TDMHSAS Receives Federal Grant for Project Rural Recovery

NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) is receiving a $10 million federal grant to take behavioral services to the rural Tennesseans who need them the most.  The funding will be spread over five years and will fund a pair of mobile health clinics to address the behavioral health and physical health needs of residents in ten rural Tennessee Counties.

The counties served by the mobile health clinics are clustered in Middle Tennessee (Lawrence, Lewis, Marshall, Perry, and Wayne Counties) and East Tennessee (Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Hancock, and Jefferson Counties).  Counties were chosen based on distressed status and need for services.  The department will be doing this work in partnership with community behavioral health providers Buffalo Valley, Inc. and Helen Ross McNabb Center.

“In his very first executive order, Governor Lee challenged us all to take stock of how we serve rural Tennesseans and to do more and to do better.  With Project Rural Recovery, we’re thinking outside the box to create mobile clinics that will overcome infrastructure limitations in our rural areas.  As our communities respond to COVID-19, these mobile clinics will allow us to create better access to services,” said TDMHSAS Commissioner Marie Williams, LCSW.  “We are truly grateful to our federal partners, our Governor for his leadership, our community providers, and our team at the department.  This grant is going to have a legendary impact for years to come.”

The goals of Project Rural Recovery are to create a model of care in rural Tennessee that unites primary care and behavioral health and to engage and treat Tennesseans who are underserved by current service delivery methods.  Once fully implemented, the goal of the program is to serve about 2,000 Tennesseans at about 4,800 clinic visits per year.

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About the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Our Mission: Creating collaborative pathways to resiliency, recovery, and independence for Tennesseans living with mental illness and substance use disorders.

Our Vision: A state of resiliency, recovery, and independence in which Tennesseans living with mental illness and substance use disorders thrive.