The UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Tennessee is giving $1 million in grants to increase housing for Tennesseans with mental illness. Officials say the funding will help support development of appropriate housing for people who need a place to live after being discharged from a mental health facility. UnitedHealthcare will give $400,000 this year and $600,000 in 2014. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, more than 245,000 adults and 65,000 children in Tennessee live with serious mental health conditions.
The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse's Creating Homes Initiative estimates nearly 190,000 Tennesseans with mental illness are in need of some sort of housing assistance.