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Contributed commentary by Mayor Joe Pitts on Martin Luther King Jr. Day:

As we celebrate the Jan. 19 national holiday honoring one of the greatest Americans of all, I am especially reminded this particular year of how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. offers correct and eternally relevant guidance on a topic that has recently come to the forefront of our thoughts and collective conscience in Clarksville.

That pivotal and defining subject is homelessness, poverty and how we deal with it in a growing city. These are some of the common byproducts of heightened urbanization. We need only look to Nashville and other large metropolitan areas for the proof and the precedent.

The current plight of Clarksville’s homeless population is not entirely of our making as an independent U.S. metro area, and it is certainly not our collective desire. But there is nothing to be gained from ignoring it.

In this very moment, there are real, concrete solutions on the table for combatting this growing problem in our community, while balancing all of the other considerations factored into public safety and quality of life. I am fully convinced that we cannot look away and pretend it will go away, or that it is not our problem, and expect it to get better. In fact, such an approach will only make it exponentially worse.

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We read, and some of us can actually recall, that Dr. King spoke frequently on this topic and its national origins amid the escalating tensions of the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s.

Dr. King viewed poverty and homelessness as “wicked problems” and fundamental injustices that a prosperous nation had a moral obligation to abolish. He was talking about all of us. Working together.

In fact, issues of racial equality were only part of Dr. King’s comprehensive message for a better and more just America. He also spoke so often about economic justice for all people.

The pursuit of happiness as defined in the Declaration of Independence, he said, was out of reach for people without a job, income or a place to sleep.

We can argue that many of the homeless are in such state by their own choosing, but stereotyping, or profiling the condition of homelessness, and those victimized, is at the very root of what is wrong, and why we as Americans often bicker over this topic.

In Clarksville, we do, in fact, have logical, workable solutions on the table for consolidating and expanding existing services for people who are already homeless and being served in our downtown, in close proximity to all of the nonprofit organizations and services that are uniquely equipped to work hand-in-hand and make a meaningful difference.

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These solutions are not handouts. They involve providing a warm place for the unhoused to sleep on especially cold nights, a warm meal for their basic nutrition, showers, clothing, mental health assistance where needed, and tailored case management services to help them regain employment, permanent shelter and dignity.

And all of this can be done while protecting the integrity of our community, including the public and privately owned destinations we love. Between now and March, we plan to continue sharing details, data and most of all meaningful, respectful dialogue.

But it is only right, and responsible that we strive to stay out in front of it and do what we can, while we can. I am completely confident that Dr. King – a man with perhaps the biggest servant’s heart in American history – would agree.

He termed it a “moral imperative” for everyone, regardless of economic status, to work united and help the homeless turn their lives around. I ask everyone to bear his teachings in mind as we work together.

We all love Clarksville and know what it can be. If we all care enough to help every single individual in our midst succeed and prosper and share equally in Clarksville’s greatness, the “content of our character,” as Dr. King phrased it, will shine globally as our greatest and brightest beacon. Thank you Clarksville, and as always, I am proud to be your mayor.

Joe Pitts

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