The SisterHouse Program
How It Works
SisterHouse provides a networking community of women with a familial environment committed to excelling and improving all dimensions of their lives. Each new member of SisterHouse is genuinely welcomed and embraced with a love that will continue to speak word and deed as they begin a new life…together. SisterHouse requires accountability and personal responsibility to the group. It offers a secure, structured, and peaceful environment where women can grow in self-esteem and spiritual maturity.
Phase I: 4 Months
The first phase encompasses the first three months at SisterHouse. Residents begin with an intensive study of the first five of the twelve steps and participate in fifteen hours of intensive individual and group therapy weekly with our Behavioral Health Specialist. They are enrolled in our life skills program, they work on special projects towards the development of their personal spirituality, and they attend ten Alcoholics Anonymous (“AA”) meetings per week.
Phase II: 6 Months
The women continue to receive individual mental health and group therapy with our Behavioral Health Specialist and set individual life skills and job training goals while continuing to focus on recovery and community living. They continue to study the twelve steps, attend five to six AA meetings per week, and continue their participation in our life skills program. Ideally, women are admitted to the CARA Program for powerful motivation sessions and job training.
Phase III: 8-14 Months
During the third phase, the women develop a network of supportive relationships while pursuing goals related to spirituality, family reconciliation, employment, and future living arrangements. They continue with regular mental health therapy, continue studying the twelve steps, and attend AA meetings with their sponsors. They complete their job training program and find employment during this stage and work towards saving money to get a place of their own.
Phase IV: 12 Months
At the discretion and recommendation of the staff, women who maintain their sobriety and are employed may be offered the opportunity to stay in one of our new supportive housing units located in our SisterHouse annex directly behind the main house. We have made this housing available to Phase VI residents after receiving feedback from many of our Phase III residents who requested a bridge to independent living. The fear and anxiety they feel as they are nearing the end of their time at SisterHouse are substantial. Most of these women have never lived on their own, and they have requested a more gradual separation to reduce the chance of relapse.