Nominations sought for naming of Bellefontaine home
TCN Behavioral Health Services Inc. has announced its opening and operation of the agency’s newest recovery house at 216 E. Chillicothe Ave., Bellefontaine, beginning Sept. 27.
This women’s recovery house location was previously owned and managed by Residential Administrators from its opening during 2016 until July 1, 2021, on behalf of the Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol Services Board of Logan and Champaign Counties.
The facility is fully furnished to accommodate up to four women in a shared-living environment.
While in residence at the house, women commit to remain 100-percent free of all alcohol and drugs. While no medical treatment is provided on site, residents remain engaged in services at TCN to support their recovery and provide additional treatment, such as case management or mental health services.
Tammy Nicholl, MHDAS Board of Logan and Champaign Counties executive director, explained the move of ownership and operation of the home to TCN Behavioral Health.
“There were a couple reasons for that. First, Residential Administrators is primarily a permanent supportive housing organization and the specific needs for addressing addiction was new for them.
“As a whole our system agreed that the house would be better managed and better utilized if part of the overall system of treatment and recovery services with TCN.”
TCN also has experience operating recovery housing in other communities for a number of years, Nicholl related. They have knowledge of clients in treatment that would benefit from the recovery housing and could continue to manage client needs through all those levels of care.
“There have been times when the home has been without any residents for several months at a time since it opened in 2016. We believe, too, that this will be better managed with a behavioral health agency with expertise in treating addiction and offering case management and peer support,” she said.
Currently, TCN operates eight recovery houses in four counties. Two of the houses are named after members of the local recovery communities: Christopher House in Greene County and Minda Robinson House in Montgomery County.
TCN Chief Executive Officer Lori Strobl said the organization is accepting nominations to name the Bellefontaine recovery house after a local individual as well.
“We hope to give the house a name in honor of an individual who has perhaps fought their own battle with substance use, or who has worked through recovery or helped others in that journey,” she said. “We are inviting the local community to engage in the work of the recovery house by nominating someone they think would be appropriate to honor with the name of the house.”
Nominations can be in the name of a friend or relative who has had a personal experience with substance use, recovery or mentoring others through their own recovery.
To submit a nomination, visit www.tcn.org/house and fill out the form provided in order to place a nomination for the naming of the recovery house. TCN will review all entries and will announce the choice of name to the community at an event on Friday, Nov. 12.
The Recovery House will remain serving women and will continue to be a Level 2 housing service, meaning there is staff or a senior peer on site at the house to provide leadership to the other residents, Nicholl said.
The local recovery house is a “transitional setting to provide a safe, supportive environment for women in early stages of recovery and link them to community resources to assist in their return to independent living and sustain recovery,” TCN officials said.
Residents will have access to TCN’s full range of treatment programs, with the minimum stay being 30 days.
Since 1990, TCN Behavioral Health Services, Inc. is a comprehensive behavioral health agency dedicated to improving lives by providing clinically excellent and accessible behavioral health services. TCN provides mental health, substance use and psychiatric services for adults and youths in Logan, Champaign, Greene, Montgomery and Miami counties.
For more information or to donate to TCN call (937)376-8700 or visit www.tcn.org.