Santa Maria Hostel (SMH) is a 501(c)(3) with over 60 years of experience serving women in crisis. SMH strives to be a premier provider of specialized, trauma-informed, client-driven services for women and their families to restore hope, transform lives, and promote long-term wellness and recovery.
SMH began 1957 as a halfway house for abused women and parolees and continued over the next 60 years through a shift to treatment of specialized female substance use disorders in the 1980s/early 1990s. SMH expanded its continuum of care in the late 1990s to address specialized needs of pregnant/parenting women, and again after the year 2000, to include treatment for women with co-occurring disorders. Targeted services for justice involved women were implemented in 2005. Prevention services were added in 2008 and HUD supportive housing/transitional housing/emergency shelter in 2009.
An onsite health clinic and peer recovery support services was initiated in 2010. SMH created Houston’s 1st transitional housing/ supportive services program for female Veterans in 2011 and the Pregnant and Postpartum Intervention program in 2013.
A gender-specific Women’s Recovery Community Center, dedicated recovery housing, and specialized female residential detox services became operational in 2014. Ambulatory detox in 2016. SMH achieved CARF accreditation for detox/withdrawal management, outpatient/ residential treatment in 2018, recognizing its commitment to person-centered care, quality, and excellence.
