RenewalHouse.org Renewal House Concept (Name Tag).indd 1 10/27/17 12:35 PM
Imagine bringing together all the children whose lives have been positively impacted by Renewal House.
Imagine these children now grown leading lives of meaning and purpose. Imagine these children years earlier when they were there with their mothers who were going through addiction treatment at the time. And the impact they must have had on their mothers and the motivation they provided them at that critical point. You can begin to see why having children and mothers together in a residential addiction treatment program made all the difference in the direction of their lives. Now imagine these children s lives if their mothers had never gotten that kind of help and addiction treatment. Renew the whole person. Restore a life. Specialized addiction treatment for women and their children.
My mother was addicted to painkillers. She didn t think she had a problem. She lost everything to support her addiction. She was sleeping in an abandoned building when she got pregnant with me. That s when she said, Enough! She didn t know how to love herself more than the pills. I was 3 months old when we moved into Renewal House. I was 17 months old when my mother graduated. That s where she learned to love herself, her life and me. Renewal House saved her and saved me. I ll be a sophomore in high school. And I m going to be an accountant. Precious Age 16 High School Sophomore Mother Shirley Program Graduate 2002 Renew the whole person. Restore a life.
My daughter was my stability and motivation. She is why I had to stay clean and sober and why I stayed at Renewal House. Amy Program Graduate ~ Mother of Destiny Renewal House Concept (Name Tag).indd 5 10/27/17 12:35 PM
My mommy lost her mommy when she was young. Later she got into drugs and was arrested. She said it was the best thing that happened to her. She needed help and got into the Renewal House program. She said they told her what she needed to hear. They taught her how to think differently. And to deal with stress. They taught her how to be a real mother to me for the first time. She calls them family. She says Renewal House is unique because you can t bring your child to a halfway house. She says having me there kept her motivated and focused and responsible. I guess we both grew a lot. Aron Age 6 Elementary Student Mother Jasmyne Program Graduate 2017 Renew the whole person. Restore a life.
How do you preserve and keep a family together, so that mother and child can recover and heal as one? WE TREAT THEM BOTH. More than 20 years ago, a group of concerned and visionary Middle Tennesseans formed a task force made up of judges, lawyers, doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, healthcare professionals, community agency representatives and community volunteers with the goal of preserving families going through addiction treatment and recovery. At the time, women who were mothers starting addiction treatment programs were separated from their children upon entering a program. Children were placed in foster care to the detriment of the child, the family and the mother s recovery, resulting in unfavorable outcomes and potential addiction relapses. The task group knew there had to be a better way for both the mother and child. Their innovative solution was to have the mother and her children remain together in treatment and throughout the recovery process as a more effective way of keeping families permanently intact and breaking the cycle of addiction. With that simple idea, Renewal House was born. Founded in 1996, Renewal House was a groundbreaking idea. It was Nashville s first comprehensive residential addiction recovery program for women and their children. Since then, more than 630 women and 500 children have gone through the Renewal House residential treatment program. And the trajectory of their lives has been forever changed.
BECAUSE TOGETHER IS BETTER. Women, particularly mothers, in the throes of addiction have unique needs, concerns and issues that cannot always be met in traditional addiction treatment programs. So, they may wait longer to seek treatment and even hide their substance abuse for fear of losing custody of their children, or being arrested. The combined burdens of childcare, work, finances, caring for the home, pregnancy and other family responsibilities create more obstacles to treatment. Women face more obstacles to treatment, including childcare needs, family obligations, finances and the possibility of pregnancy. Women are also less likely to receive adequate treatment for substance abuse than men and less likely to receive care at a specialized drug treatment facility. In addition, there is a lack of addiction treatment programs for lower income women, and an even bigger lack of programs for those women who are pregnant. Fortunately, Renewal House recognizes that separating a mother-to-be or current mother from her children during addiction treatment is not particularly effective. In fact, that same fear of losing her children can also compel a woman to get help and motivate her to stay in comprehensive treatment until her recovery is complete. Having her child or newborn with her during the treatment and recovery process gives mother and child the opportunity to positively bond and heal together. And it breaks the cycle of addiction for generations to come.
None of my children have walked in my footsteps. Because of Renewal House, they wanted to do something better. Darlene Program Graduate Mother of Shavonda, Maurisa and Leonard Renewal House Concept (Name Tag).indd 9 10/27/17 12:35 PM
I was in high school when my mom went through the Renewal House program. I shut down, but then I saw she was becoming more of a parent. I visited her and was proud of her. She was more responsible, more involved in our lives. She started to care more about our lives than her own. She became an adult, got a job, got involved with my school. I missed a lot of years with my mom because of drugs. We have a good relationship now. I wouldn t have that if not for Renewal House. I ve been married 11 years and have 5 children. They love my mom and call her Nanny. Today my mother is free. Shavonda Age 35 Grant Writer Mother Darlene Program Graduate 2000 Renew the whole person. Restore a life.
Renewal House provides several options for evidence-based women s addiction treatment programs: Family Residential Treatment A structured family-centered residential program where women and their children going through treatment and recovery live in independent apartments on the Renewal House campus Intensive Outpatient Program A licensed program added in 2003 providing group therapy and educational sessions focused on the root causes of a woman s addiction Recovery Housing Affordable recovery housing for women and their children Recover Together A partnership with Vanderbilt University Medical Center providing patient assessments, individual counseling, family support and outpatient treatment groups On average, we provide 60 women with intensive addiction treatment each year. And on any given day, there are 60 women on the waiting list needing our help. The current opioid crisis has sharply increased the demand for services. Sadly, Tennessee has one of the highest rates of babies born with withdrawal symptoms known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). In a ten-year period alone from 2002 2012, Tennessee experienced a 15-fold increase in babies born with NAS. Renewal House is the only residential addiction treatment program for pregnant women and mothers and their children in Middle Tennessee.
Effective evidence-based practices that ensure successful outcomes for both mother and child can be found in these Renewal House therapy programs: Al s Pals: Kids Making Healthy Choices A resiliency-based curriculum that develops children s personal, social and emotional skills to help them make safe and healthy choices Incredible Years A developmentally-based program for mothers and their infants/toddlers that strengthens parent-child interactions and bonds Nurturing Parenting! A family-centered trauma-informed program that builds positive parenting skills, family nurturing and childhood brain development Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) A children s treatment program that focuses on improving the quality of parent-child interactions and relationships Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) A cognitive behavioral program that teaches mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness and emotional regulation First Steps in Music A program that uses music to enhance the parent-child bond What we really need is to ensure people living with addiction have access to treatment. That s true for pregnant women, that s true for all people. U.S. Surgeon General
When my mommy was my age, she had a normal childhood. But, sometimes mommies have problems. I ended up in foster care for 11 months. Mommy s camper exploded in a meth fire and she had third-degree burns. But, she refused pain medication. She wanted to feel the pain since she hadn t felt anything in so long. Then she got into Renewal House and wanted me to be with her. I celebrated my 2nd and 3rd birthdays there. I remember my home at Renewal House. I like going back to visit. Mommy calls me her stability. I don t know what that means, but she says it makes her stay committed and clean. And I know that s a good thing. Destiny Age 8 Mother Amy Program Graduate 2012 Renew the whole person. Restore a life.
My mother had struggles and made mistakes. Renewal House opened her eyes. That led to a better life for me growing up. And led her down the path to progression instead of regression. If my mom hadn t been at Renewal House, my path would have been dark. Because you re only inspired to be what you re surrounded by as a kid. I wanted to give back and be like the people who helped us out of the rut. I joined the Navy and trained to be a combat medical marine. When I transition to civilian life, I plan to be an EMT or get a degree in nursing. Renewal House saved me, because they saved my mom. Jacob Age 19 Navy Medic Mother Kathy Program Graduate 2000 Renew the whole person. Restore a life.
There are limited resources like this for pregnant women and mothers. It s hard for me to put into words the impact Renewal House has had on my life. Sara Program Graduate ~ Mother of Madison Renewal House Concept (Name Tag).indd 15 10/27/17 12:35 PM
Renew the whole person. Restore a life. Specialized addiction treatment for women and their children PO Box 280356 Nashville, Tennessee 37228 615-255-5222 RenewalHouse.org