Adult and Teen Challenge of the UC Keeps Growing For Over A Decade

The Adult and Teen Challenge of The Upper Cumberland has worked for 12 years this week to help with life controlling addictions.

Executive Director Tim McLauchlin said it all started in a rented facility in Gainesboro with only six students. McLauchlin said the faith based program kept growing and led them to Livingston.

“When we moved over here with those eight and then we grew to 11 because we had a five bedroom, three bath house on this property,” McLauchlin said. “Since then we have built a chapel building and then also a dormitory building and today we can hold up to 24 ladies on this campus.”

McLauchlin said the growth is continuing, building a cafeteria currently and hopefully more dorms for women in need. He said that over 12 to 14 months they work to build life skills to thrive in society without a dependence on drugs or alcohol.

“They’ll take many classes, biblical classes as well as life skills classes,” McLauchlin said. “Learning how to do everyday things like cooking, cleaning, sewing, computer skills, home maintenance, all of those things. They learn those things while they’re in our program.”

He said that over 350 women have made their way through the program since 2009.

McLauchlin said they help men and adolescents find residential placement in other programs across the United States. He said they have grown other non-residential programs to be able to operate in three counties in the Upper Cumberland.

“People get addicted to things for various reasons sometimes,” McLauchlin said. “They could have a medical procedure that goes wrong and then they get hooked on drugs. Some people because of their environment, just whatever the case may be and what we want to do is to get them back to the original place and teach them how to be able to live and function in society.”

McLauchlin said this program is a Christian disciple program, not a rehab or a medical facility.