The Mission of The Mend House is for men to mend their lives. The Mend House is a sober living community for men, in Knoxville, Tn. which empowers them to gain control over their actions, decisions and choices. The Mend House allows men to enjoy clean, sober and stable housing for up to 2 years while working towards independence. Evidenced- Based Practices have proven that men who surround themselves with other men, who are sober, will increase the likelihood of long term sobriety. The Mend House equip the men with the necessary tools needed for ongoing recovery.

The Vision of the Mend House is to serve men 18 years old and older who are making a transition back into mainstream society and for them to develop mentally, spiritually, emotionally, financially, morally, physically and socially.

Source: Nonprofit submitted responses

Goal One: Our sole mission will always be to expand our advocacy work in our community by being able to take in more men that week to recovery from substance abuse.

Goal Type: This goal reflects our commitment to further our advocacy work for our organization and or cause area.

Goal Two: As a result of COVID-19, we have seen how important it is to evaluate and review the effectiveness of our programs and how we can better deliver and implement them.

Goal Type: New program(s) based on observed changes in needs among our constituencies/communities served.

Goal Three: We have a goal of paying off our mortgage on our property through donations and capital fundraising. We hope to allow more revenue to be able to take in more men at no cost to them.

Goal Type: Invest in the capacity of our organization (financial, management, technical, etc.).

Describe an investment in leadership

By hiring men who have been a part of our program as staff members, we have been able to instill extremely valuable leadership and professional development opportunities while also still giving them a safe environment to live and continue to recover. Our peer-to-peer approach has also served as an excellent opportunity for the men to be role models for newer men coming into the program. We have also started a handyman service where the men can be employed doing various handyman services in the community while also getting paid. This has taught them how to budget their money, how to balance work life with recovery life, and how to interact in a professional manner around clients and in the general public.

This organization mobilizes for mission in the following ways:

• Strategic Partnerships

• Thought Leadership

• Raising Awareness

• Community Building

What are this organization’s external mobilizaton efforts?

Our Executive Director is consistently asked to share at community events, workshops, trainings, and has even been approached by the State of Tennessee to be a guest speaker for their outreach events. We also have partnered with various community entities such as the Knox County Sherriff's Office, the Metro Drug Coalition, Never Alone Transitional, United Way of Greater Knoxville, and many others to expand our services and outreach opportunities. We are also very active on social media and marketing. We spent a great deal of time and resources on our website to make sure information is easily accessible to those who are in need. We also make it a point to share on Facebook about the continuing opioid epidemic, and if anyone is in need of help to please reach out.

Because of the economic environment in our area as a result of COVID-19, there has been a lack of donations to our organization and the men are finding it more and more difficult to pay their rental fees to stay with us. We have found through our experience that when you take in individuals that do have a desire for recovery, surround them with like-minded individuals in a safe space, and make sure their basic needs are met; the potential for success increases drastically. More specifically, it allows us to be able to ensure the more of the basic needs are being met for our men. Basic needs such as housing, clothing, food, water, and hygiene products. Our program gives our men the opportunity to be able to have the tools and resources that they need to integrate back into society. One of the most troubling facts that we face with recovery is the very low percentage of those that try make it to six months of sobriety. We have found that one of the biggest reasons for that is because they do not have the education about the disease, a support group of others that are sober, and their families and friends also do not have the education they need to support them in their journey. Our services have allowed our men to be able to start working on not just themselves, but their relationships with their families as well. Our program offers our men the chance to mend in a safe environment in order to be able to face the trials and tribulations that are waiting for them on the outside world. We are extremely grateful for the opportunities that we have had to be able to take in men that can not afford treatment, do not have insurance to cover inpatient treatment, or do not have the resources they need to survive. We have seen countless times incredible success stories of our men cleaning up their lives, reaching sobriety milestones with the amount of days they have sober, secure employment, and begin to transition to be contributing members of society.