The Next Door was mentioned by name in the President’s Drug Control Strategy, a document released on Saturday, March 1, in conjunction with his weekly radio address.              

As supporters of The Next Door and its ministry to women in crisis and their children, you should feel gratified that you have had a part in this accomplishment. Without the continuous and tremendous help of our friends – those in churches, foundations, corporations, and individual donors – this could not have happened.              

Click here to view the entire White House document or read the excerpt below. The Strategy has three objectives – limiting the supply of drugs coming into this country, reducing the demand for addictive substances, and treating those in recovery with the hope of rehabilitation and prevention of relapse. If you look in the table of contents, you will see that The Next Door is highlighted in the category of “Breaking the Cycle of Addiction: Maintaining Recovery.”         

The Next Door, Nashville, Tennessee The Tennessee Department of Health's ATR program, originally designed and funded to treat 8,250 patients in 3 years, has treated more than 13,000 Tennesseans struggling with addiction. "The help of providers statewide has allowed ATR to reach more people than we ever anticipated, with the result of fewer Tennesseans struggling with addiction," said Health Commissioner Kenneth S. Robinson, M.D. One of those providers is The Next Door, a faith-based organization located in Nashville. The program of transitional living, mentoring, and life skills classes was designed to assist women recently released from prison with their physical, spiritual, emotional, and daily living needs. Statistics show that approximately 60 percent of female ex-offenders in middle Tennessee will return to prison within the first year of their release. The mission of The Next Door is to break that cycle. Since May 2004, more than 350 women have gone through a 6-month curriculum designed to prepare them for independent living and establish and maintain stable families. The facility provides a safe and secure environment for up to 52 participants who are referred from incarceration, rehabilitation centers, drug courts, or are homeless. Program participants establish a life plan; receive a mentor, case manager, group counseling, onsite job skills, and computer and General Equivalency Degree training; and find employment. In June 2007, U.S. Drug Czar John Walters and Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell joined Ms. Ramie Siler and others to celebrate the opening of The Next Door's Freedom Recovery Community, which offers longer-term, affordable housing and services for women and their children in a building once plagued by drug activity. Ms. Siler, who went through drug rehabilitation at this program and has now become a full-time case manager at the center, spoke at the event about her experiences in drug treatment. She said, as reported in The Tennessean (May 28, 2007), "The Next Door made my future happen. They helped me to restore my life." "Access to Recovery has been a catalyst for transformation in the lives of our residents. It is awe-inspiring to watch a woman to realize that there is hope from her past life of addiction," said Linda Leathers, executive director of The Next Door. "She begins to look to the future with promise. Access to Recovery assists her to believe again that life can be different."

     

Thank you again for your faithful support and encouragement through financial donations, volunteering, and prayer.  God is truly blessing The Next Door!