Womens Step House Orange County

To provide a safe and caring environment for women to get sober and build a foundation for recovery.

We opened with one home in 1998 to provide women with a free place to get sober. We are staffed with all volunteers. We acquired a second home in 2007 and a third in 2016. We acquired an apartment building in 2022 to allow women who get back partial or full custody of their children to have an individual affordable apartment that is safe and affordable. We have three homes with 35 beds and four apartments. All of our funding comes from private donations.

Two years ago we opened a small apartment building to provide women with children an affordable place to live. Last year we launched a capital campaign to renovate our three properties and this year we launched a scholarship program for the women.

Our most pressing needs are improving our infrastructure such as web site, communications, administration and overall management. We are currently an all volunteer organization and will be hiring an Executive Director in 2025.

Our facilities are in Laguna Hills and Lake Forest, CA in Orange County. 95% of the women we serve are from Orange County.

The most unique thing is that we are staffed by all volunteers. We are fiscally conservative, have no debt and take no money from insurance companies or the government. We provide women with a free place to stay for thirty days, then offer them the opportunity to go into sober living (they must have a job and pay $110 per week; follow the rules, stay sober, go to meetings). They may stay in sober living for up to a year. We surround them with community of support.

Our vision is "Be the model for all (alcoholic) women to stay sober and lead happy productive lives where they are reunited with their families, involved in their communities, and giving back what was given to them."