Statements
Mission
To treat, promote healing and provide housing for women and their children affected by substance use disorders.
Background
Renewal House was founded by visionary leaders who recognized an unmet need in Nashville and Middle Tennessee for a program that allows mothers with substance use disorders in treatment to live with their children so that families can heal together. The agency was incorporated with the State of Tennessee in January 1996 and received 501(c)(3) status from the Internal Revenue Service in May 1996. In 1997, Renewal House purchased two apartment buildings in the Bordeaux neighborhood of northwest Nashville as a home for the agency. The Renewal House continuum of care is composed of three major services: a family residential program for mothers of low income with substance use disorders and their children, providing long-term, comprehensive recovery and prevention services to break the cycle of poverty and addiction; a licensed women's intensive outpatient program, offering treatment accessible to women of low income; and affordable recovery housing apartments, providing rental housing in a drug-free environment for women with at least six months in recovery and their children. Renewal House services are sensitive to the distinctive needs of each woman and child, focus on strengths as a foundation for growth and change, and address the interlocking mental and physical health, social and economic challenges that affect a family's ability to sustain recovery and stability. By collaborating with multiple partners, Renewal House meets clients' needs while avoiding duplication of existing community services. Renewal House has received numerous awards for excellence. The Association of Junior Leagues International honored Renewal House with the Grand Award at the 1998 Community Impact Awards. At the annual Salute to Excellence awards presented by the Center for Nonprofit Management, Renewal House has received the following honors: 1999 Making a Difference Award, 2001 Excellence in Communications Award, and 2009 Healing Charity Award finalist. In 2009 and again in 2012, Renewal House was selected as one of five family residential program providers across the country to receive a Family Connection federal grant from the Children's Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The two grant awards represent more than $3 million in support of the expansion and enhancement of family-centered services fostering permanency and well-being for children at risk of entering the foster care system.
Impact
On June 24, 2022, Renewal House gratefully celebrated the grand opening of a new three-story, 30,000-square-foot facility. The new building doubles the previous capacity of the family residential program, increasing the number of program apartments from 17 to 34. Additionally, the new facility provides greater space for Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) treatment groups. In FY2023, the family residential program provided a fresh start for 89 pregnant and parenting mothers and 88 children. Over the past year, families reached life-changing goals while at Renewal House. Among the mothers who exited the residential program, 83% regained and/or maintained child custody and 67% moved with their children to stable housing. The IOP provided licensed treatment for 86 women in FY2023. To meet the high standards for IOP graduation, a client must have abstained from unprescribed substance use and completed relapse prevention, parenting, vocational, life skills, integrated health (physical, mental and behavioral health) and recovery wellness curricula. During the fiscal year, 46% of the women who exited treatment graduated from the program. Renewal House's rental apartments provided affordable housing in a drug-free environment for women with at least six months in recovery and their children. The rental apartments are an important component of the agency's continuum of care, helping families establish long-term stability in recovery. Renewal House's consultation partnership with the Nashville, Davidson County offices of the Tennessee Department of Children's Services (DCS), which started in 2006, continued in FY2023. A Renewal House clinician provides individual assessments and consults on cases of child welfare-involved families affected by substance use disorders. Following are goals for FY2024: Continue to provide high-quality, family-centered treatment and recovery support services to women and their children affected by substance use disorders, co-occurring mental health disorders and other trauma; and, Continue to expand development efforts to build community awareness and raise funds for Renewal House.
Needs
Individual, corporate, and foundation financial support to offset operational expenses and further deliver on our mission to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty and addiction. Volunteers to assist with childcare on Tuesday and Friday evenings, while mothers attend peer recovery and community meetings. To become a volunteer, please complete an application at http://www.renewalhouse.org/support/Volunteer/. A complete wish list can be found at http://renewalhouse.org/Support_Us/Wish_List/.
CEO Statement
To see the transformation that occurs in the lives of women and children at Renewal House is deeply rewarding. Recently, a newly married former client left a touching message about her experience here. She was 18 years old and pregnant with her daughter when she first arrived at Renewal House. She completed our intensive outpatient treatment and family residential programs, and then moved to our recovery-supportive rental apartments. Here is what she wrote as she and her daughter prepared to move to their new family home: "This was my home for nearly 6 years. I learned how to drive here, learned how to be financially responsible, learned how to cry here, learned how to love here and I learned how to be the best mother I can be here. I learned how STRONG I really am. Because R.H. gave me a chance that I wasn't strong enough to give myself. I've raised my beautiful daughter here. And now I'll leave this place to give another mother a fighting chance. If she could feel half of the love I've felt, or learn half of what I've learned, it will be a success." Before arriving at our door, the women we serve have experienced painful life journeys. Years of living with an addiction. Untreated mental health disorders. Every imaginable form of abuse. Poverty. Homelessness. Limited formal education. Legal system entanglements. Feared or actual child custody loss. For the children, having a parent in active addiction is chaotic and often traumatic. Since 1996, Renewal House has had a unique role as Middle Tennessee's first, largest and most comprehensive provider of recovery support services for women and their children. When Renewal House was founded, crack cocaine was the primary drug of choice among the women we served. Today, the opioid crisis is proving particularly devastating for mothers and their newborns experiencing the painful withdrawal symptoms of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Renewal House is the only agency in our community that accepts women with high-risk pregnancies and provides safe and sober housing while they receive medication-assisted treatment, if appropriate, give birth, and build a healthier, more stable lifestyle for their families. We are ever evolving to better meet the needs of our families. Over the last few years we have focused on implementing evidence-based practices, strengthening our trauma-informed approach, and expanding our children's program. In a data-driven environment, we are working to improve outcomes for families while also saving the community/taxpayers' money
Board Chair Statement
Another fiscal year of providing quality services to some of Tennessee's most vulnerable families is well underway for Renewal House. Dedicated board members, staff, and volunteers accomplish this important mission while maintaining sufficient funding to cover expenses, and also raising money to cover special projects. A solid financial position helps ensure that Renewal House will continue to thrive and provide services for many years to come. The board and staff are working together to fulfill the goals and objectives of the agency's strategic plan: Create a plan to financially support and sustain Renewal House services; Develop a plan to ensure facilities are available to serve existing business and accommodate future growth; and Build community awareness and sustain a growing public image for Renewal House. Collaborations and partnerships continue to play a crucial role in helping us fulfill our mission. The Development Committee is spearheading new strategies to spread the word about Renewal House. Private donors are critical to the agency's viability, and the Development Committee wants to broaden recognition of Renewal House's important role in our community. Our Board is proud of recent accomplishments and we are focused on supporting and guiding Renewal House through continued successes. We are also extremely grateful for the community partners and donors whose support of Renewal House has helped us make a difference in the lives of families throughout the region.
Service Categories |
|
| Primary Category: | Mental Health & Crisis Intervention - Substance Abuse Treatment |
| Secondary Category: | Housing, Shelter - |
| Tertiary Category: | Human Services - |
Areas Served
Renewal House provides specialized addiction treatment for women and their children on our campus in Davidson County. Services are available to Middle Tennessee women and beyond.
| TN - Bedford |
| TN - Cannon |
| TN - Cheatham |
| TN - Clay |
| TN - Coffee |
| TN - Cumberland |
| TN - Davidson |
| TN - DeKalb |
| TN - Dickson |
| TN - Fentress |
| TN - Franklin |
| TN - Giles |
| TN - Hickman |
| TN - Houston |
| TN - Humphreys |
| TN - Jackson |
| TN - Lawrence |
| TN - Lewis |
| TN - Lincoln |
| TN - Macon |
| TN - Marshall |
| TN - Maury |
| TN - Montgomery |
| TN - Moore |
| TN - Overton |
| TN - Perry |
| TN - Pickett |
| TN - Putnam |
| TN - Robertson |
| TN - Rutherford |
| TN - Smith |
| TN - Stewart |
| TN - Sumner |
| TN - Trousdale |
| TN - Van Buren |
| TN - Warren |
| TN - Wayne |
| TN - White |
| TN - Williamson |
| TN - Wilson |
