Grant gives women a lift on road to change
Published 7:33 am Thursday, June 19, 2014
A local service agency that helps women make positive changes in their lives has been awarded a grant
Red Legacy Recovery has received a grant from the East Tennessee Women’s Fund to implement a transportation service for the recovery program’s clients. Shown here accepting the grant are members of the Red Legacy Recovery Board of Directors as well as representatives from the East Tennessee Women’s Fund.
allowing it to expand the services it uses to provide that assistance.
Red Legacy Recovery has been awarded a $15,000 grant from the Women’s Fund of East Tennessee for the creation of a transportation service for its clients to help get them to essential appointments. Angelee Murray, founder and executive director of Red Legacy Recovery, said the program will greatly benefit women served by the program.
“The reason most women end up back in jail is they violate probation because they miss an appointment or a court date,” Murray said. “There are other transportation systems out there, but they cost money.”
Murray said the transportation service her organization is working to create will provide the program’s clients safe transportation to doctor’s appointments, court dates, probation appointments, attorney appointments, job interviews and treatment meetings such as Red Legacy programs, Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings.
“Most of the women we serve end up with no driver’s license and no safe transportation from point A to point B,” Murray said. “A lot of times to get to those places they have to call someone who is not safe.”
She said that those “not safe” individuals could be family members or friends who are still abusing alcohol or drugs, a dealer or former dealer, or someone who will take advantage of the client because they are desperately in need of transportation. “Those are unsafe situations for these women to be in,” she said.
Murray said the new transportation system will not only help keep the women of the Red Legacy Recovery program safe, it will help keep them out of jail and working toward productive lives. She said by helping provide transportation it will allow them the means to successfully complete probation and break the cycle of returning to jail.
“That is what we are trying to change,” Murray said. “We are trying to give people hope to not give up.”
Murray said there have been more than 100 women enrolled in the Red Legacy program. She said the program is voluntary, not court-ordered.
“This is something where a woman stands up and says ‘I am ready. I want to make a change in my life,’ ” Murray said.
Red Legacy Recovery is an official provider for the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse as an Addiction Recovery Program.
