The Daily Times

Everyone deserves a second chance at success in life, and The Next Door Knoxville offers just that for women who are re-entering society after incarceration.

Linda Leathers, chief executive officer with The Next Door Inc., said the organization began about eight years ago in Nashville as a result of a community need and gap in services.

“We found out the same gap that was happening in Nashville was happening all around our state,” Leathers said via telephone interview. “The gap is for what happens when a woman comes out of incarceration. What happens when she’s trying to get back her life and do things the right way and have a fresh start, but has very little if any support. So, that was the need that brought The Next Door into existence.”

The Next Door Knoxville opened its doors Feb. 17 with the capacity to serve up to 14 women at a time. Attending the opening were Director Gil Kerlikowske of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Pam Hyde, administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Gayle Ray, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction, and Virginia Betts, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, as well as many other state and local officials.

An anniversary celebration will be held today at The Next Door Knoxville, located at 2636 Maryville Pike, Knoxville. Friends, supporters and former clients will be in attendance.

Program for success

Leathers said the program is faith-based, and came about by the efforts of “The Wild Group of Praying Women” at a church in Nashville.

“The church had a building and they were trying to figure out what the best need was for that building to meet,” Leathers recalled. After a community needs assessment, the decision was made to use the 22,000-square-foot structure to help women get that fresh start after leaving the criminal justice system.

“We really had no experience and were sort of clueless, but we knew we would have to get the right partners on board very early on to help this be not only a thing we want to do for good, but a thing that would be lasting, impactful and sort of transformational in the lives of the women we serve,” Leathers said. “It’s been amazing, the ride, since we actually opened for our first client in 2004.” Since then, the need for similar residential transition centers in East Tennessee has resulted in The Next Door Knoxville and The Next Door Chattanooga.

Women who apply to the program and are accepted after being thoroughly interviewed by staff members.

“Women come from the gate of their crisis situation or from the gate of their jail or prison, and we’ll pick them up and bring them to The Next Door, a place which is a fresh start for them, a place of hope,” Leathers said. “They will stay up to six months. There is quality housing, there is counseling, there is case management, there is work-force development assistance. We’re really working on all the core issues to help women be successful in their re-entry.”

Violent offenders or sexual offenders are not eligible for the program.

Community support

The Maryville Pike home where the women live was an unexpected blessing.

“It was sitting empty,” Leathers said. “This beautiful home was sitting empty, and it was zoned appropriately for our use. We found out about it, appropriately, through the Blount County Drug Court. Maryville resident Steve Greene is the owner. ... This house is gorgeous. It’s a place which truly can be a fresh start.”

Mount Olive Baptist Church is located nearby and has been a big help to The Next Door, Leathers said.

“It’s important that we help them understand the expectations up front, that we do have high expectations of them, we believe in them, and we expect them to do right,” Leathers said. “It’s amazing how that sort of turns their spirit around from ‘hey, I’ve been a drag on society but now I can be an asset, I can do the right thing.’ That’s what we’re trying to do with all of our strength, to help them see.”

More than 500 women have been served in total through The Next Door facilities in Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga. The program has an amazing success rate �" Leathers said there is only a 15 percent recidivism rate.

Opening the door

According to the website at http://www.thenextdoor.org , two locations in addition to the Nashville base were added in 2010. The Knoxville Residential Transition Center opened its doors on Feb. 17 and The Next Door’s Chattanooga Residential Transition Center received its first residents on June 4, 2010, with the capacity for up to 24 residents.

Recovery support services include addressing issues surrounding addiction and mental health and are offered in an integrated model to deal with these co-occurring disorders. Licensed professional counselors meet individually and in groups with residents. Life skills instruction furthers each resident’s opportunity for finding and keeping living wage employment. Family reunification sessions focus on the future establishment of stable families and on breaking the destructive cycle of poor decisions, addiction and incarceration. Residents may choose from a variety of life issues discussions or Bible study classes on a weekly basis.

For additional information, visit the website.

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