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Families Free asks county for housing support for women and children, seeks opioid-abatement help
Summary
Families Free asked Washington County for support to sustain and expand housing and treatment for women and children, emphasizing partnerships with ETSU and Department of Children Services and requesting $150,000 to fund housing and supportive services tied to the countys opioid-abatement and special-appropriation lines.
Families Free presented to the commission seeking county support to sustain no-cost housing and wraparound services for women and children, and described how the program connects justice-involved people to treatment and reentry services.
Lee Tipton, executive director, and Melody Castle, director of criminal-justice services, said Families Free operates several housing sites in Washington County (a Market Street house that holds up to nine women and children, an Indian Ridge house with capacity for 15, and a Princeton Road residential site for 12) and offers licensed substance-abuse and mental-health treatment, transportation and casework. "We are the only provider in this region of housing for women and children at no cost to the client," Lee Tipton said, noting deep partnerships with Department of Children Services, ETSU and local health providers.
Commissioners asked for clarification on how Families Free requests differ from separate Northeast Regional Recovery Center (NETA) or recovery-center lines; Tipton said the Families Free request primarily supports housing and supportive services while other opioid/NETA lines fund the mens facility and operational needs elsewhere. Tipton and Melody said typical stays run 9 to 15 months and programs aim to restore family stability and reduce foster placements.
Commission discussion placed the Families Free request in the context of multiple opioid-related asks and a limited annual opioid revenue stream (commission staff referenced the most recent annual opioid disbursement at about $310,000). Commissioners asked staff to reconcile restricted-account uses and the overall impact on the opioid fund balance before a final decision.
No final appropriation was recorded at the meeting; commissioners asked for more fiscal detail and options for sustaining these programs beyond one-time reserves.
