The mission of Wayside House is to treat and rehabilitate women who suffer from substance addictions and return them and their families to society as clean and productive members of the community.

Founded in 1974 with a rented house, a $1,000 donation, and the courage to make change, Dr. Susan B. Anthony, great niece of the famous advocate for women’s rights, saw the need for a safe haven for women alcoholics to begin recovery in a protected and loving environment.

Dr. Anthony and Phyllis Michelfelder gathered a group of women who themselves were recovering alcoholics. Each had a desire to give back what they had been given: sobriety. Together, they made the dream of Wayside House a reality, and the first client was admitted in March of 1975. These women knew the power and success of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, and this became the foundation of Wayside House, then and now.

The original cottage remains at the heart of the house. From that earnest beginning, Wayside House has evolved into a 23 bed professional residential and outpatient treatment center. Staff includes professionally trained therapists, a consulting psychiatrist and medical director, on-site nurse, and many support service staff.

The core curriculum include two levels of residential treatment that embrace medical and mental illness care along side addiction recovery. Structured within the framework of the traditional 12-step model, recovery also includes life and family skills. Special efforts are made to assist in healthy reunification of mothers and children. Children are welcome to visit at Wayside House under the supervision of their mother.

Intensive Outpatient, Aftercare, and Outpatient services are available and part of the recovery tools provided to reinforce lessons gained in residential treatment to living in the community.

The foundation of treatment at Wayside House is treating the individual within the context of her family. In February 2008, Wayside House campus expanded to include the new Cocoon Center dedicated to providing services for children and families living with addiction to participate in healing the devastating and generational effects of substance abuse. Individual and family counseling and age appropriate children’s programs aid families to understand the disease of addiction and healthier ways of coping with their role within the family.

The goal is and always has been to provide a loving and safe environment while helping women find the courage to change, to grow, and to contribute.