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Regional development district proposes transitional housing for people in recovery
Summary
The Upper Cumberland Development District asked McMinnville to help prepare a grant application and local outreach for transitional housing to support people in recovery who have completed treatment.
Mark Farley, executive director of the Upper Cumberland Development District (UCDD), asked the McMinnville board to support groundwork for a grant application to establish transitional housing for people in recovery.
"A transitional home re not treatment programs," Farley said. "This is for those individuals who's gone through treatment and they're in active recovery. They're trying to rebuild their life. They're trying to work. They're trying to be productive." He described operational models used in nearby communities: an eight-person home for women in Smithville and a similar home for men in South Carthage.
Farley said the homes provide safe, supportive shared housing and a structure that allows residents to pay toward rent while rebuilding savings. He described two common grant/ownership models: a city-owned facility funded by a grant and operated under an agreement, or a nonprofit-owned facility under the UCDD umbrella. "In that situation, if somewhere down the road, we realized that it needed to cease being this type of arrangement, it is owned by that city," he said, describing the Smithville example.
Farley also said UCDD deploys certified peer-recovery specialists across 14 counties to support residents in recovery and recommended appointing local council liaisons to help identify suitable properties and address community concerns. He proposed preparing a grant application in advance of the next likely funding round and returning to city officials for review if an application window opens.
Farley urged the board to consider the need for additional housing in the region and shared a reference: a report from the Sycamore Institute on statewide housing trends. "The market prices have driven up higher than our wages have driven up, so we've got to add capacity," he told the board, noting that, in Warren County, manufacturing-average wages of about $41,600 leave some workers unable to afford the average home without higher income or more supply.
Mayor and board members responded positively to pursuing preliminary work. Farley said he would take the lead on public outreach if the city agrees to participate and that the UCDD would return with recommended liaisons and locations when the timing for an application nears.
