NASHVILLE, TN — Renewal House celebrated the grand opening of a new 30,000-square-foot treatment facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 24. The multi-family facility houses 34 apartment units, allowing the nonprofit to double its capacity for women and families seeking long-term residential treatment and recovery from substance use disorders. Each unit will be fully equipped with everything a family needs from furniture and appliances to bedding and common household items.
The new facility also includes administrative offices, meeting rooms, and space for telehealth services.
Built on Renewal House’s 14-acre property on Clarksville Pike in Nashville, the $7.5-million facility was designed by Gresham Smith. Construction on the property, overseen by Carden Company, began in March 2021. Compass Partners is the owner’s representative.
The nonprofit received a $1.8-million grant from the Barnes Housing Trust Fund to kick-start the fundraising efforts, and Renewal House is debt-free on the project.
Several community partners provided in-kind donations, including Dell Technologies, CVS/Aetna, Barge Design Solutions, Sprintz and Omega Realty.
“Renewal House’s new facility is the realization of the hard work, vision, and support of so many people,” said the agency’s CEO Pamela Sessions. “We owe so much gratitude to our founders, our board of directors, and our community partners for turning a longtime dream into a reality. This new facility will allow us to serve 90 to 100 families each year in our Family Residential Program and provide the necessary support to families seeking recovery from substance use. Our program is the only one of its kind in Middle Tennessee, treating both women and children together.”
Since 1996, Renewal House has served more than 7,000 women and children in all of its programs combined. The Family Residential Treatment Program provides women and their children with stable housing and allows them to focus on treatment from substance use, improve parenting skills, and identify a vocation or job for long-term recovery—all free of charge. Many of the women who enter the program are survivors of physical and sexual abuse, human trafficking, homelessness and other trauma.
Mary Walker, one of the agency’s co-founders stated, “When we started Renewal House, we didn’t realize the impact it would have on our community. It has been thrilling to witness the agency’s growth during its 26-year history, and the new facility brings Renewal House to a whole new level of service.”
Renewal House’s former facility will be upgraded and converted to 17 permanent housing units for Tennesseans living with substance use disorders. The upgrades are scheduled for completion by the end of the year and made possible by the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services’ Creating Homes Initiative.
