POWELL, Tenn. — A church in Powell is part of more than 1,000 across the state that were certified by a state-run, faith-based initiative meant to help churches develop the tools they need to help people recover from addiction.
The Tennessee Certified Recovery Congregation has certified more than 1,000 churches so far. As part of the certification process, the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services shows churches to view addiction as a treatable disease instead of a moral issue. It also shows them how to provide spiritual support and share recovery information.
"We'd like to start with trauma-informed care, just because a lot of addiction and mental health is rooted in some type of trauma," said Ashlee Crouse, Regional Faith Based Coordinator. "There is a lot of stigma in the faith community around addiction and mental health. And for me, I truly believe it's not because they don't want to help. It's because they don't know how to help."
It also shows churches how to host recovery support groups. Powell Church joined the network of churches certified by the department and is now working to connect with people in recovery.
"I walked into the church with a mask on, even though I walked in sober. I didn't want anyone to know my story," said Kelly Acuff, who is now an associate pastor leading the church's recovery group. "I'm a recovering alcoholic. I've been sober for a little bit over eight years."
The group, Recovery at Powell, is specifically based on scripture. According to its online description, the group follows The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, which are specifically designed around religious beliefs.
According to Acuff, the Powell group focuses on helping grieving people. "Many folks are put together and everything looks good on the outside. But on the inside, we're broken," Acuff said.
"We have a lot of people come in that are homeless. We see people that are coming in, out of addiction, people with mental health struggles," said Stacey Gibson, a Powell Church member who went through the training.