Metro Drug Coalition, Inc.

Metro Drug Coalition, Inc., a tax-exempt nonprofit based in Knoxville, Tennessee, operates as a federal grant recipient delivering peer recovery support services, recovery workforce training, housing stability programs, and substance abuse prevention services to the Department of Health and Human Services (primarily SAMHSA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Justice, and state pass-through grantees. The organization operates predominantly as a sub-recipient on grant awards (74% of recent activity) rather than as a prime contractor, with federal grant work dominating its footprint.

Metro Drug Coalition's customer base centers on HHS agencies. According to recent award activity, SAMHSA accounts for the plurality of awards across prime and sub-recipient roles, with the CDC, DOJ Bureau of Justice Assistance, and state agencies including the Tennessee Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services representing secondary customers. The organization has served six distinct federal funding agencies over the data window.

As a prime grant recipient, Metro Drug Coalition holds a $349,802 SAMHSA Center for Substance Abuse Treatment award (CFDA 93.490) dated September 30, 2026, running through September 29, 2029, under the Projects of Regional and National Significance program for the East Tennessee Recovery Network. This project will deliver direct services to 2,100 unduplicated individuals in recovery from substance use or co-occurring disorders across East Tennessee, with service escalation from 500 participants in year one to 900 in year three. Services include certified peer recovery specialist support using CCAR recovery coaching and BARC-10 recovery capital measurement, recovery workforce training, housing stability services, and recovery-ready workplace partnerships. A second prime award, $124,925 from the CDC under the Drug-Free Communities Support Program (CFDA 93.276) dated July 1, 2026, funds the Gateway Recovery Community Coalition for five years through June 30, 2031, implementing evidence-based prevention strategies targeting youth opioid and marijuana misuse in Knox County. A third prime award, $349,802 from SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services dated December 31, 2022 (completed as of September 29, 2026), funded mental health first aid training to 600 individuals across 16 counties.

As a sub-recipient, Metro Drug Coalition sits on 25 federal grant sub-awards flowing from the Tennessee Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services, Knox County, and other state entities. These sub-awards, primarily dated 2023 through 2026, fund implementation of SAMHSA's Strategic Prevention Framework, substance use prevention coalitions, peer recovery support services, harm reduction and overdose prevention specialist roles, recovery housing assistance, and coalitions serving youth ages 12–25 under multiple SAMHSA programs including Tennessee State Opioid Response initiatives, the Coalitions American Rescue Plan Act program, and the Drug-Free Communities program.

Activity has expanded substantially: one award in 2022, one in 2023, eleven in 2024, seven in 2025, and eight in 2026, with combined dollars obligated at $7.7 million across all recent awards. The organization's capability portfolio is grounded in peer-led recovery infrastructure, emphasizing individuals with lived experience of substance use disorders in governance, service delivery, and prevention workforce roles aligned with SAMHSA's recovery-oriented systems approach.