St. Monica

St. Monica's was started by several concerned citizens from the Episcopal Church in Lincoln Nebraska. The original half-way house program was developed as a shelter for women with a variety of problems, such as unwed pregnancy, domestic abuse, divorce, alcoholism, and women coming out of the criminal justice system. In 1965, we purchased our first home. The focus of St. Monica's changed to substance abuse in the early 1970's, when leaders developed a pilot program for women seeking recovery from substance abuse. In 1980 a second property was purchased and the program was expanded to include Aftercare. An Outpatient Counseling Program, developed in 1990, was designed to provide continuing support to women who had recently completed primary treatment, or who were experiencing difficulties in maintaining sobriety. In 1993, outpatient programming was expanded to include the Intensive Outpatient Program, a substance abuse treatment program offered three days a week on an outpatient basis. That same year St. Monica's received certification as a Therapeutic Community. In April, 1994, St. Monica's opened Project Mother & Child. This project is the only residential substance abuse treatment program in Nebraska for pregnant women and women with young children. Women and their children live together at St. Monica's for up to 18 months and receive treatment services simultaneously. With the opening of Project Mother & Child, St. Monica's began receiving referrals and requests for treatment for women who had not received primary treatment. To answer this need the Day Treatment Program began in November 1996. This is an intensive, short-term treatment program that operates 30 hours each week. In 1998, we opened the Short-Term Residential Program to provide six to eight weeks of intensive residential treatment. In 2000, St. Monica's began an Adolescent Girl's Treatment Program in Lincoln. The Treatment Group Home program is for girls ages 13-18. In 2003, St. Monica's added an Intensive Outpatient program as a step down for girls coming out of residential treatment or as an alternative for those who did not need inpatient care. In 2000 St. Monica's received its first national accreditation from the CARF (Commission for Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) for a period of three years for its integrated behavioral health programs. In February, 2007 we received our third consecutive three-year accredidation. In 2003, St. Monica's was awarded a three-year federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to develop New Beginnings, an expansion of Project Mother and Child that includes domestic violence counseling services. This program--specifically for women experiencing both addiction and domestic violence and their children--is in partnership with Friendship Home, a domestic violence shelter for women and children, also located in Lincoln. Although the federal funding ended in 2006, the program remains - providing a vital service to the women it serves. In the Fall of 2005, St. Monica's relocated its administrative, outpatient and short-term residency program into 120 Wedgewood Drive, Lincoln, NE. Through our 45 years of service, St. Monica's underlying purpose has remained unchanged: To provide successful gender specific programs within a stable home-like environment, enabling women to develop new living patterns and to re-enter their communities as healthy and productive participants.