Recovering Crossville opening a new 12-month residential recovery program for women overcoming substance use addiction in Cumberland County.
Founder and Executive Director Kristie Isaacson said the organization said the program utilizes certified peer recovery specialists to help navigate participants through a programmatic style of care. Tisdell House includes therapy, life skills, and group meetings.
“If we can grow the recovery community and kind of recover out loud, then what we give people in recovery is community,” Isaacson said. “Somewhere to belong so that they can connect and build stronger pathways to recovery.”
Isaacson said the organization works closely with the justice system by advocating for men and women in the jail and courtroom several days a week. Isaacson said the court can offer incarcerated women a furlough opportunity to serve one year of a sentence at the Tisdell House instead of remaining in jail.
“We have a great relationship with the justice system and so the ladies that are currently incarcerated or that face incarceration, the courtroom, the court will offer them a furlough opportunity where it will be a condition of their sentence,” Isaacson said. “And so if they have, for example, a two or three-year sentence, they can serve a year of that sentence here at the Tisdell House instead of in the jail and begin the process of changing and improving their life.”
Isaacson said the residential component is vital because many individuals struggling with addiction lack stable housing or live in environments that contribute to repeated incarceration. Isaacson said the house provides a monitored environment where women receive three meals a day, medical attention, and counseling services.
“You have a residence where you can equip them, you can model how to live a healthy life and teach them in a non-threatening atmosphere where they aren’t exposed to the things that they left that may have been what was causing them to stay in addiction or it may be that we discover in the safety of a residence that their mental health is what’s causing them to lean towards substance use and abuse, hence addiction,” Isaacson said. “But the residence itself just provides them with a safe place.”
Isaacson said the need for the facility became clear during her doctoral research, which highlighted a lack of long-term recovery resources in the local community. Isaacson said the program also focuses on linking faith-based organizations with recovery services to improve referrals and reduce gaps in care.
“Most people are going to feel like they’re too far gone or done too many things, too much bad or they’ve broken too much in their life,” Isaacson said. “But lives are restorable.”
Isaacson said while the Tisdell House specifically serves women, Recovering Crossville continues to provide therapeutic services and support groups for both men and women throughout the community.