Steppingstone Incorporated - New Bedford Women's Therapeutic Community

ABOUT STEPPINGSTONE INCORPORATED - NEW BEDFORD WOMEN'S THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY

Steppingstone Incorporated offers a full spectrum of residential and outpatient treatment services for individuals struggling with problematic substance use through various facilities located around southeastern Massachusetts.

The New Bedford Women's Therapeutic Community, located in central New Bedford in southern Massachusetts, offers long-term residential treatment for women struggling with problematic substance use. This is one of the state's just 91 (25.9 percent) facilities offering long-term residential treatment care, as well as one of the 186 (53 percent) facilities offering female-centered programming. Additionally, mothers may bring their infants to treatment with them, which only 14 (four percent) treatment centers in the state allow.

Prospective clients must be referred by a social services agency, be over the age of 18, and a resident of Massachusetts. Medical detox is not available on-site, and new residents must be medically and psychologically stable when they arrive for treatment.

TREATMENT & ASSESSMENT

Women may stay at the facility for up to a year, though some stay for as few as three months. The center aims to empower women to live independent, sober lives, with a high quality of life after treatment. To this end, residents are coached on developing recovery skills and support systems, in addition to receiving support with parenting skills, living skills, and coping skills, as well as assistance in employment and housing searches.

During residential care, residents participate in 12-step groups alongside individual, group, and family counseling; educational classes about addiction and recovery; job training opportunities; community referrals; and aftercare planning.

Case management is provided for pregnant and postpartum women, and there are specialized services for individuals struggling with traumatic brain injuries, chronic homelessness, and/or HIV/AIDS - a service provided at just 99 (28.2 percent) centers in the state.

STAFF CREDENTIALS

There is currently no information provided by the facility regarding its treatment staff.

ACCOMMODATIONS & AMENITIES

The community operates out of a three-story building that can accommodate up to 21 women at a time.

WHAT ALUMNI SAY

Rehabs.com has not yet received any reviews from this facility’s alumni, affiliated friends or family members, or staff at the time of this writing; however, secondary sites yielded mostly positive feedback. On the center's Facebook page, which its management may monitor, the facility received five perfect five-star ratings for Steppingstone as a whole to date.^[1]

For the most part, the reviews praised Steppingstone's staff, in broad but glowing terms. "The staff at stepping stone are wonderful people who want to only help you to get your life back together and give you a Fighting Chance out in society," wrote one staff member on Facebook.

In somewhat more mixed feedback, six Google users provided a 3.2 out of five-star average rating to date.^[2] "The staff really care about women. Women do recover," S.M. wrote in a positive review. However, A.M. critiqued, "They have 2 staff members only! No clinicians, no counseling and hardly any groups that are recovery based."

FINANCING

The program is funded by local and state bodies as well as private donations. It's unclear whether any of the cost of treatment remains to be paid by residents — though CiteHealth indicates that the center operates a sliding fee scale, indicating that some fees may be incurred.

^[1] https://www.facebook.com/pg/Steppingstone-Incorporated-119073728118745/reviews/?ref=page_internal

^[2] GoogleReviews