TDMHSAS announces $15 million in housing grants

Published 12:34 pm Tuesday, January 3, 2023

The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) is excited to announce applications are open for about $15 million in state funding to create affordable, permanent supportive housing for Tennesseans living with behavioral health challenges.

The funding is spread across three programs under the Creating Homes Initiative (CHI). In the last 22 years, CHI has leveraged more than $992 million in state, federal, local, foundational, and other funding sources to create more than 32,000 housing opportunities in Tennessee.

CHI began in 2000 under the leadership of now Commissioner Marie Williams as a program to house people living with mental illness. With support and new funding from Governor Bill Lee and the Tennessee General Assembly, CHI expanded in recent years with new programs to support people in recovery from addiction and re-entering communities from prison or jail.

“When you pair safe, quality, affordable housing with the wraparound supports available through these programs, people can begin a journey to a new life. It’s something we’ve seen countless times over the last two-plus decades of the Creating Homes Initiative,” said TDMHSAS Commissioner Marie Williams, LCSW. “We’re so grateful to Governor Lee and the legislature for their support, and we’re excited to see how this newest round of grantees leverages this funding to change the lives of the people they serve.”

Funding through CHI is issued to grantees to develop safe, quality and affordable permanent supportive housing opportunities in the communities they serve. The model also includes regional experts in the field who work with agencies to seek external funding from federal and local government sources as well as foundations and other non-profits.

“CHI works because of collaboration. Whether it’s our Regional Housing Facilitators working with agencies to help write grants, our community partners leveraging state funding, or our amazing team at the department making sure that every last dollar goes to the highest and best cause, collaboration is at the heart of what we do,” said Neru Gobin, TDMHSAS Director of Housing and Homeless Services. “At the end of the day, we know this is having an exponential and generational impact for the people and families who are touched.”