FAQs for WINGS:
Women Initiating New Growth and Stability

The WINGS program is both a transitional living recovery residence for women and their children and provides full wrap-around recovery supports including outpatient substance use treatment services for women. The WINGS program can serve up to 24 women at a time.

YWCA Helena will consider acceptance for any female or female-identifying person who is homeless or at risk of homelessness AND has a clinical need and desire to engage in intensive outpatient substance use treatment.

No. Women without children are welcome to apply to our program as well.

YWCA Helena is willing to consider housing a woman with children of any age, any gender and any number of children.

To apply, a woman needs to complete our entire application along with a recent (within the last 3-6 months) substance use assessment that indicates they are in need of intensive outpatient substance abuse treatment.

Once we receive an application, it is put into an electronic system where it will remain until we have an opening. Because of our rather small size and a long average length of stay, we tend to have an opening once every 30-60 days. Once we do have an opening, our admissions team screens applications and makes initial contact with applicants whose applications are complete and for whom we have a substance abuse assessment on file. Incomplete applications or applications without a substance abuse assessment or an assessment that indicates the applicant needs a higher or lower level of care will not be processed. However, if an applicant completes a recommended higher level of care and this can be verified, we can process the application.

Once a program spot opens, someone on our admissions team will reach out to all complete applications for a brief screening. During the screening, we will ask if the person is still in need of or interested in our services and we will ask about current treatment and recovery services they are currently using. If the person is still interested in services, we will schedule an applicant interview.

During this process, we are often interviewing 3-4 applicants for one available space in our program to determine if WINGS is a good fit for the applicant and if we have the available resources to meet the needs of both the woman and her children if she has any.

Our admissions team will discuss each woman to determine which applicant is the “best fit” for the program and will offer that woman a bed-date and begin to coordinate admission.We will also reach out to women that were not accepted.Sometimes a woman may be a good fit for our program, but we do not have the capacity to meet the needs of her or her children.In this case, these applications may stay on file and revisited when another bed becomes available.

99% of the women accepted into the WINGS program qualify for Medicaid. We strongly encourage all applicants to apply for Medicaid while applying to our program. If a woman has Medicaid, all her therapy services are paid for by Medicaid.

The full cost of a room at YWCA Helena is based on income with the minimum monthly rent ranging from $50 to $350. YWCA Helena has several funders that may offset rental support for the housing portion of the WINGS program. These grants are applied to the cost of the woman’s first 90 days of a woman’s stay. Some funders may continue to provide rental support after the initial 90-day period, but it is not guaranteed. YWCA Helena requires that residents verify their income monthly.

A resident’s monthly rental payment includes a private room (if she has children, they will share a family room), all utilities (including wi-fi access and landline telephones in common areas) and access to use all the common areas of the home, including shared bathrooms, living areas and kitchen.

The physical house of YWCA Helena was built in 1911 as a boarding house for single women coming to Helena to find professional work. The house has undergone some renovation but still holds a great deal of turn-of-the-century charm. The main floor of the house includes a reception office, a meeting/group room, and WINGS staff offices. There is also a large living room/gathering space, two bathrooms, and a large kitchen with 2 cooking stations.

The second and third floors have 12 bedrooms each arranged dormitory style. Bedrooms vary significantly in size. There are two bathrooms on each floor providing two toilets, two sinks, and two bathing/shower areas. There is also a laundry room located on each floor equipped with a washer and dryer for residents’ use. The laundry facilities are free to use.

At full capacity, the house can hold up to 24 women and an additional 24 children. We usually have a couple of rooms that are empty and have an average census of 44 people living in the house at any one time.

The house is secure as all exterior doors are always locked. All staff and residents can access the house with a fob. YWCA utilizes a closed-circuit camera system for additional security inside and outside the home. Cameras are mounted at all exterior entrances and in public areas of the home, including dormitory hallways but not in individual rooms or bathrooms. Only designated staff have access to camera footage and camera footage is only viewed when staff have an identified reason to do so and have gained staff consensus.

As noted, each of the bedrooms varies greatly in size. Rooms are also equipped with closets, also of varying size. The smaller rooms are reserved for single women or women with a baby or young toddler. Larger rooms are reserved for families with multiple children. All rooms lock and you will be provided with a key to your room at move-in. Staff do have a key to each room and enter rooms regularly for room inspections or random room searches.

Each room is equipped with basic furniture including at least 1 twin sized bed, 1 dresser, 1 desk, a mirror and an area rug as there are hard wood floors throughout the building. Some rooms may have bunk beds and multiple dressers and desks depending upon the size of the room. Every room has a window to the outside. YWCA furniture cannot be moved in or out of rooms without staff approval. Residents are welcome to add their own furniture to their room as long as the room does not become so cluttered it is a safety hazard.

At move-in, you will be supplied with brand new bedding, towels, a bathrobe and a set of dishes for your personal use. Any children you have will be given the same. These are your personal property and do not belong to YWCA Helena.

YWCA Helena also receives a significant amount of donations of hygiene products. These are kept in a large closet and all residents can request access to the closet Monday-Friday. Residents can rely upon the donated hygiene items for 95% of their needs.

At intake, women are encouraged to arrive with enough clothing for a long trip—somewhere between 2 and 4 weeks and the same for each of their children. Women can decorate their room in any way that feels homey and comfortable for them so long as their room remains safe, with easy access to vacate the room in an emergency. Residents may not cause any damage to YWCA property.

YWCA Helena does not allow the burning of candles or incense in rooms. For fire safety reasons, we also cannot have extension cords or kitchen appliances in rooms, outside of an electric tea kettle or self-serve coffee appliance such as a Keurig. Any drugs or alcohol is strictly prohibited and is reason for immediate eviction from the program. Residents are welcome to store tobacco and nicotine products in their rooms. However, using these products inside the home or on YWCA Helena property is strictly prohibited.

YWCA Helena does not prescribe any medications. However, we allow our residents to take any medications that are prescribed to them by their medical doctor. All medications for residents are kept in a secure cabinet by staff. Residents are responsible for coming to med call M-F between 8 and 8:30 am and will be able to obtain all medications they will need for that day. On Fridays, residents will also obtain medications necessary for the weekend. Medications kept in resident rooms must be enclosed in a locked medication cabinet that is supplied by YWCA.

Yes. YWCA performs random urine testing for all residents. During morning med call, all residents are responsible to see if their name has been pulled for urine testing that day and will need to provide an immediate sample. YWCA Helena utilizes an outside lab for urine testing so we do not have immediate results, but they are accurate. There is no charge to residents for urine testing as it is all billed through Medicaid.

No, all residents of the home are expected to provide their own food for themselves and their children. Each resident is given access to a locking cupboard in the kitchen that includes shelves for dry goods as well as a small refrigerator. There are also two large community freezers and a large community refrigerator to store larger items. Women must use their own financial resources (including SNAP benefits) to purchase their food. Women are also welcomed and encouraged to utilize our local food back, Helena Food Share as needed.

Generally, no. The WINGS program does not have staff capacity to provide resident transportation. Exceptions may be made in some extreme circumstances, but residents should expect to find their own way to appointments.

YWCA Helena is located on Park Avenue in downtown Helena. We are one block south of the Civic Center. Our downtown location provides easy walkable access to grocery stores, medical clinics, the local probation office and courthouse, churches, 12-step meetings and a number of community events and activities, especially in the summer.

We do not have any rules against having a car while you are in the WINGS program. Helena does not have much in the way of public transportation and while we are located near many services, walking can be challenging if you are parenting small children, have mobility issues, or during the winter. However, there are some special considerations for having car that you may consider before making that decision.

1. YWCA Helena does not have a parking area for either staff or residents. There is no FREE on-street parking in the several blocks immediately surrounding YWCA Helena. You must either purchase a monthly parking pass from the city or utilize the parking meters daily. The city of Helena diligently polices parking and you may receive fines from the city.

2. As described below, YWCA Helena does not allow residents to be employed for the first 90-180 days of their stay. Before bringing a car, consider if you will be able to afford to pay for insurance, gas and all the other things a car requires.

Yes. The WINGS program is both a recovery residence and outpatient treatment center for substance use difficulties. The two services are not separate.

YWCA Helena accepts women who are in need of intensive outpatient services. In our WINGS program, this includes at minimum, 11 hours of services every week that includes, 9 hours of group therapy as well as two individual therapy sessions. Additional therapies or services (such as case management, peer support, life skills classes, parenting classes or additional therapeutic groups) may be added to meet resident needs individually or collectively.

Our therapists are dually trained and certified to treat both substance use and mental health challenges, so group and individual therapy sessions will have a focus on both. Each woman’s treatment plan is very individualized to meet their specific needs. Women will have opportunities to work individually and in group on relapse issues, developing healthy boundaries and relationships and healing from trauma. With the support and guidance of their treatment team, women will determine when they are ready for less intense services, though most women remain in this level of treatment for 4-6 months.

When women complete this intensive portion of the program, clinical hours will reduce to at least 4 hours per week.

Residents may request an excused absence from staff from programming if they or their children are sick or experiencing other extenuating circumstances. But outside of these exceptions, residents must prioritize WINGS clinical programming in their day-to-day lives, meaning any other appointments — including job schedules — should not interfere with therapy times. Residents that continually miss expected program requirements may be discharged from the program, which includes eviction from the residence.

Our program is tailored to meet the individual needs of each woman. But generally, women finish our first intensive level of the program in about 4-6 months and then remain in the program for another 6 to 12 months after that. We can allow women to remain in the program for up to two full years, and longer if agreed upon, if they choose to and stay engaged in clinical services.

YWCA Helena has a policy that residents do not work for the first 90 days of their stay. After this time, residents may request to seek employment from their treatment team. To maintain recovery for the long-term, we believe it is important to develop a strong foundation from the beginning and that means having a sole focus on treatment and healing. In addition to their own healing, many residents are also adjusting to parenting while sober. Children are also healing and need a great deal of their mother’s time and attention.

YWCA Helena endeavors to provide a balance of structure and support as well as autonomy and agency to women in early recovery. In this effort, outside of the required programming described above, residents are free to come and go from the facility throughout each day but are expected to spend every night inside of the YWCA Helena house in their own room. Exceptions to this can be made by residents submitting a travel request. Travel requests for residents will be considered by the treatment team and may be either approved or denied.

During business hours, safe and sober family and friends may visit residents on the first floor of the home. Residents should advise staff of any incoming visitors ahead of their arrival and all visitors must check in with staff, and sign in, upon arrival. Staff reserve the right to ask visitors to leave for any reason.

At times, officers of the court, such as child protection workers or probation officers may also request to meet with a resident inside the home. These “official” visitors must also visit only during business hours with staff present. If these visits require an inspection of the resident’s space on the dormitory floor, they MUST be accompanied by staff.