A green ribbon cut to commemorate the McNabb Center’s expansion of its residential substance use treatment facility, Centerpointe. image submitted

KNOXVILLE - A green ribbon was cut on Monday to commemorate the McNabb Center’s expansion of its residential substance use treatment facility, Centerpointe. This project began out of an increased need to help more individuals in East Tennessee overcome co-occurring disorders (mental health disorders and substance abuse disorders) through receiving medical detoxification services and recovery support.

The facility now houses a 37% larger residential client capacity, which amounts to an additional 26 beds. Newly expanded areas of the building include a kitchen, nurses’ station, living areas, offices, counseling spaces, and additional residential areas that allow for up to 72 residents—instead of 46 residents—to be served at any given time.

“It takes collaboration, trust, and commitment to pull off a project like this,” said Mona Blanton-Kitts, President and CEO of the McNabb Center. Referring to the funds which made the project possible, she explained, “In 2021 we began a campaign through the Center’s Foundation … and raised three million dollars to renovate Centerpointe. UT Medical Center, Knoxville City, the Boyd Foundation, and the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Knox County were all part of this campaign. Those dollars became our seed money. Knox County and the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services added to the original three million dollars, and we just completed a 13.5 million dollar project!”

A part of McNabb Center’s expansion of its residential substance use treatment facility, Centerpointe. image submitted

Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and TNDMHSAS Assistant Commissioner Sej West also shared a few words with the sixty guests in attendance.

Jacobs expressed excitement for the expansion, stating when he ran for mayor in 2018 that one of the top three public issues was the need for more substance abuse treatment facilities. “We have been able to do some amazing things, but really McNabb has been able to do some amazing things. We’re partnering on this … but they take the lead, and we could not have a better partner. What is happening here is you are getting people off the road of addiction and where that goes with substance use, behavioral issues, and on a new path which is good for them, but it is also good for all of us in the community. Knox County is the best place to live and work …. The reason is because of organizations like the McNabb Center and folks like you,” said Jacobs.

The staff at Centerpointe provide medically monitored detox services, residential treatment, and recovery support for men and women age eighteen and older. The average length of stay for a client is 28 days with a continued recovery support plan in place once they complete the program.

Assistant Commissioner West spoke about the meaning of what a center point looks like in a person’s life. “Think about a center, a place of balance, of peace, of stillness, … for the men and women who come here suffering with mental health and substance use disorders, they have lost their center, that piece of their life, that stability, that structure. That’s why places like this are so very important, not only in name but also in the work that goes on here. You all help others reestablish their center point, find balance, wellness, recovery, family, employment, community. When someone finds that center again … change happens in families, in neighborhoods, in communities.”

Centerpointe has served 15,194 total clients since its first date of service, Oct. 1, 1998.

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 52,000 people throughout East Tennessee each year. For more information, visit www.mcnabbcenter.org or call 1-800-255-9711.