle may also lose access to affordable health insurance during the exact period they need medical care the most. Add the costs of medication, medical equipment, treatment, and basic living expenses, and suddenly even previously stable families can find themselves facing foreclosure, eviction and homelessness.

This is not hypothetical. It happens every day.

And yet our housing conversations often center around luxury development while ignoring the teachers, service employees, first responders, young professionals and seniors who make Clarksville function.

A strong city cannot survive by only building for the wealthy. Teachers should be able to live in the communities where they teach. Young families should not have to leave town to afford a starter home. Seniors should not be priced out after retirement. People experiencing hardship should not be treated as disposable simply because life happened to them.

Affordable housing is not about lowering standards. It is about creating stability. It means smaller starter homes, townhomes, duplexes, mixed-income neighborhoods and walkable communities. Clarksville needs housing options for people in different stages of life and different financial realities.

Clarksville has an opportunity to lead by example. We can choose to become a city where growth benefits everyone. We can choose to become a city where community matters and dignity does not require wealth. Food, shelter and safety are not luxuries reserved for the fortunate few. They are foundational human needs that should be attainable for everyone.

If we truly want to build a stronger Clarksville, we must start by making sure people can afford to live here.

Victoria Barber-Emery