A transformation was made public as the former Greyhound Bus Station near the airport became a healing, trauma-informed center for adults with mental health disorders at the McNabb Center’s Airport Road location. Mona Blanton-Kitts, President and CEO of the McNabb Center, stood beside nine other McNabb Center staff, board members and community leaders to proudly commemorate the event with the cutting of a green ribbon.
The facility will house two McNabb Center programs – Peer Support Services and Jail to Work—on separate sides of the building. As a free program to members, the Peer Support Center is for adults with a mental health diagnosis seeking support. Since the program is peer-led, members receive a wellness recovery plan that includes mentoring, socialization, education and volunteerism. The Peer Support Center includes a new kitchen, laundry, shower, two bathrooms and shared therapeutic space. The McNabb Center
As the fourth McNabb Center Jail to Work program and first in Hamilton County, the program offers justice-involved men a second chance through recovery, re-entry and life skills training. The Jail to Work renovation includes four bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a kitchen and shared living space. Inmates from the Hamilton County Jail and Detention Center are eligible for the 12-week program with a referral from the judicial system.
“We do something very unique with our program which is combine service treatment along with the social support, employment support and our housing. It’s a healing environment, it’s a trauma informed environment,” said Gayle Lodato, Executive Vice President of the Greater Chattanooga area, explaining the Jail to Work program.
The McNabb Center has served clients in Chattanooga since 2013 after merging with Fortwood Center.
Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp made an appearance and spoke into the meaning of what partnership between county government and organizations like the McNabb Center mean to the community. “McNabb came with a vision and a mission that’s very much aligned with what Sheriff Garrett and I started working on with looking at the jail and looking at law enforcement in general, not just as an element of government services that is simply about punishment, but that we saw restorative potential there,” explained the Mayor.
Attendees included the media, Hamilton County EMS staff members, several Hamilton County sheriffs, McNabb Center staff and board members, members of the community and those who had worked on the renovation.
Funds for both programs were provided by a grant from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
“Helen Ross McNabb was one woman with one mission, and our mission is to improve the lives of the people we serve. We serve 27 counties and we have sites in 23 of those counties in an array of services all focused on mental health. We strive for excellence, and we won’t settle for anything less,” said Mona Blanton-Kitts, President and CEO of the McNabb Center.
The McNabb Center is the region’s leading nonprofit provider of mental health, substance use, social and victim services. We provide a quality and compassionate approach to care from infancy through adulthood. Since 1948, the Center has proudly served individuals with the most needs and fewest resources. Today, the McNabb Center delivers support to more than 55,000 people throughout East Tennessee each year. For more information, visit www.mcnabbcenter.org or call 1-800-255-9711.