We welcome any woman who is ready and willing to do the work to stay sober and to support the recovery of her fellow community members.
Why The Women’s Home?
We serve women— daughters, sisters, wives and mothers—who need structure and professional support in early recovery to build a solid basis for sustained sobriety.
The Women’s Home addresses the special needs of women, with a focus on lifestyle changes. By accepting boundaries and personal responsibility, residents put in place new attitudes and new ways of living, transforming their liabilities into assets. Residents learn tools to stay sober and how to “live life on life’s terms.” It is one of the few such programs licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
We are based on a strategy of accountability to structure, accepting guidance from staff and cultivating healthy relationships with women, learning to ask for and accept help. Residents align themselves with successful women in the recovery community, who have sustained long-term sobriety. With this new-found resource, residents recognize where they are at risk of relapsing and maintain the motivation to change their behavior.
“Eight years ago I saw myself homeless, hungry and without a place to turn. I sought help from The Women’s Home knowing of their incredible encouraging program, I found love and support. I stayed sober for five years then fell into the grips of addiction but with serious legal and medical consequences. I again reached out to The Women’s Home and was welcomed back with open arms. The assistance that I received, and the encouragement and support from the Home, have once again allowed me to achieve a sober life. The key to sobriety is a good foundation but what I have realized this time is there is a difference between sobriety and not drinking.
Today I am proud of who I am and excited about the future and all of the beauty that it can bring. I hope to take the gift of sobriety and use it to help others struggling and show them that there is a beautiful side to life. ”
Why a program after treatment?
Stability in recovery takes time because recovery is a process, not an event.
Learning how to live without drugs or alcohol in a safe environment is the next step to building recovery that is sustainable over time. Research shows that significant time in treatment is key to achieving long-term sobriety. The NIH has reported that most addicted individuals need at least 3 months in treatment and that the best outcomes occur with longer durations of treatment. The Women’s Home program is designed to extend an affordable, treatment-focused environment, continuing the work begun in primary treatment.
“I have enormous gratitude for the gift to continue my treatment here at The Women’s Home. I’m discovering how to do life on life’s terms for the first time. I want to stay as long as I can. This community of recovering women seems to strengthen my sobriety, daily. What a great and solid start to living sober for life!”
History of The Home
Founded in 1963, The Home was a small, clapboard residence near the railroad tracks on Duke Street in Alexandria, Virginia. Abandoned and in poor shape, the house was repaired and soon housed four residents and a resident manager.
In 1964, "Robbie" Robinson, a local businessman and philanthropist, made it possible for The Women's Home to move to, and later purchase, a small Cape Cod style house in Arlington, where it remained for the next 21 years. During these years, The Women's Home won respect and admiration in the community and among professionals.
To accommodate the growing number of deserving applicants, The Women's Home sold its longstanding residence in 1985 and purchased a larger house, also located in Arlington, close to Virginia Hospital Center (formerly Arlington Hospital), where it is located today.
In 2013, The Women’s Home celebrated its 50th anniversary of continuous service helping women build their sober futures.
About the Facility
The Women’s Home, Inc. is located in a vibrant Arlington, Virginia neighborhood, near the Virginia Hospital Center, convenient to public transportation. The Home is a three-story, single-family, detached home with approximately 4800 square feet of living space. Our capacity is 12 residents and a resident manager. The Home is licensed by the Commonwealth of Virginia as a residential community-based provider of substance abuse services.
The Women's Home is a 501(c)(3) organization. Operating funds come from the affordable room and board fees charged the residents (a fraction of the actual cost per resident), donations, United Way pledges and occasional grants from foundations. As determined by The United Way, only 1% of revenues support administrative services. This means that 99% of all revenues go to direct services to residents
We Are Grateful to our Generous Supporters
In Christy's Shoes | The Dominion Guild | St. Mark Catholic Church of Vienna | Arlington Home Improvement
St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church of Arlington | The Candy Drawer Confectionary | The Seneca Foundation