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Jonathan Weathersby from the McNabb Center’s rural recovery mobile unit was the featured speaker at The Stand in the Gap Coalition’s (SIGCO) monthly meeting.

The McNabb Center’s rural mobile unit comes to the SIGCO parking lot each Thursday from 9:30 to 3:30. Funded by a Project Rural Recovery grant through the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, the mobile unit visits five counties (Claiborne, Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson and Hancock) each week.

Weathersby shared that the mobile units are free and provide mental health care and substance abuse treatment as well as primary care for adults and children.

Last year there were 4,200 visits to Project Rural Recovery mobile clinics in Tennessee.

When asked about the root cause of substance abuse problems in rural areas, Weathersby said they were usually the same almost everywhere.

“There is usually some economic trauma due to the loss of jobs — in this area it was from the loss of coal mining jobs,” he said. “The people we see typically suffered some type of injury, were prescribed opioids and then got addicted to them.”

The McNabb Center has a variety of options for those seeking recovery. Weathersby said their primary goal is improving the lives of others.

It was also announced that the Claiborne County School Board has agreed to allow the Tennessee Together survey to be completed by students this month. ​​The survey captures data on youth behaviors, attitudes, and social norms related to substance misuse, emotional wellness, and other risk behaviors among Tennessee 8th, 10th, and 12th grade public school students.