Helping Deliver Hope for a Healthier Life
Addiction is a lifelong disease and recovery is an ongoing process. The founders and leaders of the McShin Foundation were driven by their own journeys through recovery to start the 17-year-old organization with a mission to provide alcohol and substance use recovery to individuals in the Richmond Region.
Founded in a church basement in 2004, McShin now provides a 15,000-square-foot residence and more than 100 beds across various homes for people in recovery in the metro region. McShin is one of 16 accredited Recovery Community Organizations (RCOs) in the U.S. These organizations offer safe halfway and transitional recovery housing, linkage to detox services, and connections with rehabilitation, treatment, and aftercare facilities. McShin fosters daily experiences for their participants with outings to museums, art groups, sporting events, and various outdoor adventures.
As part of its program, McShin operates 12 recovery homes. Housing is available to adults who seek long-term recovery, show a history of relapse, or require aftercare once released from a treatment center. Demand for McShin’s services remains high from the effects of the ongoing opioid and methamphetamine epidemics, and that means, in addition to its services, the nonprofit needs more beds to serve more people. When McShin decides to purchase a new recovery residence, its leaders often turn to their financing partner, Virginia Community Capital (VCC).
McShin has long been a VCC client, mostly for recovery home purchases. The most recent home loan was approved for their fifth residence financed over several years. VCC lent McShin 85% of the home’s $229,000 value, with terms that mirror past home buys for the organization. This is possible because of VCC’s capacity as a CDFI, which allows our bank to more easily lend to nonprofits and socially-minded organizations like McShin.
This loan aligns with VCC’s own mission of supporting social enterprises and nonprofits, especially for communities that are often excluded from financing opportunities.
The stigma related to recovery from addiction and recovery providers has the potential to make lending and expanding needed operations complicated. Organizations that offer recovery services have often faced setbacks and opposition within their own communities, which can make it hard to be approved for lending. Therefore, support from community leaders is a vital resource. This home loan helps McShin continue to provide consistent services that meet the unique demands for people recovering from alcohol use or substance use disorders in a safe environment.
This relationship with McShin advances VCC’s commitment to promoting community health and wellness through understanding the Social Determinants of Health and the Foundation supports that approach with a partnership that goes beyond lender-borrower. Last year, McShin opened a deposit account with VCC, allowing the nonprofit to securely save and grow its funds in a risk-free account. Opening deposit accounts with VCC allows the bank to reinvest those funds into other community development projects that could promote the health, safety, and wellness of our communities. These resources are used to lend to assist education, growth, and build sustainable communities in Virginia.
