Montgomery County asked for $75,000 to help build regional substance abuse recovery center

CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Mid-Cumberland Human Resource Agency has requested up to $75,000 from Montgomery County to build a neighborhood service center in Dickson County that would treat people from across the region with substance abuse disorders.

During the county’s budget meeting on Wednesday, April Clark spoke on behalf of Mid-Cumberland and said the money they received to combat opioids has allowed their organization to get into the housing business.

“We can get people treatment all day long, but we can’t change their location,” Clark said during the budget meeting.

For that reason, Mid-Cumberland has purchased 19 townhomes in Burns, just outside Dickson south of Montgomery County, so they can put individuals with substance abuse disorders into a new environment. That’s also why they plan to build the neighborhood service center in Dickson County.

“What we’re asking each of our counties that represent us is to provide us with opioid funding to build a neighborhood service center,” Clark said. “That service center is where all of our transportation, work force programs, treatment programs, outpatient programs would come from.”

Clark said the No. 1 thing you have to do for someone with substance abuse disorders is change their location and put them in a new environment. “We will take anyone from the Middle Tennessee area,” Clark told the county Budget Committee.

Mid-Cumberland already has $266,000 to build the neighborhood service center, according to Clark. That funding includes:

• $120,000 from the State of Tennessee.
• $100,000 from Williamson County.
• $26,000 from Robertson County.
• $20,000 from Houston County.

Meanwhile, the following counties are going through the formal application process or have the resolution on their county commission agendas for January or February:

• Rutherford County – requesting $100,000.
• Montgomery County – requesting $75,000.
• Sumner County – requesting $75,000.
• Wilson County – requesting $75,000.
•  Stewart County – requesting $20,000.

If approved by the County Commission next month, with the informal meeting on Jan. 2 and the formal meeting on Jan. 8, the funds would be pulled out of the county’s opioid relief fund.