The Women's Home

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Our Programs

The residential treatment and transitional housing program at The Women’s Home serves women who have become homeless due to mental illness and/or substance abuse disorders, specifically women with co-occurring illnesses who require long-term treatment. We offer our residents a home and an individualized WholeLife program based on six wellness areas: emotional, financial, physical, social, spiritual and vocational. Our clinical, residential and vocational services support these wellness areas.

We have two unique facilities. Our residential treatment and transitional housing program has 57 beds and offers residents up to 18 months of support.

In addition, The Women’s Home owns and operates an 87-unit apartment complex, called Jane Cizik Garden Place, which offers permanent supportive housing and women-centered programming to individuals on a low income. Both residential programs offer a solution to those who seek a safe, sober and drug-free community where they can recognize and reach their unique potential for success.

Residential Treatment

26-bed dormitory
Residents who are homeless because of addiction or mental illness begin their journey to wellness in residential treatment. Each woman is assigned a case manager and participates in a comprehensive treatment program that includes:

Individual and group therapy. Weekly sessions provide residents the opportunity to work through emotional issues that are barriers to their recovery.
Goal Groups. Bi-weekly groups facilitate a goal-oriented style of living. Using The Women’s Home’s WholeLife Treatment Model, clients identify goals and strategies in six wellness areas: emotional/mental, physical, social, spiritual, vocational and financial.
Psychiatric and nurse practitioner services. An Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine consults with the clinical staff weekly, and a Clinical Instructor at UT-Houston School of Nursing provides/coordinates nursing services.
Chemical dependency services. Services include individual assessments and counseling, relapse prevention, recovery life skills, seeking safety, dual-disorders group and other chemical dependency psycho-educational groups. In addition, residents attend five 12 step meetings per week.
Vocational training and education. Residents develop essential business skills in behaviors in The Cottage Shop and administrative office. Each woman takes part in volunteer-led classes on topics including basic computer skills, job search skills, budgeting, assertiveness and conflict resolution.
Spiritual development programming. All residents are invited to participate in a variety of spiritual experiences to help them develop their own faith at their own pace. Non-denominational services are held in The Home’s chapel, which is the center of the residential block.

Bachelor’s-level staff are on site in the dormitory 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to maintain a safe environment. The facility is licensed as a supportive residential treatment program by the Texas Department of State Health Services and approved by the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services.

Transitional Housing

4 Homes for 24 women
As women become employed or are in school full time (usually after four to six months), they transition to a group home. In this setting, residents increase their financial self-sufficiency by creating a budget, opening a savings account, paying rent and utilities and purchasing food. While women in this phase spend more time working with the Vocational Program, they continue to attend individual and group therapy sessions, chemical dependency groups, ‘Goal Group’ meetings, and weekly meetings with their case counselor. In this phase, they are strongly encouraged to work more intensively in family therapy and to invite their family members to attend a Family Therapy Weekend.

A Room of Her Own
Private accommodations for 7 women
A Room of Her Own offers a woman the opportunity to apply the coping skills she has acquired at The Home to deal with her substance abuse and/or mental illness in an environment that mirrors independent living. At this stage, usually during the final six months of her 18-month stay, a woman will be offered a room of her own in an apartment away from the main campus. Women in A Room of Her Own still attend 12-step meetings and family therapy and have access to all The Home’s support structures on an as-needed basis. As approved by staff, a woman may have her child visit for the weekend. Currently, this phase can accommodate six women, but The Home has funds to purchase two additional condominiums as they become available.

Permanent Supportive Housing

Jane Cizik Garden Place
Providing a safe and affordable place for women to live when returning to independent lives was the logical next step to our program. The Women's Home recently opened an 87-unit, permanent supportive housing complex specializing in women-centered services. Elements from our WholeLife Program were incorporated into the design of the complex – the facility features a labryrinth in the community garden and a meditation room (spiritual), a work-out room (physical), a community room for meetings (social).

The apartment complex provides women who have successfully completed our residential program and others like them with the opportunity to live independently in a drug, smoke, and alcohol-free environment. Residents are required to pay a modest rent, must be employed and must follow The Women’s Home’s eligibility requirements and behavioral rules. A property manager is located at the facility to oversee its operations. Additionally, a case worker is onsite to provide residents with valuable information about community resources, including assistance with employment advancement, continuing education, and home ownership loans available to persons with low income, thus aiding residents to progress in educational, employment and social opportunities even after they begin independent living.