Santa Maria Hostel opened the doors to Women Helping Ourselves in September 2005 and developed a modified therapeutic community that provides each woman the opportunity to apply learned knowledge and practice the skills in a structured and supportive environment.
One of the features of this model of treatment is a client hierarchy that instills responsibility and support to others. This is a 180-day program in which clients participate in a variety of classes designed to address chemical dependency, criminal thinking errors, life skills, relapse prevention, parenting, anger management and women's issues. Curriculum used includes Thinking for Change, Stages of Change and curriculum from Stephanie Covington. Family counseling, family education and individual education are also a part of the program. As in other Santa Maria Hostel programs, W.H.O. utilizes the integrated services of co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders, along with encouragement to address spirituality issues and 12- step attendance to maintain a long-term recovery.