Women and Children's Healing and Recovery Program

The YWCA NWT Women and Children’s Healing and Recovery Program is an outpatient addiction and recovery support service for women and families in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. Located at 103 – 4904 54th Avenue, the YWCA NWT has long served as a vital community resource for women in the NWT, offering a range of programs that address family violence, housing, and health — including specialized support for women dealing with substance use and the complex interplay of addiction, trauma, and family wellbeing. The Healing and Recovery Program provides women in Yellowknife with gender-specific, trauma-informed support for alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, opioid, and other substance use concerns.

Women and Children’s Recovery Support

The Healing and Recovery Program offers outpatient counselling, aftercare, and community-based support for women at various stages of recovery. The gender-specific, trauma-informed approach recognizes that women’s paths into addiction are often deeply interconnected with experiences of family violence, trauma, and systemic vulnerability. By serving women and their children together, the programme addresses the relational and family dimensions of recovery alongside individual healing — supporting the whole family system rather than treating addiction in isolation from its context.

Integrated Community Services at YWCA NWT

The Healing and Recovery Program operates within the broader YWCA NWT ecosystem of services for women and families — which includes family violence shelters, emergency and transitional housing, legal support, and youth programming. This integration means that women in recovery can access housing support, safety planning, and family services alongside addiction counselling, without navigating multiple separate systems. The continuity of care available through YWCA NWT reflects an understanding that recovery happens most sustainably when housing, safety, and family wellbeing are addressed together.

Northern Recovery Support for NWT Women

In the Northwest Territories, where geography and limited services can make accessing specialized addiction treatment extremely difficult, the YWCA NWT Healing and Recovery Program plays a critical role in filling gaps and providing accessible, community-based support. The programme’s gender-specific approach ensures that women in Yellowknife have a safe, confidential space to address substance use without judgment. For women in the NWT navigating addiction alongside the complexities of northern life, family responsibilities, and past trauma, YWCA NWT offers a trusted community anchor.