Avenues 12, Inc.

There is a relatively high prevalence of alcoholism and illicit drug use found among individuals who lack health insurance coverage, are unemployed, have 9 to 11 years of schooling, have never been married, who have dropped out of school, or reside in households with fewer than two biological parents (Office of Applied Studies, 2008). Although the socioeconomic status of its staff and residents vary greatly, Avenues 12 Women's Recovery Houses primarily consist of and serve the above needy populations. We as an organization seek to provide services to those who are too often denied access to them through life circumstance. We close the gap in services and provide an opportunity to change. Many of our residents have improved the quality of their lives through furthering their education, increasing their income, and obtaining a career. As an organization we are proud to be of service to lower and middle class America.

Avenues 12 offers four levels of housing operated by women for women. Our Newcomer, Intermediate, and Advanced Houses meet the needs of beginners while progressing to long term sustainability in our Sober Living Apartments. Our staff works closely with each member as they advance in the four levels of the program.

Our residences are supervised by live-in female managers who emphasize responsibility, accountability, and zero tolerance to drugs and alcohol. We encourage honesty and integrity. Women learn and develop communication and relationship skills in a supportive family environment.

We have a clear understanding of women's issues, from relationships and reunification with family members, to rebuilding self-esteem and self-respect. We direct our members to utilize outside counseling services with specialized, experienced, and reputable professionals.

We require attendance at 12-step meetings. We are located near several 12-step meetings throughout the day and evenings. Our program is further reinforced through one-on-one and weekly house meetings.

Avenues 12 has made a positive impact in our surrounding communities since our inception in 2009. Our structured residences provide women with an established and respected recovery environment. We have continuing collaborations with a wide variety of external agencies to assist in our organizational effort, including, but not limited to; counseling services, job placement, training programs, and various volunteer services. Avenues 12 is designed to provide recovery residences that help integrate women back into the community and into healthy, functional relationships.

Avenues 12 Women's Recovery Houses are certified through the Florida Association of Recovery Residences (FARR), which is an affiliate of the National Alliance of Recovery Residences (NARR). FARR certifies compliance with NARR standards that define the quality and spectrum of recovery oriented housing and services for those recovering from alcohol and substance abuse. We are also a member of the Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association (FADAA).

Our paid staff consists of a highly qualified Executive Director, Program Director, and five (5) full time Managers. We have increased our staff from three (3) – five (5) full time live-in female managers to accommodate the needs of our members over the course of two (2) years. The staff is responsible for the functioning of the organization's; day-to-day program implementation; supervision and documentation of member's progress; and FARR, NARR, and Avenues 12 organizational standards.

Avenues 12, Inc. has an effective board leadership and governance that helps to ensure that our non-profit can operate to its fullest capacity.

Avenues 12 collaborates with a variety of social service agencies and community programs, including, but not limited to: Stewart-Marchman Act -WARM program, Spruce Creek Mental Health, 2nd Harvest Food Bank, The Coalition for the Homeless, One Voice for Volusia, United Way – Women's Initiative of Volusia/Flagler Counties, Healthy Volusia, Daytona Regional Chamber Non-profit Roundtable, Florida Nonprofit Alliance, Ormond Beach and Daytona Regional Chambers, and the Substance Abuse Task Force. Daytona State College (DSC), DSC Nursing Program, University of Central Florida (UCF), and Bethune/Cookman College have partnered with Avenues 12 with both their Internship and Externship programs. We are a continuing participant of the Home Depot-Framing Hope Partnership through the Good 360, since 2014.

Since our inception in 2009 we have managed to get the attention of a variety of organizations and donors to assist in our mission and vision.

Over the course of seven years we have expanded our bed capacity from 12 - 58.
Do to the delicate nature of working with vulnerable women, our non profit organization strives to make their lives better. We have worked with over 900 women and helped to change the course and empower theirs lives.

We are striving to meet our goals of raising additional funding to continue our successful program and strengthen our infrastructure. We hope to resolve our funding issues to maintain our constantly growing educational opportunities for the women we serve and our dedicated employees.