Testimonials

After treatment, I decided to go to Windhaven House because both of my sisters were living in Dallas. When I first got to Windhaven I still wasn’t sold on the idea of living a life of recovery but felt like I should at least give it a shot since I had run out of ideas and options. What I found most helpful was the staff’s willingness to meet me where I was at. They were patient with me when I struggled to be patient with myself. Windhaven’s program was especially beneficial for me because not only was I working the steps with a sponsor but I also had a close-knit community holding me accountable and was surrounded by staff members that modeled what it looked like to live by spiritual principles. With this guidance, I slowly began to experience the freedom that came from putting my reliance on God. After 10 months as a resident my heart was so moved and full of gratitude for the role Windhaven played in my recovery that I joined the Windhaven staff as a House Manager and then as a Recovery Advocate. Currently I am 3 years sober and I have found joy that transcends circumstance. The crazy part about recovery is that life is still life, meaning there are still ups and downs. It’s not so much life that has changed, but my response to it that’s changed. Yes, Windhaven taught me how to stay sober, but more importantly Windhaven taught me how to engage in a relationship with God that brings me true freedom. Today I have purpose. I get to be mentally, emotionally, and physically present with my parents through my mother’s battle with cancer. I get to participate in my sister’s lives and am so excited to become an aunt this year. I get to show up every day and help women who were once just as hopeless as I was. I am doing things that I never thought I would get a chance to do. I am forever grateful for the ways that Windhaven House changed my life, and for the hope that I have found in my relationship with God.

As I transitioned out of a residential treatment center, the lack of women’s sober livings was incredibly disappointing and frustrating. However, I got lucky and a counselor suggested Windhaven House in Dallas. Before Windhaven, I was broken, isolated, and emotionally, physically, spiritually, and mentally bankrupt. To put it lightly, my relationships were struggling, I was unemployable, unreliable, on the brink of being thrown in jail, and had lost sight of who I really was. I showed up to Windhaven expecting only to stay for 90 days and then head back home. I didn’t want to be sober, and I didn’t want to stay in Dallas. I didn’t want a community, and I definitely didn’t want a relationship with God. After only 90 days, everything in my life had changed. My relationships were improving; I had found a new purpose; I had found community, love and support, and I found a loving relationship with God as I understood him. Although I was resistant to the God idea, Windhaven and the 12 steps offered me a new, brighter way of living. I received a life that I cannot believe. Since getting sober, I became a certified Yoga Instructor, am getting my Masters in Counseling, and get the opportunity to work with women and help them in their road to recovery through the 12 steps and cultivating a relationship with God. Windhaven created the environment and the foundation upon which I was able to learn how to live a successful, productive, and purposeful life filled with hope, faith, and a lot of love. I will never be able to thank Windhaven and the staff enough. This place truly saved my life, and I will be forever grateful.

When my residential treatment stay was coming to an end, I began a search for a sober living house that would benefit my recovery in the real world. The first house I looked at was Windhaven House, and I was sold. Boy, did I make the right decision! The program that is offered here is unique with all of the essential attributes needed to guide young women, like myself, through the beginning stages of their recovery. I learned more than I ever thought was possible during my 6-month stay at Windhaven. I was taught how to live life on life’s terms, which included, but definitely is not limited to, living with structure, having responsibilities, being accountable and completely honest, maintaining my sobriety through a 12-step program, and connecting to women who are also in recovery. This house did for me what I could not do for myself and I am eternally grateful to the house, the staff, and the program that changed my life for the better. I never thought it was possible to live a happy, joyous, and free life and the Windhaven House showed me how to make it happen!

I was honestly very scared that I was not going to able to get and stay sober… I had begun my journey in recovery 4 years earlier and despite treatment centers and sober livings, my family and I were at a loss for what would help me. When the opportunity to go to Windhaven came, I decided to try this one more time, hoping the miracle would happen… And it did. Windhaven gave me the structure, support, and most importantly, love and family, I needed to see my worth again- to see myself as worth saving and capable of beating this disease which had come so close to taking my life. It has become a group of women I consider family. I was able to grow and develop emotionally and spiritually in the months I was there, and now that I have graduated I know that it is a support network I will have forever- and they forever have my gratitude.

After years of not being able to live a sober lifestyle, I finally got the help and support I needed in order to clear the wreckage of my past and look positively towards the future through my stay at Windhaven House. I never saw a hope for a drug addict like me, but this house showed me that there is hope and that hope is a relationship with God. This program showed me how to seek a relationship with my higher power and live in the solution. Today, I am sober over two years and finally free from the chains of addiction that once bound me. I am forever grateful for the essential life tools and unconditional love provided by Windhaven, the staff, and the community of women around me.

In January of 2014 I was in inpatient treatment for the fifth time. I had lost all hope after countless attempts at recovery and was pretty much out of options. Some dear friends of mine knew about Windhaven and after yet another relapse, I got on a plane to Dallas and was here within twenty-four hours. I have been to many different sober living programs and houses but Windhaven was like nothing I had ever experienced before. The entire community immediately welcomed me with open arms and both residents and staff helped me get acclimated to living life again. Windhaven offers awesome individual and group therapy and helped me not only with addiction and alcoholism but also helped me deal with other issues I struggled with. They encourage women to seek spirituality and build healthy relationships with others. The structure and accountability at Windhaven was definitely what I needed for the first few months of my sobriety. I still have the same job I got when I first moved to Windhaven, have made meaningful friendships and relationships that I know will last a lifetime, and most importantly I’m sober, happy, and I have gotten to know myself and figure out who I am. I am so grateful for the opportunity to live at Windhaven and graduate the program!

I am forever grateful for the Windhaven staff and the grace that was shown to me from day one. The women working here took every step towards happiness in sobriety with me rather than for me. I have learned to build genuine friendships with other women and to become a part of a healthy community. I now see the benefit of holding myself and others accountable in a loving and honest way. This is a solution based program that worked for me where other programs did not. After learning to take direction and working the 12 steps, I have been set free from the bondage of self and have developed an incredible relationship with my higher power.

I have been to many many sober living houses in the past couple years, and I can honestly say that the Windhaven house has been the best one. They have the most amazing accountability program I have ever seen. They have the perfect balance of therapy and encouragement to work the 12 steps of recovery. They encourage and suggest that you get a sponsor and work the solution to the disease, which is the only way you can recover. They teach you to hold others accountable, and the importance of honesty. They helped me change my life and learn to live like a recovered woman. I have almost 6 months sober now and living with the spiritual tools Windhaven helped me gain. I would recommend Windhaven to anyone and everyone. I love Windhaven!!!!