Community Paper
Clarksville, Tennessee
Madison Ray
Liberty University
SOWK 101
Clarksville Tennessee was founded in 1785. It is located northwest of Nashville and right
below Fort Campbell. Clarksville is considered a military town because of the influx of military
families. As of 2017, the population was 153, 205 and is continuously growing. In fact,
Clarksville was just named number one best place to live in the United States according to
Money Magazine. It is a very family friendly place to live and many relocate to Clarksville to
raise a family. The city is big and pretty spread out, but it is easily accessible. Clarksville is
considered to be more suburban. It has some rural areas, but for the most part it is suburban.
Clarksville Montgomery County has a great school system. It is huge and consists of
seven high schools, seven middle schools, twenty-four elementary schools, an alternative school,
an academy, several Christian schools, and a few other private schools. Clarksville also has its
own university. Austin Peay State University is a great college and has many awesome programs.
People from all over come to Clarksville to go to Austin Peay State University.
Since it is so spread out, it does not have that small town feel at all, but you do not have
to go far to get that feeling. Although it is highly populated, it is not unlikely for you to run into
someone you know while out in the town. I would like to say that our city does like to come
together and help each other out. I feel like I see that for the most part. We have many great
programs throughout the community to help people. There is certainly a homeless problem along
with poverty-stricken areas, but there are many organizations to help them.
There are countless organizations in Clarksville that it is near impossible to actually list
them all. Some of my favorites are Manna Café Ministries, American Red Cross, Big Brothers
Big Sisters, Goodwill Industries, Maxim Healthcare Services, Veterans’ Home, Nursing and
Rehabilitation, Urban Ministries, Walking Horse Meadows, Montgomery County Child Support
Office, Salvation Army, YMCA, Omni Visions, Loaves and Fishes, Bikers Who Care, Habitat
For Humanity, Youth Villages, Human Services Department, Department Children Services, Old
Fire House, Tennessee Department-Human Services, Catholic Charities, and United Way of the
Greater Clarksville Region.
United Way of the Greater Clarksville Region has helped people all over Clarksville;
27,215 people were provided resources to secure basic living essentials; 2,411 at-risk youth
overcame barriers to complete their education and job goals; and 9,963 individuals received
crisis support and intervention. Tennessee Department-Human Services has many different great
aspects. It reaches all of Clarksville and surrounding areas. Old Fire House serves as a day
shelter and is a full-service center that serves as the entry point for the homeless and/or at-risk
families and individuals. Youth Villages employs social workers and is great at helping youth
with mental health issues and those who are troubled.
Habitat For Humanity has many programs to eliminate poverty housing in Clarksville and
the Montgomery County area. It is a religious affiliation as are many of the social services in
Clarksville. Loaves and Fishes is a soup kitchen. It provides as a distribution center that is
dedicated to feeding the hungry in Montgomery County. Tennessee State Veteran’s Homes serves
the veterans in our community and surrounding areas with skilled nursing care needs. Our local
YMCA has some great programs for the youth. There are camps, sports, recreation, child care,
and youth development programs.
Bikers Who Care is an organization of motorcyclists dedicated to supporting The Dream
Factory of Clarksville. They have parades throughout the year supporting the children and have a
haunted house to raise money for the foundation. Walking Horse Meadows is an assisted living
home that employs social workers. Big Brothers Big Sisters is another great program for
children. Manna Café Ministries serves people in need in Clarksville Montgomery County. It
provides food and other vital resources.
Out of all of these organizations, I love the ones related to closely working with the
youth. I have recently been called to the youth ministry so that would be ideal if I incorporate
social work into my career. Big Brother Big Sister is also a great volunteer program that I
personally love.
Last summer for our church’s youth camp, I led a Bible Study and I was blessed with the
opportunity to take my kids to Manna Café and serve all week. It also employs social workers so
that is of great interest to me. I believe the most interesting is the Youth Village. Honestly, before
working on this essay, I had not heard of it, but this has caused me to want to look closer at this
and all it entails. It honestly seems amazing and I would love to be involved in something like
that. I am also taking Christian counseling so I could incorporate that into this job.
I personally have never enjoyed working with elderly people so nursing homes and
assisted living places are not ideal. I can work with kids, but sometimes that can be so difficult. I
also work with special needs kids and youth so a social work position related to that would also
be of interest to me.
As a church, we work hard to provide for the poor. We have several programs such as the
Christmas Store and FUEL bagging and Tent City and shelters in the winter. Those are great for
me to volunteer at.
Clarksville-Montgomery County School System. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cmcss.net/
Give. Advocate. Volunteer. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://liveunitedclarksville.org/.
These Are the Best Places to Live in the U.S. Right Now. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://money.com/money/collection/best-places-to-live-2019/.
