Dismas House Testimonial
Nashville Office Interiors recently had the honor of working with the Dismas House of Nashville in creating fresh new spaces for their residents and staff. Dismas House is a safe haven and home for formerly incarcerated men transitioning back into society. Since 1974, the Dismas House goal has been to help former inmates find supportive services, obtain jobs, and become full and successful participants in society by providing:
Housing and basic needs
A family atmosphere
Clinical support
Case management
Life skills in action
Financial management
The goal of the Dismas House/Nashville Office Interiors project was to create spaces throughout the facility that could be used in many creative ways while serving the many unique needs of both the staff and the residents.
It was important to plan spaces that are inviting for the many people that pass through the building; the program houses residents for 3-4 months and will often serve 150 people in a calendar year. Affordability was also a consideration, of course, and it was also vital that the furniture selected was well-made and could stand the test of time.
“The furniture is being used as we had hoped and planned, but also in ways that we hadn’t even envisioned,” said Dismas House CEO Kay Kretsch.
At the beginning of the project, Kretsch and the Nashville Office Interiors team sat down together for a marathon planning day. Everyone was well-prepared, and all the options for the 24K sq foot facility were chosen in a single afternoon!
Once the planning stage was complete and all furniture had been chosen and ordered, it was time for the installation. The Nashville Office Interiors team installed and assembled all sorts of furniture in their new space, including beds, chairs, tables, wardrobes and more.
“Everything was as it was ordered and as it was designed, and it’s all working great for the people who come to our campus,” said Kretsch.
A few of the new features brought to life:
The family living room in the Dismas House is a very important place for the residents since it’s the space used for meetings between residents and their family members. The project has now repurposed this vital area to be multi-purpose; community activities, such as yoga, CrossFit, and 12-step meetings, will now be held here, and it can be used to seat up to 80 people, as well.
The upper deck now includes big, comfy rockers that provide a great space in which to relax and decompress.
Some Dismas House staffers are now also the proud residents of office space that they didn’t have before the project began. One of the favorite features here are portable filing cabinets with seating options; no more running to grab chairs for a last-minute meeting!
Private office space was created for case managers, which allows residents to feel comfortable and secure in their interactions with their managers as they move forward in their transition plans. Both managers and residents will be enjoying a much more relaxed and casual environment in which to work. It was important that these spaces lost their “authoritative” feel to encourage better communication, and this project achieved that important goal.
“All of the ways we used the NOI furniture in the common areas for the residents are working so well and are making it feel like home to them,” said Kretsch.
The new areas in the Dismas House have maximized all their spaces, and that will help them continue to achieve and expand their vision for years to come. For more information on the Dismas House, visit their website here.
Nashville Office Interiors is proud to have been a part of this project to help plan and execute this space for the Dismas House. To see more from this project, check out our project gallery!