Mike Fishman was honored with the inaugural Hope Award at An Evening of Hope in late April at The Country Cl
ub in Morristown. Presented by Rogers Petroleum, the event benefits the Helen Ross McNabb Center’s Hamblen County services.
Fishman, publisher of the Citizen Tribune, is an active member of the Helen Ross McNabb Center Board of Directors and a longtime advocate and supporter of the Center.
At the event, Bob Kesling and Bert Bertelkamp served as the masters of ceremonies. David Purkey, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, and community activist Cookie Larkin had kind words about Fishman.
“When I think about Mike Fishman, I think about two words – servant leadership,” said Purkey. “It doesn’t surprise me that he is receiving this honor tonight. He has done so much for Helen Ross McNabb and this community as a whole.”
Taking a look back at Fishman’s and the Center’s positive impact on the Lakeway area set the tone to look ahead to the future.
The Helen Ross McNabb Center merged with New Hope Recovery Center in 2008. This partnership provided clients with much needed mental health services in addition to alcohol and drug treatment services. Due to the immense need for services, the facility quickly became unable to accommodate the population. In 2013, with the help of the City of Morristown, the Helen Ross McNabb Foundation launched a capital campaign to build a new clinic capable of accommodating the Center’s Hamblen County operations. Since that time, the Helen Ross McNabb Center has further expanded its services, including a new Jail to Work initiative that launched in November 2017.
Through a partnership with the Hamblen County Sheriff’s Department, the Center is able to rehabilitate incarcerated women by housing them on the Hamblen County Center campus and providing therapy, substance abuse treatment and life skills. After eight to 12 weeks, the women in this program graduate and move back into the community. The success of this program has been unprecedented; however, the Center recognizes that not all women are ready to move back into the community after this period of time.
At An Evening of Hope, the Center unveiled a capital campaign that will provide hope for Hamblen County residents experiencing substance abuse issues. The campaign will raise funds to purchase transitional, supportive housing for women who are participating in the Center’s Jail to Work program.
“An Evening of Hope helps to ensure that the Helen Ross McNabb Center continues to serve those in our community with the greatest needs and fewest resources. It is with the support of people like Mike that the Center is able to achieve its mission,” said Sharon Reid, Helen Ross McNabb Center’s director of Hamblen County services.
The goal of this campaign is to secure $750,000 to implement Recovery Housing, which will house up to 20 women at a time for a period of six to nine months. This will provide them with the extended care they need to successfully transition back into their community. The extension of the continuum of care is a necessity for the long-term success of these women. The funds from this campaign will also allow the Foundation to subsidize the program for its first three years.
The Center was proud to honor Mike Fishman for his incredible impact on the community and celebrate the future work of the Helen Ross McNabb Center in Hamblen County.
