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Women in recovery now have a new community funding engine behind the free recovery program that serves them in Grand Rapids.
Guiding Light, a local nonprofit, launched its Women’s Collective this week to support its Women’s Recovery Program. The program provides free, long-term addiction recovery services to women with no insurance required.
What the Women’s Collective Will Do
The Women’s Collective is a community initiative led by a steering committee of local business leaders, community partners, donors and volunteers. It will host quarterly educational and social events, offer volunteer opportunities and raise awareness of the barriers women face in recovery.
Supporters can attend events, volunteer or become members for $25 per month. The membership dues fund Guiding Light’s free, long-term recovery services.
“Through the Women’s Collective, we’re creating a community of women who want to make a difference in the lives of others.”
Why Free Long-Term Programs Matter
Women seeking addiction treatment face barriers that men often do not. Those barriers include issues such as financial strain and caregiving responsibilities. Many have children at home. Some have a partner covering the bills while they focus on recovery.
Ondrea Havemeier, owner of Wealthy Street Bakery and a member of the Women’s Collective council, knows the pressure firsthand.
She is approaching eight years in recovery, and her husband went through Guiding Light’s men’s program.
“It feels like there’s a lot more pressure for women to be the rock in a family a lot of the time, and to have that emotional capacity to be able to handle those struggles,” Havemeier said.
Long-term programs designed for women can be difficult to access. They often require insurance or substantial out-of-pocket costs. Free rehabs in Grand Rapids fill that gap by removing price from the equation entirely.
The launch also reflects a funding reality every free program faces, which is that without insurance revenue, long-term services depend on steady community support.
Membership dues and quarterly events give the Women’s Recovery Program a recurring local funding base that does not rise or fall with a client’s ability to pay.
The steering committee itself mixes business owners with clinical and social service leaders, including Lisa Zwerk, clinical services manager at Pine Rest, and Tara Aday, senior director of programs at Safe Haven Ministries.
What the Program Includes
Guiding Light’s Women’s Recovery Program combines evidence-based treatment, therapy, support groups, life coaching and wellness resources.
It also helps women work through challenges tied to employment, housing and family relationships, the practical problems that often derail recovery even after treatment ends.
Guiding Light also runs a men’s recovery program, the program Havemeier’s husband completed, so the organization has years of experience supporting people through long-term recovery.
Free Resources That Can Help
- Guiding Light Women’s Recovery Program: free, long-term addiction recovery services for women, no insurance required
- Women’s Collective membership: $25 per month, with dues funding the program’s free services
- Quarterly educational and social events, open to supporters and community members
- Volunteer opportunities through the Women’s Collective steering committee
Learn more at guidinglightworks.org/womens-collective
Finding Affordable Treatment in Michigan
Free and low-cost options exist beyond this program for those who need addiction treatment and cannot afford it.
You can check whether you qualify for Medicaid rehab coverage, search free rehabs near you, or contact SAMHSA’s national helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
Rehabs.org lists free and low-cost treatment options nationwide. Call
800-914-7089
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to find affordable care in Michigan.
