MARYVILLE, Tenn. — Women in Blount County who need a safe space to stay while on their recovery journey now have a new option.
"There are limited resources in our area specifically for women who are coming out of incarceration and are living in debt," said Shannon Dow, the Senior Director of Blount County Services for the McNabb Center. "Dealing with co-occurring disorders, having that safe and stable housing. Unfortunately, there are limited available resources in our area."
The McNabb Center has opened the Blount County Women's Recovery Housing for women who are in recovery from a substance use disorder. The facility has been open since Sept. 11 and is currently housing women.
"You know, they're in and finding jobs, they're able to receive this case management services to support them in their journey. And identify, ensure that their basic needs are met, to be able to lay their heads down at night and feel safe in a place that is conducive to their treatment to their recovery," said Dow.
The ten-bed facility provides a home for women in recovery from a substance use disorder. It was funded with the Creating Homes Initiative 2.0 Grant from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Clayton Homes and the Blount County Government.
"The ladies who are our participants who are in our Blount County Woman's Recovery Home, they are able to receive IOP treatment through our continuum of services at the McNabb Center, they receive individual and family therapy with our co-occurring, master's-level therapists, they receive case management — so a lot of the ladies are working towards getting back on track, in regards to moving into the community," said Dow.
Women who live in the home go through a selection process to see if they're the right fit.
"We work in collaboration with Blount County Court and the DA's office and identify ladies that would be appropriate for this level of care. So we are able to identify these ladies through an application process. And through assessments that we that we provide and facilitate to ensure that they are appropriate for this level of care," said Dow.
Dow says there is no set timeline for when women have to leave the home. She says it's based on each individual's needs.
"Some ladies have various support systems, various support resources, that they're able to utilize and move and to a permanent home. Some ladies don't have resources, they have limited resources and need to stay in the recovery home, you know, longer periods of time," said Dow.