by Lauren Means | photos courtesy NRC
According to 2015 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, LGB adults were more than twice as likely as heterosexual adults to have used any illicit drug in the past year. A 2013 survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau found that a higher percentage of LGBT adults reported past-year binge drinking than heterosexual adults. The National Institute on Drug Abuse said LGB adolescents were 90 percent more likely to use substances than heterosexual adolescents.
With these statics, it’s no wonder there’s a need for inclusive and accepting addiction treatment centers.
Luckily for Middle Tennessee, we have a few inclusive centers and the Nashville Recovery Center (NRC) is one of these. They offer inpatient and outpatient treatment along with community events open to everyone.
The idea for NRC started in 2016 when Ryan Cain, the President of NRC, TN Recovery Clinic, and N Rhythm Recovery Residences, along with Darren Hobbs founded Music City Interventions. Cain said, “We wanted a place that could be a recovery hub, not just a place to hold meetings. We wanted to address every angle of life in recovery.
Our vision came to fruition in October 2018 when we opened the NRC in West Nashville.”
They knew the NRC needed to focus on more than just addiction treatment. “We focused on the whole person. We knew folks needed community. We knew people needed clinical services and therapy. We also knew people needed recovery meetings and fitness. Lastly, we wanted it to be fun so we made sure to offer a sober venue for holiday parties, sporting events on TV, live music acts weekly, and spiritual services,” said Cain.
The NRC offers clinical services such as individual therapy and intensive outpatient treatment.
They also offer housing for men and women, multiple recovery meetings per day on-site, and live musical acts every week.
The NRC is open to everyone. They only charge for clinical care and housing, accept most major insurance, and provide scholarships. The meetings, concerts and events are free.
Cain, a Nashville native, has been in the healthcare space for 20 years and in personal recovery for eight years. He said there can be challenges working in this type of career and stated, “Working with people in recovery can often take its toll on you personally.” He also said it can be mistaken as doing your own recovery work. “It is important that I remember helping someone professionally is NOT the same as doing service work in recovery. It’s critical that anyone in this industry does their own work outside of the workplace. I do individual therapy and group intensives for my own recovery. I attend regular recovery meetings and take time off as needed to recharge my battery. Compassion fatigue is a real concern for people that ‘work’ in recovery,” he explained.
In order to prevent barriers to treatment, the NRC has specific meetings on-site for the LGBT+ community. “NRC practices what we call ‘Radical Inclusivity,’ everyone is welcome,” said Cain. And for those individuals in the LGBT+ community who may be reluctant to seek help whether it’s because they don’t want to give up their circle of support that is possibly rooted in the club/bar scene or they don’t know where
to turn for help where they will be treated with dignity and equality, Cain reminds us that “everyone in recovery, regardless of sexual identity or preference, struggles with fitting in, self-doubt, and authenticity. Community is the key. Focusing on similarities rather than differences helps get connected.”
“Courage isn’t the absence of fear,” said Cain, “it’s taking the next right step despite your fear. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to admit you need help. It takes even more courage to take action to address your problem.”
