September 2026 Community Spotlight

September 2026 Community Spotlight

This month, we are excited to share about local organizations working in the addiction and recovery space. Addiction touches many families, whether directly or tangentially. Breaking the stigma of addiction is the first step to bringing hope and light.

Learn about local, innovative, and encouraging partnerships and organizations collaborating to address this complex issue. Do you know what’s most beautiful about the work they do? Many people working in this space have their own testimony and are walking through active recovery – that’s something to celebrate!

Nonprofit Highlights

Causal Community Cohort through Mission Increase

Last year TGT’s Generosity Committee, along with the Maclellan Foundation, co-funded a Causal Community Cohort with the goal of bringing together local organizations all working in the addiction and recovery space. 12 organizations spent hours over 10 months working together, breaking down siloes, building trust, and catalyzing innovation. Addiction is a complicated “wicked” problem, and the solution it requires is robust – involving comprehensive care, support, and resources. Each of these 12 organizations took a gamble by coming together to see what might be possible.  

Each month, they focused on topics related to innovation as well as capacity building, such as: Strategic Planning Best Practices, Tracking and Reporting Outcomes, Managing Workflows, Creating Active and Engaged Boards. Using Human-Centered Design, cohort members explored client needs, identified opportunities for innovation, and developed three prototype solutions to better support their clients’ recovery: “Second Chance Employer Network” to address employment needs, “Together We Heal” to address mental health and counseling service needs, and “Recovery Resource App” to improve access to recovery resources. There was collective agreement on continued focus on these three measures of success to track progress and impact after the cohort is completed.  

In July, they hosted the culmination of the program, and here is some feedback from cohort participants:  

  • Nonprofits with like-minded missions gained greater understanding of each other’s work while identifying common challenges, barriers, and service gaps experienced by the populations they serve.  
  • These nonprofit leaders built trust and willingness to partner with other leaders in the cohort for the greater good of the addiction recovery cause.   

Before the program was over, they valued the interaction so much that they decided to schedule regular check-ins even after the event. If you want to learn more about Mission Increase and how they help nonprofits, click here. If you are interested in giving to the Generosity Fund at TGT so that we can identify and support more opportunities like these, click here. 

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Hamilton County Coalition

The Hamilton County Coalition serves to facilitate community-level change through comprehensive prevention & intervention strategies. They offer youth drug prevention programs, connections to treatment, resources, and follow-up care for individuals with substance use disorder, opioid overdose reversal training, and more. What you may not know about them is that they offer faith-based outreach as well and are a valuable partner to help churches and nonprofits that want to serve individuals and families impacted by addiction. The Hamilton County Coalition is funded through the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.  

Paths to Recovery Annual Conference 

In May, HCC hosted an amazing conference at the Brainerd Baptist BX, attended by 300 people, with The Generosity Trust as one of the sponsors. Keynote speakers, breakout sessions, and testimonials equipped attendees both practically and emotionally. The conference brought together professionals, faith leaders, people with lived experience, treatment providers, community organizations, and advocates who might not otherwise have the opportunity to learn alongside one another. One of the most meaningful takeaways was that recovery does not happen through one organization or service alone—it happens when communities work together to surround people with connection, dignity, opportunity, and support. 

Faith-Based Coordinator 

Hamilton County Coalition’s Southeast Tennessee Faith-Based Coordinator works with churches, ministries, and nonprofit organizations across 15 counties to help them become better equipped to serve people affected by substance use disorder, mental health challenges, and recovery. 

Through the Tennessee Office of Faith-Based Initiatives, churches and organizations can receive no-cost training, education, consultation, resource connections, and ongoing partnership opportunities. Training topics include addiction and the brain, trauma-informed care, stigma and recovery-oriented language, suicide prevention, boundaries, overcoming burnout, motivational interviewing, recovery capital, mental health, healthy relationships, and other topics that help organizations serve their communities safely and compassionately. 

Faith communities may also apply to become a Certified Recovery Partner. This designation recognizes churches and organizations that are committed to creating welcoming, informed, and recovery-supportive environments. Certified partners receive continued access to training, networking opportunities, statewide events, resources, and connections to other organizations working in the addiction and recovery field.  

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Though there are more local organizations serving in this space, we want to highlight the 12 that participated in the Mission Increase Causal Community. 

Local leader of Renew Men’s Ministry, Ryan Scafe, recently shared his testimony of overcoming addiction. Read more here. Many times, the road that leads to addiction starts with trauma and unresolved pain. Carrie Freeman with True Purpose Ministries reminds us: “Just a simple act of showing someone how much you care and love for someone can really change the trajectory of someone’s life. I know it did for my own.”. 

Watch this testimony from Renew: https://youtu.be/hE8aW7weXHk?si=dUXgpTnS4t0ui-OF 

More Information

  • When comparing drug overdose death rate by population, Tennessee ranks #2 in the Nation. Veterans are nearly twice as likely to die from opioid overdose compared to civilians. Youth in foster care are nearly twice as likely to suffer a non-fatal drug overdose. 
  • Since January 2025, TGT Fund holders have given away $948,674.97 to the organizations in the Mission Increase cohort.  
  • One additional faith-based community-centered option for those in recovery is Celebrate Recovery, which offers several host sites across the area. 
  • The Hamilton County Coalition can provide your church or organization with free Naloxone to keep on hand in the event of an overdose near your facilities.  
  • You can give to The Generosity Trust’s “Generosity Fund” so that we can continue to support more collaborative efforts, like these, to support recovery. 

Upcoming Events & Resources

 

*Here are some community-wide events. Please contact these organizations directly to register or volunteer.

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