Balloons are placed outside of Bailey Home, a new residence facility for people with mental disabilities, for a ribbon-cutting on Tuesday, June 21, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The co-ed facility set up by Helen Ross McNabb Center will house 10 residents.A ribbon-cutting Tuesday morning formally opened the Bailey Home, a new supportive living facility for people suffering from mental illness.
The home, in the 1400 block of Bailey Avenue, is run by the non-profit Helen Ross McNabb Center.
Ten people will live in the co-ed facility, along with an around-the clock staffer from McNabb. The goal is to provide permanent housing for people with severe mental illness who are able to live independently, but need assistance on occasion. For example, the Bailey Home residents also have a medical problem, such as diabetes, that they may have difficulty managing by themselves.
"We need a treatment facility for those who are stuck at Moccasin Bend," said Mark Dickson, Housing Services Coordinator for McNabb. "They may put in for a bed, but it could be years, and before they find one, Moccasin Bend may have to discharge them and they end up on the streets."
UnitedHealthcare's Community Plan for Tennessee made a $341,000 donation to the McNabb Center to fund construction of the home, which includes five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a spacious living room, a large kitchen with two refrigerators, and an office for staffers with windows looking into the living room.
The Bailey Home is one of three such homes that UnitedHealthcare's Community Plan has built in Tennessee, according to Chief Operating Officer Ute Strand.