Downtown Womens Center

Gratitude house gratitude house is a 40-unit apartment complex gifted to dwc by baptist community services in 2016. It houses women, with or without children, in the second phase of the dwc recovery program. Units are fully furnished. Residents pay minimal rent for a one-bedroom, two-bedroom, or townhome with utilities included. Women are employed and/or attend school, aa/na meetings, in-house meetings, receive counseling, and participate in case management. They learn budgeting, parenting skills, homemaking, and life skills. They work on self-esteem, deepen their spiritual beliefs and practices, and restore family relationships. Women set educational and financial goals as they return to productive, drug-free lives. As with haven house and abba house, gratitude house is staffed 24/7. Gratitude house is across a parking lot from opportunity school, which provides high-quality early education learning and care for preschool children ages 3-5. Opportunity school also offers on-site childcare at gratitude house for newborns to three-year-old children living at gratitude house and abba house.

Haven house haven house is a dormitory-style residence and the entry point for 18 homeless women without children and for pregnant women. The first phase of recovery is rigorously structured and focuses on becoming and staying clean and sober. Requirements include 30-day inpatient treatment outside of dwc, completion of dwc rad (rethinking alcohol and drugs) 45-day class, attending aa/na community meetings, finding part-time employment, attending mandatory in-house group meetings, and receiving professional counseling paid for by dwc. The women are constantly working toward relapse prevention and preparing to move to abba house after 4 months of being at haven house. These women come to dwc by referral from treatment centers, shelters, drug court, or individuals.

Exempt achievement transitional housing program after graduating from dwc's recovery program, women with and without children may enter dwc's transitional housing program and continue living in the same apartment at gratitude house while receiving services and pursuing a higher education. Meridian apartments this 35-unit apartment complex provides quality, affordable housing for low-income individuals. Meridian apartments is a positive living environment for many elderly, disabled, those with behavioral health problems, and single adults. For fye 2024, meridian apartments housed 39 individuals. Retail stores dwc operates two retail thrift stores. Dwc received about 228,854 in net profit from the retail stores. The stores have three purposes: to provide jobs for homeless women in our recovery program and others who are deemed 'unemployable,' to enable dwc to tithe out of in-kind donations to those in need, and to provide funding for the programs and administration of dwc. The retail stores work closely with over eighty amarillo area social service agencies, schools, and churches by donating clothing, household items, furniture, and appliances to those in need. For fye 2024, the stores helped 4758 people through this voucher program. Dental care dental needs among the homeless are great. Dental issues can interfere with regular attendance and performance at work or school. Homeless children, who experience higher levels of dental disease than other children, often do poorly in school. Thanks to several local dentists, emergency dental care is provided to participants in our recovery program and to others outside of dwc with dental pain when funds are available. Service to community a special emergency assistance fund is utilized to meet some of the needs for the approximately 20 to 30 people each month who contact dwc for help; dwc serves people who do not 'fit' the requirements of any other available social service assistance. The emergency needs may include food, hygiene products, rental assistance, utility assistance, bus tickets, gasoline, etc. In addition, dwc is working closely with united way's 211 emergency assistance program to serve those who are justice involved with the goal to reduce recidivism.