When women arrive at Healing Housing, a nonprofit that works with women in recovery who need financial help, often the odds are stacked against them. Executive director Tracey Levine says often they need “support across the board” and that the math just doesn’t work for most of them to take care of basic needs in a way that’s conducive to recovering from substance abuse.
“Many of the housing options we have looked at that are affordable are rife with addiction,” Levine says in a recent conversation with the Scene. “We had a community member that recently wrote on her gratitude list that she was grateful to be living in a house where there aren't needles, people passed out on the front steps and feeling afraid to sleep at night. But that was her only affordable option before she came to [Healing Housing].”
Beyond housing, women need access to medical and dental care and behavioral health services. “When a person is new in recovery,” Levine explains, “it is oftentimes overwhelming and scary to face all of these things that have been neglected for so long but are essential to healing.”
In an effort to raise money toward medical services for women in the program, Healing Housing is hosting a benefit Monday, Oct. 24, at Franklin Theatre; tickets for the show, which starts at 7 p.m., are available now. Headlining is singer-songwriter Allison Russell, whose 2021 LP Outside Child — a searing look into her childhood trauma with vivid storytelling throughout — was named Album of the Year at the Americana Honors and Awards. Support comes from superb folk-blues artist and music therapist Kyshona.
“[Russell] deeply understands the story of the women we serve whose experiences of trauma and poverty intensify their ability to heal,” Levine wrote in a release about the event. “With the addition of Kyshona, a musical therapist who balances her music career with her passion to heal and foster community, this will be a powerful evening for lovers of music and justice.”
Recently, Levine answered a few questions about how the show will benefit the women in recovery at Healing Housing.
One thing I’ve heard a lot while talking to advocates is the need to speak about recovery in terms of what it provides, which is sometimes a lot of medical intervention. What are some of the needs women may need while in recovery?
One of the criteria for admittance into our program is that the applicant is depleted of all financial resources. In most cases, our clients face homelessness upon release from the 30-day treatment center they are discharging from [such as The Next Door or Buffalo Valley]. Due to long-term addiction and poverty, nearly all medical needs for our residents have been neglected. Upon assessment, the case manager is working on a plan to address each of these needs in a way that isn't overwhelming to the resident.
We typically start with a women's wellness exam and assignment of a general practitioner. We've covered medical expenses for severe anemia, carpal tunnel, back issues and general care for sickness to name a few. We also cover all medication expenses until a resident has the ability to pay. Our message is, “We will take care of you while you are getting back on your feet.” We don't want women to neglect healthcare because they can't pay. We know that feeling good is an important step in recovery.
How does trauma impact the women you work with?
Trauma is the door to your past that you don't want to open. If you have lived a life of neglect, abuse, or have been denied basic needs, then you have had to find a way to cope with that. Addiction is one of the most commonly used coping mechanisms. The pain of putting “feeling” words to trauma can be overwhelming and many of our residents state that they are afraid they won't be able to “come back” if they have to face their past.
For most, the incidence of trauma occurred in childhood, so it is deeply rooted in their identity. It takes a skilled clinician to be able to evaluate the best modality to help each individual. I am grateful for the skilled clinicians that we have to pool from who are all versed in specific areas of trauma treatment. We tend to generalize the disease of addiction, but the nuances of trauma and getting to the root of the problem is very individualized. I am grateful that our program recognizes this and works hard at developing a unique healing plan for each woman.
How important is financial stability in terms of healing?
It is incredibly important! I remember early on, a woman in our program who had numerous children to feed said, “Tracey, it's real hard for me to accept a job that I will have to work 40 hours a week to make what I could make in one hour turning a trick or selling drugs.” That hit me so hard. Of course her desire was to make an honest living and be free from living in the streets and hustling for her next fix. But addiction is a disease of immediate gratification.
We are working to reframe that narrative and to educate women on what true financial stability looks like. That is why our partnership with UpRise Nashville has been so transformative to the women we serve. They are getting the opportunity to go to school to get certifications in fields that are hungry for employees. They learn about benefits, 401(k) savings and upward mobility. We're teaching them about the long game as opposed to getting a job that oftentimes isn't physically sustainable long term.
Can you speak to the portion of your mission that is “rooted in love”? I love this concept and wonder if you could expand on what all that means.
For many of our residents, their experience with love has been transactional and conditional. Love is fundamental to every conversation we have. Love is abundant and it isn't withheld, no matter what. If we have to ask a woman to leave our program, it is done with love and a message that we are still here for you. You can still call on us. This is a disease that is fraught with fear of love being withheld or that there won't be enough. Obviously we try to get to the root of where that fear or message came from with the help of our therapists. But there is plenty of opportunity to show love and keep showing love. I do believe we can love each other into healing.
