No One Heals Alone

Jada Daniels profiles Renewal House, a Nashville-based residential drug rehabilitation facility for women with a thoughtful approach - allowing mothers and their children to live together through the process of rehab.

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Substance use disorders effect millions of mothers in the United States and conventional rehabilitation programs often require them to be separated from their children while they receive therapy. It raises the question: if the life these women strive to recover is one where they can provide for and live happily with their children, why should the recovery process require them to be isolated from that same family?

My recent discussion with Ms. Pamela Sessions, CEO of Renewal House, a Nashville-based, family-centered recovery center, gave me insight into the importance of community-minded solutions in enabling rehabilitation to have a lasting, holistic impact in American communities. 

Renewal House gives women the opportunity to heal as mothers, in the company of their children, and in doing so, acknowledges that people who suffer from substance abuse are not just individuals, but members of families and communities. 

At Renewal House, mothers undergoing rehab get to experience the daily routine of dropping their kids off to school, having dinner together, helping them with homework. Mother and child are able to evolve together through the rehabilitation process.

In stark contrast, many mothers with substance use disorder have no choice but to put their children under the care of a relative or close friend, or into the foster system, before proving they have done the work to regain custody after treatment. Parental substance use increases the likelihood that a family will experience financial problems, shifting of adult roles onto children, child abuse and neglect, violence, disrupted environments, and inconsistent parenting. As a result, in such situations, keeping a family together is treated as an avoidable risk.

However, early maternal separation has also been shown to result in behavioral disorders, developmental delays, and long-term mental health concerns in children. The disturbance in family life risks emotional volatility in the future, potentially enabling longer cycles of drug abuse and other forms of violence.

Family-Centered Treatment

Mother-and-child residential programs first gained attention in the late 20th century as part of a broader effort to adopt trauma-informed, holistic recovery models. 

Odyssey House in New York was one of the first to use this approach in 1973 with their ‘Mothers and Babies Off Narcotics’ program serving pregnant women and mothers with young children.

Renewal House continues this legacy with its family residential program, housing nearly 40 mothers and their children with facilities like independent apartments, aimed at supporting a sense of normalcy and stability.

Mothers’ ability to see their children during the process can serve as a constant reminder of the life they desire post-recovery and their responsibilities. It allows them to rediscover who they are, not just as people in recovery, but also as moms, caregivers, nurturers, and community members. 

Sessions says, “A typical day here is sort of like it is for any other family. You get up, they get dressed for the day, and mothers either take their children to daycare or to school. During the day, all of the mothers at Renewal House are participating in treatment, individual therapy, group therapy, or meeting with the family treatment specialist. In the evenings they cook dinner for their children, help them with their homework, give them a bath, and then they wrap up their day.”

While children's involvement in the rehab process doesn’t necessarily guarantee that a mother will remain sober, Ms. Sessions shared that former Renewal House residents have gone on to raise stable families, pursue education, and have even seen their children graduate from college. 

In fact, as children witness the rehab journey first-hand, this often deters them from using drugs and alcohol in their own lives. Sessions spoke with a mother who completed the program back in 1996 who says, “as a result of her drug usage and what she experienced [her children have] never used drugs, and they don’t even think about touching alcohol.”

That said, rehab is never easy, let alone a mother-and-child residential rehab. 

One of the biggest challenges faced by the staff at Renewal House is working with women who have been court ordered into treatment but are not yet ready to begin their recovery journey. Sessions says, “sometimes it makes it more difficult to treat people when they’re not ready to be treated.”

And, on the other hand, while Renewal House strives to admit every woman who reaches out for help, the demand for their services consistently exceeds capacity, Session shares, “we always have a waiting list. It’s rare that we don’t have one. And that’s one of the things we continue to advocate for: more residential treatment for women and children, because the need is so great.”

Author Perspective

Renewal House's persistent conviction that living together with family is the most effective setting for recovery is what really sets it apart as a facility in Nashville. In a society where addicts are frequently cut off from their loved ones and left to face recovery on their own, in a sterile and all-too-temporary environment, Renewal House takes a different approach. 

Speaking with Pamela Sessions and exploring this facility challenged me to reflect on what it means to do community-oriented work. I realized that support goes beyond helping someone survive but it’s about helping them grow, thrive, and express themselves fully as humans again. 

Programs like Renewal wake us up to the idea that the road to recovery shouldn’t be lonely. When we recognize that people aren’t isolated – that, in many ways, they express themselves through their relationships and really exist for the people around them –and we incorporate that into recovery and healing, we truly open the door for lasting transformation. 

Jada Daniels is a student at Tennessee State University and an aspiring journalist. 

All opinions expressed here are solely of the author and do not reflect the views of the author’s employer.