Alcoholism Center For Women, Inc.

The Alcoholism Center For Women (ACW) has been a substance abuse treatment facility for women for over 45 years. Our residential treatment program began in 1974 and was the first program on the west coast to provide shelter and substance abuse treatment for women. Shortly thereafter, we added outpatient services to help women continue their treatment as they moved back into the community. In 2016, we added both a Nutrition Program and Family Therapy Program to increase our clients’ long-term positive outcomes. Our Nutritionist helps our clients (many of whom have health issues after years of substance abuse) achieve better health through nutrition and cooking classes, residential menu preparation and one-on-one consultations. Our Family Therapy program offers groups and individual family therapy sessions. By having the support of family members, clients improve their ability to prevent relapse and break the cycle of substance abuse on their family. In 2017, we added a Licensed Practitioner of the Healing Arts to ensure our treatment met new State and County requirements and ensure that our services were enriched to better understand the mental health challenges our clients faced. In 2019, we added a Trauma Therapy program to help our clients heal from trauma and domestic violence. In 2020, we received a grant from the State to reduce smoking at our facility. We now are a tobacco/smoke free facility. ACW is a gender responsive trauma informed sophisticated drug and alcohol State-certified licensed substance abuse treatment and wellness center that has 3-year Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) accreditation. Our mission is to is to empower women to make new choices for positive futures. Our audits are stellar. Eighty- eight (87) cents out of every dollar goes to programs and services. Our 32-bed substance abuse Residential Treatment program and our life affirming Outpatient programs utilize evidence-based curriculum and offer individual and group counseling sessions, crisis intervention and case management linkage to needed health and mental health services as well as linkage to other community based services. We assign each client a substance abuse counselor who works to develop the client’s own unique treatment plan and roadmap to long-term recovery. Our 32-bed residential treatment program offers a 24-hour, 7-day a week set schedule based on a methodology that offers each woman a prescribed process allowing her to move gradually from a structured to a self-determined program. Our Outpatient Programs, Intensive Outpatient Program and Outpatient Counseling, are offered during the day or at night to accommodate the individual’s family and/or work responsibilities and are offered in English and Spanish. Clients step up or down to different levels of program intensity based on their individual situation and treatment need. Our facilities are two turn-of-the-century homes that are designated historic monuments by the City of Los Angeles. Our neighborhood is the Pico Union area of Los Angeles, known for a high concentration of gang violence, drug selling, drug using, and homelessness. Our buildings are majestic and act as a beacon of hope for the community and women we serve.