East tennessee recovery network - the east tennessee recovery network, a project of metro drug coalition (MDC), will expand peer recovery support services, recovery workforce training, housing…

The Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration awarded Metro Drug Coalition, Inc. $349,802 on September 30, 2026, under the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment Projects of Regional and National Significance program (CFDA 93.490).

Metro Drug Coalition will expand peer recovery support services, recovery workforce training, housing stability services, and recovery-ready workplace partnerships from the Gateway—Knoxville's recovery community center—into surrounding rural Appalachian counties of East Tennessee. The project will deliver direct services to 2,100 unduplicated individuals in recovery from substance use disorders and co-occurring disorders over the three-year period of performance ending September 29, 2029. Service delivery targets 500 individuals in year one, 700 in year two, and 900 in year three.

The four pillars of service delivery include peer recovery support delivered by certified peer recovery specialists using the CCAR recovery coaching model, motivational interviewing, and BARC-10 recovery capital measurement; recovery workforce training; housing stability services; and recovery-ready workplace partnerships. Participants will be adults aged 18 and older with substance use or co-occurring disorders who are seeking recovery, in early recovery, or sustaining long-term recovery. The majority will live in or need connection to recovery housing, with many involved with the justice system, at risk of homelessness, or rebuilding employment. Individuals using FDA-approved medications for opioid or alcohol use disorder will be fully served.

Place of performance is Knoxville, Tennessee.

East tennessee recovery network - the east tennessee recovery network, a project of metro drug coalition (MDC), will expand peer recovery support services, recovery workforce training, housing stability services, and recovery-ready workplace partnerships from the gateway, knoxville's only recovery community center, into the surrounding rural appalachian counties of east tennessee, providing direct services to 2,100 unduplicated individuals in recovery from substance use disorders (SUD) and CO-occurring disorders (COD) over three years. Geographic area and population. Services will be delivered in knox county, tennessee (population 500,669) and surrounding rural east tennessee counties. Tennessee's age-adjusted overdose death rate of 52.3 per 100,000 far exceeds the national rate of 31.3 (CDC nchs, 2023), and outside knox county, the catchment has no recovery community organization, few certified recovery residences, and no organized peer workforce. The project will provide direct services to 500 individuals in year 1, 700 in year 2, and 900 in year 3. Population served. Participants will be adults aged 18 and older with SUD or COD who are seeking recovery, in early recovery, or sustaining long-term recovery. Based on the gateway's current membership of more than 1,000 active members, the largest age bands will be 35 to 44 and 25 to 34. Roughly six in ten participants will be men, 88 percent will report being in recovery at enrollment, and a majority will live in or need connection to recovery housing. Many will be involved with the justice system, at risk of homelessness, or rebuilding employment, and individuals using FDA-approved medications for opioid or alcohol use disorder will be fully served. Strategies. Four pillars organize the project: (1) peer recovery support services delivered by certified peer recovery specialists with lived experience, using the ccar recovery coaching model, motivational interviewing, and barc-10 recovery capital measurement; (2) recovery workforce development through MDC's recovery coach academy and recovery house manager academy delivered regionally; (3) housing stability and community reintegration, including recovery housing navigation, justice reentry peer support, and family stabilization aligned with child welfare prevention priorities; and (4) an east tennessee recovery-ready workplace initiative built on the department of labor toolkit and MDC's gateway coffee transitional employment program. Goal and measurable objectives. The goal is long-term recovery, stable housing, employment, and community reintegration for adults with SUD and COD across the catchment. Objectives: 90 percent of enrolled individuals will complete an individualized recovery plan within 30 days of intake; 70 percent of active participants will improve recovery capital scores between intake and reassessment; 60 new certified peer recovery specialists and 45 recovery house managers will be trained and credentialed; 50 percent of participants seeking employment will obtain employment or enter training; 20 employers by year 1 and 60 by year 3 will engage in recovery-ready workplace education; recovery support partnerships will be formalized in every rural catchment county by year 2; and 80 percent of participants referred to recovery housing will remain stably housed at six-month reassessment. Progress will be measured through spars client-level data and quarterly performance review, advancing samhsa's priorities of recovery, sobriety, self-sufficiency, and data-driven accountability.