The Center of Hope for Behavioral Health was founded in 2020. What began as a vision in the heart of a seasoned mental health professional has become a sanctuary for those who feel unseen, unheard, and unworthy of care. Our founder, Ms. Morenike Murphy, a Licensed Professional Counselor with over 25 years of front-line experience, has walked the hallways of crisis centers, sat in rooms where policy was made, and held the hands of those society often overlooks.
As Tennessee’s former State Mental Health Crisis Director, Morenike understood better than most how administrative systems work, and how they often fail the people who need them most. But it wasn’t just her professional path that led to the founding of the Center. It was personal. Even with all her credentials, Morenike found herself unable to secure timely, compassionate mental health care for someone she deeply loved. She waited on endless lists, was quoted unaffordable fees, and saw how compassion too often gets lost in bureaucracy. That pain became her purpose. She founded the Center of Hope to be the place she once needed. A place where people aren’t met with red tape, but with open arms. Where access isn’t a privilege, but a right. Where trauma-informed, culturally competent care isn’t a buzzword….but the bare minimum.
Located in Goodlettsville, Tennessee, the Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a clear and unwavering mission: to enhance the well-being of students, adults, and families through comprehensive behavioral health care in a supportive and inclusive environment. Each day, we strive to live out this mission through individual, group, and family therapy, psychiatric care, substance use treatment, case management, and supportive housing services, serving hundreds of clients each year, regardless of their ability to pay.
A movement to redefine what behavioral health care looks like for marginalized communities. A movement rooted in equity, compassion, and community. A movement built on faith and the belief that no one should walk through mental health challenges alone. Looking to the future, our vision only grows bolder. By 2030, the Center will expand to include 12 supportive housing units, each named after one of Jesus’s disciples. Not because they were perfect, but because they were ordinary people chosen for extraordinary impact. They were misunderstood, dismissed, doubted—just like so many we serve.
We believe that the same is true for our clients. Those who are hurting the most often have the greatest capacity to heal others. We are here to remind them of their worth, to walk with them toward restoration, and to provide a place where they can not only survive….but thrive. With the support of generous donors, community partners, and a growing team of professionals committed to doing things differently, the Center of Hope for Behavioral Health is planting seeds of change—one person, one family, one life at a time. Because at the Center of Hope, we don’t just treat symptoms. We honor stories. We restore dignity.
And above all else, We lead with HOPE.
