The Next Door is a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving women in crisis in the Nashville and Chattanooga areas. The organization provides services to women of various financial means who are affected by addiction, mental illness, trauma and/or incarceration. To provide comprehensive care for residents’ needs, the staff includes counselors, case managers, nurse practitioners – both medical and psychiatric, medical doctors, masters-level social work interns, mentors and job coaches.
Incorporated in 2003, the nonprofit became known as “The Next Door” after organizers met with a local warden, who explained that when a woman was ready for release, she would go to “Roll-Up One” – a huge door that literally rolled open to allow her to walk out to freedom. With nowhere else to go, too many women went back to old neighborhoods and old “friends,” often returning to incarceration within weeks or months.
The nonprofit founders decided they would pick up women at “Roll-Up One” and offer them “The Next Door” to a new home, new friends and the opportunity for a fresh start. In November 2006, the legal name of the organization was changed to The Next Door, Inc.
Nonprofit organizations face a wide range of legal issues – some that apply to any organization and some that are unique to nonprofits, including:
Maintaining tax-exempt status.
Reporting and regulatory requirements.
Employment laws.
HIPAA and other governmental compliance.
Because a nonprofit operates primarily through donations, cost-effective legal representation is key to its ability to deliver the much-needed services it provides.
Bradley attorneys provide The Next Door with ongoing representation on a variety of legal matters, including healthcare regulatory compliance, managed care and reimbursement arrangements, patient relations, and establishing and maintaining policies and procedures. They have supplied this pro bono representation since 2015.
