Mr. Jerry Vagnier, President and CEO
201 West Springdale Avenue
Knoxville, TN 37917
865-637-9711
http://www.mcnabbcenter.org
Connections Juvenile Court Liaison
Connections intervenes with families involved in the Knox County Juvenile Court (KCJC) and their specialized Family Recovery Court (FRC) and Interchange Program to reduce repeated contact with the courts and encourage recovery from substance use disorders. This is done through advocacy, support, referrals, counseling, assessment, and education in individual and group settings to adult & child court participants. These services will result in strengthened families and safer children.
Continuum for Permanency
The Continuum provides a safe, supportive family environment in which children can live as normal a life as possible with opportunities to learn and become self-sufficient as they approach adulthood. Youth in protective care and their families (if appropriate) living in Knox County ages 8 to 18 are provided highly individualized services. These include housing, case management, 24-hour crisis intervention, counseling, support, and learning opportunities that lead to independent and productive lives.
Great Starts and Family Centered Treatment
Great Starts and Family Centered Treatment offers services that will prevent infant abandonment and provide a chemical-free environment for addicted women, and their children, through a residential substance abuse treatment program. Services include counseling, mental health and medical services, parent education, child development activities, case management, aftercare and job training that will result in improved well-being, quality of life, health, and permanency for the children. Women seeking recovery from substance abuse can receive services that best meet their needs as well as the needs of their children and families.
Great Starts and Family Treatment Children’s Services
Helen Ross McNabb Center’s Great Starts and Family Treatment Children’s Services provides quality services to infants and children who have experienced maternal substance-exposure. The services assist children in meeting developmental milestones by addressing early physical and social/emotional health needs and by improving access to developmental resources in the community, all of which prepare these children to succeed in school. Children engaged in services receive assessments for physical, emotional, and social needs; individualized referrals and services based on those assessments; and on-site childcare and referrals for permanent childcare and preschool.
Knox Therapy Center
The Therapy Center offers therapy services to individuals and families in Knox County who are otherwise unable to access therapy or mental health care due to a lack of insurance and/or lack of available resources. The program provides individual, family, and group counseling and therapeutic services free of charge to those who fit the criteria of low income and no insurance. These services will improve the individual’s or family’s overall functioning, satisfaction, and quality of life, promote academic success, or maintain employment.
LIFE Afterschool Education
LIFE (Learning is Fun for Everyone) Afterschool Education provides academic enrichment for Knox adolescents in foster care living at HRMC residential facilities. The program targets the academic, physical, social, and emotional needs of these students by reinforcing and enhancing their academic progress with supplemental education opportunities. LIFE services help youth on their paths to academic achievement and prepares them with the tools for readiness to succeed in life.
McNabb Center Domestic Violence Services
The McNabb Center Domestic Violence Services aims to create a safe environment and offer specialized services in partnership with the community for adults and children experiencing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in Knox County. Specialized services offered include emergency shelter, a 24-hour crisis line, individual and group counseling, children’s services, support groups, transitional housing, and outreach services. These services are provided with the goal of increased safety and an improved quality of life for all program participants.
Parent Place
Parent Place is a supervised visitation program, where positive parent/child interaction is encouraged in a non-threatening environment. Staff and trained volunteers monitor visits closely and, when necessary, assist parents in learning appropriate disciplinary techniques and appropriate activities and behavior. This interaction helps increase the children’s sense of health and well-being by encouraging positive, healthy relationships with their noncustodial
parents.
Partners for Child Abuse Prevention (CAP)
Partners for Child Abuse Prevention (CAP) aims to end the abuse and neglect of children in Knox County. This is accomplished by providing prenatal assessment and services, parenting and life skill classes, referrals for case management, ongoing community education events, and advocacy services that strengthen families and protect the welfare of children. These services provide for the well-being and safety of children.
PleasanTree Apartments
PleasanTree Apartments seeks to create a safe living environment and offer specialized supportive services in partnership with the community for mentally ill single parents and their children located in Knox County who experience homelessness. We plan to do this by providing permanent housing combined with on-site supportive services, including: case management and advocacy, individual and group counseling, and educational groups. These services will lead to increased self-sufficiency, stability, family unification, and an improved quality of life for all group participants.
Project Against Sexual Abuse of Appalachian Children (PASAAC)
Project Against the Sexual Abuse of Appalachian Children (PASAAC) services focus on caring for the emotional well-being of children, adults and family members who have been affected by trauma, sexual or otherwise. Program staff specialized in trauma therapy provide individual, family, and group psychotherapy, education, and skills development to program participants. Additionally, opportunities to provide education about childhood sexual abuse and prevention are provided to at-risk populations in our community through speaking engagements.
Sexual Assault Center of East Tennessee – Advocacy Program
The Sexual Assault Center of East Tennessee (SACET) Advocacy Program provides services to those who are victims of sexual assault in Knox County. Program services begin immediately after an act of sexual violence and continue for as long as needed. Advocates perform a variety of tasks to meet the needs of victims by helping to ensure their safety, providing emotional support during a time of crisis, assisting in the criminal justice process, and referring to outside programs for any other needs they may have.
Sexual Assault Center of East Tennessee – Education Program
Helen Ross McNabb Center’s Sexual Assault Center of East Tennessee (SACET) Education Program provides education services to equip Knox County elementary, middle, and high school students with tools to ensure their safety and allow them to successfully perform in school. Our program provides presentations in local schools and community venues utilizing a research-based best practices curriculum which teaches topics including safety skills, bullying prevention/intervention, healthy and unhealthy relationships, and conflict resolution. This program also helps schools identify early warning signs of trauma and link students to resources and support to address traumatic issues that hinder academic achievement and promote productive and engaged young adults.
Therapeutic Preschool
The Therapeutic Preschool serves children ages 4-6, who have suffered physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse or neglect, or have experienced a major loss or other traumatic event. The program is a 10-week intensive group program, providing basic skill building, cognitive and developmental stimulation, therapeutic behavioral treatment, structure, nurturing, and interventions from the evidence-based Trauma Focused Cognitive Therapy model.
Transitional Living for Youth
The Transitional Living Program provides services for young adults or older youth who are, or are at-risk of, becoming homeless. These services include mental health and substance use screenings, advocacy, safe housing, case management, training, and skill building. As a result, we hope to reduce rates of violent crime, addictions, and other risky behaviors as well as promoting employment, education, and self-sufficiency.
“People do recover. Treatment is effective, and people who are in recovery are a great asset to those trying to find a way.”
Jerry Vagnier, President and CEO, Helen Ross McNabb Center