The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (TDMHDD) is very aware of the challenges that mental health consumers face in being hired into today’s workforce, and so a statewide initiative was born:  the Creating Jobs Initiative.

The Creating Jobs Initiative (CJI) was developed by the TDMHDD with the goal of partnering with local Tennessee communities to increase the number of persons with mental illness employed statewide, resulting in 2,010 persons with mental illness employed by the year 2010.  The CJI vision is for every Tennessean with a mental illness or co-occurring disorder (mental illness and substance abuse) who wants to work will have the opportunity to choose, obtain, keep, and advance in a job.

In addition to all of the benefits of obtaining and keeping a job, when mental health consumers work, they become, over time, less stigmatized and less isolated, allowing them to become a contributing part of the community.

The CJI Task Force 

A CJI Task Force has been formed in each of the seven Tennessee regions.  Each Task Force is charged with implementing CJI locally in addition to developing and expanding local partnerships to provide more employment opportunities in each of the seven regions of Tennessee.

Each Task Force is comprised of representatives from mental health service providers, employers, consumers, family members, Division of Rehabilitation Services, and the Department of Labor.  The Region III Task Force, which meets monthly at the AIM Center in downtown Chattanooga, is currently open to new representatives for those interested in expanding employment opportunities in the East Tennessee. 

If you are interested in serving on the Region III Creating Jobs Initiative Task Force, or if you have any questions about the Creating Jobs Initiative in East Tennessee, please contact:

Laura Yuenger

Director, Employment Resource Center

AIM Center

472 W. MLK Blvd.Chattanooga, TN 37402

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

(423) 702-8003

Counties in Region III: