CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – After the Clarksville Finance Committee moved forward an ordinance to purchase The Well outreach center, the City of Clarksville and Urban Ministries have scheduled a public meeting to clarify the proposal and answer questions from the community.
City Neighborhood and Community Services Director Michelle Austin previously said the plan is to add laundry facilities, showers and ADA-accessible bathrooms to the building, at 224 Union St. on the south side of downtown, while also expanding on services already offered, including meals and community support.
She also discussed Urban Ministries’ emergency warming shelter and said the Madison United Methodist Church has sheltered the unhoused for the last three years while balancing preschool services. Austin said the services would transition the individuals “already being served at this location” one block down, according to previous reports.
Vision of serving homeless from one location
The meeting is set for this Friday at 6 p.m. in the fellowship hall of the Madison Street UMC, with the entrance at 300 Commerce St. Urban Ministries Executive Director Jodi McBryant told Clarksville Now she encourages the community to come out for the meeting.
“We’re going to talk about the concept, the vision, how this project that we are proposing came to be. One of the reasons we’re going to address that is that there are a lot of people who are saying, ‘Why here, why not somewhere else?'” McBryant said. “We want everyone to know that this has been a process that Urban Ministries has been looking to do for almost three years.”
She said Urban Ministries is trying to find a building that can be designated for serving Clarksville’s homeless population. “Right now, we’ve been so grateful to Madison Street United Methodist Church, because without them opening their gym, closing off part of their building and completely dedicating that to us, for the entire winter, our unhoused friends would not have a place to stay.”
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She said the plans for The Well outreach center have been thought out carefully through their own experiences of serving the homeless population, as well as running the emergency warming shelter.
Come with open mind, ‘spirit of unity’
McBryant said they will also be talking about the partners involved in the process and the Canopy Initiative, which is a coalition of most of the nonprofits in the community, in addition to concerned citizens.
She also plans to address some of the misconceptions about homelessness during the meeting.
“Come in the spirit of unity, being ready to listen to one another, to different points of view,” she said. “I’m thankful for everyone regardless of what stance they may have on this issue, because at the very least they care for the community we care for and live in.”
The Well property details
The city plans to purchase the property at 224 Union St. from Trenton Crossing Church of Christ. The property, appraised at $1.28 million, is made up of 0.87 acres and a 10,677-square-foot building.
The ordinance that the Finance Committee approved now goes to the City Council for consideration. However, Councilperson Deanna McLaughlin has already said she will probably motion for the ordinance to be postponed at the next meeting, which is scheduled for Jan. 8.
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