Community leaders, state officials and McNabb Center staff gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of the five-building campus.
BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — The Helen Ross McNabb Center officially opened its new Blount County Transition Campus on Tuesday, according to a release from the organization.
The release said this marks the launch of Tennessee’s first all-in-one campus designed to help individuals recovering from substance use disorders and mental illness successfully transition from incarceration back into the community.
Community leaders, state officials and McNabb Center staff gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of the five-building campus, which will provide housing, treatment and support services aimed at reducing recidivism and improving long-term recovery outcomes.
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The release said the campus offers co-occurring substance use and mental health treatment, individual, group and family therapy, medication management, case management, life-skills training and recovery support services.
It also includes housing, transportation assistance, job training, job placement services and financial literacy education.
Among those attending the ceremony were United States Rep. Tim Burchett, Blount County Mayor Ed Mitchell, Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Director of Housing Neru Gobin, Blount County Commissioner Tom Stinnett, members of the Blount CARES Committee and local community leaders.
“For what government won’t be able to accomplish, thank goodness to those at the McNabb Center and the work they all do,” Burchett said. “Some of the best people I’ve met in my life are in this room. You all represent the best in this country for what you do.”
The project represents years of planning and collaboration among local leaders, state agencies and the McNabb Center. Officials said the campus fills a critical gap for individuals with mental illness and substance use disorders whose needs can be better addressed through treatment and support services rather than incarceration.
Mitchell said the facility fulfills a vision he has pursued for more than a decade.
“This has been a dream,” Mitchell said. “Sixteen years ago I was elected as mayor, and one of the things I ran on was substance abuse. Our jail was overcrowded, and it was drug-related and mental health-related. We are seeing this vision. These are people’s lives that will continue benefiting long after we’re gone because of what we are doing today.”
Funding for the project came from Blount County, an Opioid Abatement Community Grant and two grants from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
Gobin highlighted the importance of integrating evidence-based treatment and housing services in a single location.
“I would like to point out the value of integration of services and best practices and evidence-based practices on one campus,” Gobin said. “Finding a place for folks to reside coming out of jail specifically designed to target that and providing the opportunity to help individuals cuts the cycle. This proves that we have a solution and that the work is effective.”
The campus includes a re-entry residential building with capacity for 18 men, a residential recovery building serving 16 men and women and three recovery cottages that provide longer-term housing and support.