$1.2 Million Federal Grant Implements Project for Recovery, Encouragement and Empowerment

Centerstone to Provide Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Treatment for Individuals on Probation, Parole or Pretrial Release

Nashville, Tenn.—Centerstone, the nation’s largest provider of community-based behavioral healthcare, today announced the implementation of a new program designed to reduce crime, recidivism and illegal substance use in seven Middle Tennessee counties. Centerstone’s Project for Recovery, Encouragement and Empowerment serves adults with substance abuse or co-occurring substance abuse and mental health disorders who are involved in community criminal justice systems. Funded by a three-year, $1.2 million grant secured by Centerstone Research Institute (CRI) from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the program is available for 220 offenders in Bedford, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Lincoln, Moore and Warren Counties.

“Entire communities benefit when offenders gain control of alcohol, drug and mental health disorders,” said Ben Middleton, Senior Vice President for Core Services. “Studies show that treatment for offenders leads to less crime, and is more cost efficient than incarceration. Through this program, Centerstone provides an opportunity for individuals to live healthy lives, free from alcohol and drugs and an opportunity for communities to thrive.”

The new program aims to reduce substance use, costs related to substance use, and substance abuse-related incarceration by 70 percent through treatment and therapeutic support. Services offered by Centerstone include subject screening and assessment, outpatient and intensive outpatient treatment, case management, substance abuse education for individuals and families, relapse prevention, drug testing and monitoring, and other recovery support services.

Seven Centerstone employees provide direct client services for the program.

• Michael Reynolds serves as the Program Manager, overseeing all staff and program activities. Reynolds has been a Centerstone employee for nearly eight years.
• Dorothy Hampton, Leona LeMay and Kenneth Smith serve as an Outpatient Therapists for the program, providing individual and group therapy for substance abuse and co-occurring disorders.
• Marjorie Cecil serves as Nurse Practitioner for the program, providing diagnostic evaluations, consultations and medication management for program participants.
• Sarah Welch serves as Registered Nurse for the program, providing medication management, assessments and education for program participants.
• Lindsay Konrad serves as Community Liaison for the program, providing education and outreach for potential referral sources including government officials and community agencies.

In addition, program staff members engage in community education with the goal of reaching 3,500 individuals.

To evaluate the efficacy of the program, CRI researchers will examine the mental, emotional and physical well-being of program participants at admission, discharge and six months following discharge to evaluate linkages between the program’s efficacy and outcomes.

About Centerstone
Centerstone, a not-for-profit organization, is the nation's largest provider of community-based behavioral healthcare. With a history that spans over fifty years, Centerstone provides a full range of behavioral health and related educational services to more than 64,000 individuals of all ages and their families annually. Children, adolescents, adults, seniors, and families all receive help from a multitude of different programs in more than 120 facilities and 150 partnership locations in Indiana and Tennessee. Centerstone is accredited by The Joint Commission in Indiana and the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) in Tennessee. For more information about Centerstone, please call toll free at 888-291-4357.

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