Recovery Resources is known throughout Northeastern Ohio for its gender-specific intensive outpatient program designed for women with drug and/or alcohol addiction. Many of the Women and Family Services clients have been referred by the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services after having their children removed from the home, or may be at risk of having their children removed.

The Women and Family Services program is unique in that it treats addiction in the context of the whole of a woman's life. In addition to drug and/or alcohol addiction treatment, the program offers classes in nutrition, parenting, vocational preparation and placement, and case management services. For preschool age children of women in treatment, early childhood prevention services are provided during the school year; during the summer, children up to age 12 are involved in activities designed to address the impact of addiction and reinforce academics. Transportation is provided in the form of bus tickets, to ensure participants are able to attend regularly.

"We continue to find great value in using gender-specific programming," comments Minda Brown-Jaramillo, Manager of the Women and Family Services Program. "Women have different ways of dealing with recovery and tend to respond well to a relational model of treatment. In keeping with that philosophy, we incorporated an evidence-based best practice curriculum to one created for women, especially those who have suffered trauma. We are finding it to be an effective program."

This past year, participants of the Women and Family Services program have helped create a community garden and play yard at the agency. Participation in the alumni group has increased, with monthly meetings and twice-monthly service projects, in addition to casual program drop-in visits. Alumni group members also now act as peer mentors for women residents of the Northeast Pre-Release Center, a minimum to medium security facility operated by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Recovery Resources partners with Northeast to provide trauma-informed treatment services to incarcerated women, and to help with their reentry into the community.

As part of a journal project exploring what recovery means to them, one Women and Families client wrote, "Recovery made me realize that I am a beautiful woman – and that I can be a better mother and a better person for myself." Another responded, "Recovery means everything to me today. It gives me a new way of life. I can stay sober today and don't have to be homeless anymore. I can smile more today."

For more information, contact Debbie Rodriguez, President & CEO of Recovery Resources, at 216.431.4131 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

About Recovery Resources

Recovery Resources has a 56-year history of helping people triumph over mental illness, alcoholism, drug and other addictions in Northeast Ohio. The agency delivers outpatient mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment programs in nine locations and touches 13,000 clients annually in Cuyahoga County. Recovery Resources' programs and services include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Evidence-based best practices, providing continuum of care for individuals ages 9 months to 90 years
• Alcohol, drug and other addiction programs, including education, prevention, assessment and treatment
• Mental health services that include psychiatric services, individual and group counseling, intensive services for those with dual diagnoses, homeless services and case management
• Special populations served: HIV/AIDS, Older Adults, Homeless, Women and Families, Re-entry

To learn more about Recovery Resources' Women and Family Services, please click here.