ABOUT US

The P.O.W.E.R. House of Houston Inc. was established by a group of women who came together to form a nonprofit organization in July 27, 2000.  Our Corporate Purpose is exclusively organized for educational, literary, and charitable purposes as defined by the Internal Revenue Code in Section 501(c) (3).  The P.O.W.E.R. House of Houston Inc. mission is to provide a transitional sober living facility; for recovering women in long term sobriety with and without children; designed to assist with the reduction and prevention of chemical dependency, homelessness and incarceration.  Our program was designed to support and assist transitional women with the opportunity to continuously work on the maintenance of their sobriety in a safe alcohol and drug free environment, as opposed to returning to their toxic drug and alcohol infested environments and families. 

      In July of 2001 the doors of the P.O.W.E.R. House opened and begin to admit women with and without and children. Our clients are referred to the program by their counselor, probation officer, parole officer, or a community stake holder within the community that can verify the client meets the eligibility admission requirements.  The P.O.W.E.R. House program motivates, inspires, and empowers women to become sober, responsible, employable, and self-sufficient individuals and parents.  It is the program’s belief that by allowing the mother to bring the child(s) into transitional recovery with her alleviates the painful choices the mother faces and counteracts any excuses that may keep the family from becoming a healthy functioning and productive unit. 

     The P.O.W.E.R. House focuses on the maintenance of sobriety, education, support, and shelter for indigent, homeless chemically dependent females and their dependent child(s) for up to 24 months of residential stay.  Maintaining long term recovery is the responsibility of each individual client.  Compliance with the program guidelines and active participation in the program and self-help groups are required and monitored. Being willing to exchange their old habitual behaviors for new behaviors and incorporate new coping skills is a part of the change process whereby each client is expected to allow the process of change to successfully occur in their lives.  

     The P.O.W.E.R. House programs has witnessed the overwhelming waiting list serving as roadblocks and delays to their recovery.  Not having a safe drug free environment to transition into have proven to be the major obstacle that has often prevented this minority segment of the population from getting the immediate placement that’s is so desperately needed for the successful maintenance and transitional requirements into their long-term recovery lifestyle.  The P.O.W.E.R. House understands that timing is everything and can be the determining factor in whether an alcoholic and or addicted female chooses to take the risk and embrace her recovery, or live in the horrors of denial in the diseased lifestyle of alcoholism, addiction, and crime.

     Our first successful discharge enrolled into our program in July 2001 with her newborn daughter.  She had been discharged from Edith Irby Jones treatment facility. Staff expressed how challenging it had been working with her because of her many struggles with maintaining her sobriety and the fact the she had become institutionalized.  Upon entering into the P.O.W.E.R. House program with clear guidelines of the program’s expectations she began to do the work in spite of a few bumps along the way.  She successful completed the program and after voluntarily mentoring her peers and assisting staff she returned to her home state of New York and reunified with her four other children and family members. She returned to college and graduated with her bachelor’s degree and dance training and started her own Powerhouse of Expressions.    

     It is the P.O.W.E.R HOUSE of Houston's philosophy that "any woman having a desire to get clean and sober should be given the opportunity regardless of their economic status.” We believe in loving the ladies until they can love themselves by modeling for them that “healing is possible, and women do recover.” More importantly the goal is to assure them that anything they can dream they can achieve.

The P.O.W.E.R. House of Houston Inc. vision is to be recognized as a respected institution in the community that mainstreams successful productive women in long term sobriety back into society.  Thereby giving our communities a safer appeal as neighborhoods and family life begin to flourish once again as crime rates decreases. 

     The P.O.W.E.R. HOUSE will continue to network and collaborate with other outside agencies to coordinate necessary resources that will ensure the success of the resident and their individualized client centered plan.  Our goal is to provide long term transitional supportive housing for women with and without children whose lives have been impacted by homelessness, chemical dependency, alcoholism, and the recidivism rates of incarceration.  By giving women another chance to rebuild their lives and another opportunity to re-bond with their children everyone wins as she becomes a confident productive self-sufficient woman in long term recovery one day at a time.