Women-Focused Addiction Recovery Programs in Alberta Making a Lasting Impact
For many women in Alberta, addiction recovery is shaped by more than substance use alone. Trauma, mental health challenges, caregiving responsibilities, and housing instability often overlap, creating barriers to consistent and reliable care.
In response, women-focused community charities across the province are stepping in to address these challenges through trauma-informed, gender-responsive recovery services. The following five Alberta charities are leading this work, supporting women through addiction recovery while helping build pathways toward long-term stability and wellbeing.
1. Aventa Treatment Foundation for Women
Trauma-Informed Recovery Built for Women
Aventa is a provincial leader in women-centred addiction recovery, offering live-in, gender-specific treatment programs grounded in trauma-informed and holistic care. For more than five decades, Aventa has supported women across Alberta in addressing addiction alongside mental health challenges, trauma histories, and social instability, all within a safe, supportive, and non-judgmental environment.
Their approach recognizes that recovery is not only about abstinence, but about rebuilding resilience, self-worth, and a sense of hope for the future. Through evidence-based curricula developed by Dr. Stephanie Covington, Aventa’s clinical team helps women build healthy coping strategies, relapse-prevention skills, and strong connections to community supports.
Programs are designed to meet women where they are, including prioritizing access for pregnant women to reduce risks associated with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. By treating addiction, trauma, and mental health together, Aventa empowers women to move toward long-term recovery while strengthening families and communities across Alberta.
2. Adeara Recovery Centre
Faith-Based Healing and Long-Term Recovery
Adeara Recovery Centre provides long-term, residential addiction recovery programs for women, grounded in trauma-informed care and Christian values. Adeara stands out as one of the few centres in Alberta offering year-long programming for women, including mothers with children in their care.
Serving women across the province, Adeara creates a structured and supportive environment where substance use is addressed alongside mental health challenges, trauma, and life instability. Following a biopsychosocial-spiritual model, the program combines individual counselling, group therapy, relapse prevention, life-skills development, and parenting supports with secure housing and transition planning.
Largely donor-supported, Adeara helps make long-term recovery accessible and sustainable, empowering women to build stability, resilience, and lasting change.
3. The McDougall House
Safe Spaces for Women and Families
The McDougall House has supported women affected by addiction in Alberta for decades through its bed-based residential treatment program designed specifically for women in recovery. The organization provides a safe, home-like environment where women who have completed short-term treatment can continue deeper recovery work focused on their individual goals.
The program is trauma-informed and grounded in evidence-based practices, recognizing the complex realities many women face alongside substance use. Women receive individualized treatment planning, counselling, and skills-based workshops focused on relapse prevention, communication, boundaries, and emotional regulation.
Clients are encouraged to build healthy relationships, develop personal accountability, and engage with community-based supports such as Twelve-Step or other self-help programs.
4. Recovery Acres Calgary Society
Community-Focused Recovery for Women
Recovery Acres Calgary Society (RACS) provides provincially funded addiction treatment in Calgary for adult women seeking a structured and supportive recovery environment. The organization recognizes that recovery can be isolating and that women may face stigma, family strain, employment challenges, and financial insecurity when seeking care.
RACS offers a 42-day residential program focused on daily structure, peer support, counselling access, and recovery planning. Women who need additional time and stability may continue into Phase Two and Phase Three residential recovery while returning to work and rebuilding independence.
An Intensive Outpatient Program (IOS) is also available for women who require daily support while continuing to live at home.
5. Alcove Addiction Recovery for Women Society
Meeting Women Where They Are
Alcove Addiction Recovery for Women Society provides long-term residential addiction recovery programs for women experiencing co-occurring challenges, including substance use, mental health distress, and histories of abuse. The organization offers a 12-week, highly structured live-in program delivered in a safe, home-like community setting.
Professional onsite counsellors provide trauma-based, gender-responsive care, with programming that includes room and board, psychoeducation, life and employment skills training, participation in mutual-aid supports, and recreational activities.
Alcove also offers family treatment for women who are pregnant or have children under six, allowing mothers and children to remain together throughout recovery. In addition, free online treatment supports women who are waiting for residential care, transitioning back into the community, or seeking to deepen their recovery through counsellor- and coach-led group and individual supports.
Turning Awareness Into Action
Together, these five Alberta charities demonstrate how women-centred, trauma-informed care can transform addiction recovery outcomes. By addressing substance use alongside mental health, trauma, housing stability, and community connection, they provide support that reflects women’s lived realities.
Support for women in recovery can take many forms, from donating and volunteering to sharing resources or advocating for women-specific services. Community involvement plays a critical role in ensuring women across Alberta can access the support they need to rebuild their lives and move forward.
Written by: Nayani Abeysekera, Volunteer Contributing Writer, CharityAxess Writers Program.
About the Writer: Nayani Abeysekera is a third-year Life Sciences student at the University of Toronto, double majoring in Psychology and Human Biology. Ever since she learned to write, storytelling has been her favourite way to make sense of the world. Passionate about women’s health, mental health, and community well-being, Nayani combines research and empathy to share stories that comfort, challenge, and connect.
