A nonprofit for recovery & healthier futures

Empowering People Together

We help individuals transitioning out of treatment find and pay for safe, supportive housing, connect them to substance-use and mental-health support, and equip communities of every background with the knowledge and tools to make healthy, informed choices.

Apply for housing help Donate — it's tax deductible See our impact
Our Mission

Our mission is to empower individuals, inform communities, and act to support healthier futures.

Why we exist

Recovery shouldn't end at the treatment door

Treatment offers structure — but it doesn't provide income or housing. We help fill that critical gap so people can focus on recovery, build healthy routines, and take the next steps toward a brighter, self-sufficient future. No one should have to rebuild their life alone.

Empower

We give individuals the tools, resources, and support they need to take control of their recovery journey.

Inform

We deliver education and awareness that equips communities, youth, and individuals with the knowledge to make healthy, informed choices.

Act

We create practical solutions through scholarships, community programs, and advocacy that turn compassion into action.

Need help?

Leaving treatment? Apply for a housing scholarship.

If you need a safe, supportive place to continue your recovery, our Empower Next Steps program may be able to cover your sober-living housing during the most fragile stage of recovery. Applications are confidential, free to submit, and welcome people of every background.

Apply for housing help Learn how it works
Whole-person care

Substance use and mental health — we help with both

Substance use and mental-health conditions so often go hand in hand, and treating only one leaves people vulnerable. Our programs are built to support the whole person — because lasting recovery depends on both a stable life and a healthy mind.

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Substance use disorders

We help people find their footing after treatment and stay in recovery:

  • Scholarships for safe, supportive sober-living housing
  • Help covering rent so a financial crisis doesn't derail progress
  • Free Naloxone (Narcan) training & overdose-prevention resources
  • Recovery tools — meeting check-ins, sobriety tracking, and peer connection
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Mental health disorders

Recovery is more than staying sober — it's rebuilding a healthy mind and life:

  • Professional counseling led by a licensed clinician (LMFT)
  • Support for co-occurring conditions like anxiety, depression & trauma
  • Connection and community that ease the isolation behind relapse
  • Crisis support — a fast, simple way to reach help in a hard moment

Because these challenges are so often intertwined, we address them together — meeting people where they are and connecting them to the housing, clinical care, and community they need to move forward.

Our impact in 2026

Real help, real people, real results

8
people housed & helped to pay for housing so far in 2026
$16,000+
in donations received to date — every dollar tax deductible
3
partner recovery organizations we've funded
Stories

The people behind the numbers

Every scholarship we fund is a person rebuilding a life. Here are three of them, in their own words.

“Empower Next Project gave me the tools to get back on my feet. After being homeless in Los Angeles and ending up in a psych ward in Stockton, I reached out for help. Empower Next Project gave me a chance and helped cover my sober living expenses. They helped me get the tools I needed to gain employment at a local rehabilitation center. I graduated school with my Registered Alcohol and Drug Technician license, and now I am able to enjoy life again and I have 11 months sober.

Today I enjoy doing new things like fishing, going to concerts, and talking to my kids again.”

Donald L. fishing on the water after completing his recovery housing scholarship Donald L.Housed through Empower Next Steps · 11 months sober · Shared with permission

“I would not be where I am today without Empower Next Project. Five months ago I was arrested for my first DUI, and I was using drugs and alcohol daily on the streets in Sacramento, California. Empower Next Project gave me a chance to get sober and I took full advantage of it. They helped get me into a rehabilitation center, helped with finding an attorney for my case, and ultimately helped me get my life back on track.

I now work in San Diego at Home Depot, have five months sober, my case has been dropped for the DUI (I got my license back!) and most of all I have my beautiful daughter back in my life. Thank you Empower Next!”

Charlie L. at home, five months sober after Empower Next Project helped him into treatment Charlie L.Supported into treatment · 5 months sober · Shared with permission

“I wanted to use this photo because it was one of the lowest days in my life. I was broken, addicted, and completely depressed. This is me signing in to a psychiatric unit. Life wasn't always like this — I used to enjoy friends in New York, going to parties, working regularly, and being the friend that was relied upon to help others. After ketamine addiction took its hold on me, I was unable to get out of bed, I was in toxic relationships, and didn't see a future.

After getting in touch with Empower Next Project, they gave me the tools to get back on my feet. Today I am sober and have the utmost respect for those running Empower Next Project. I want to be like them and give back, and I look forward to volunteering with them in the future.”

Anastasia signing in to a psychiatric unit — the day she describes as her lowest, before reaching out for help AnastasiaFrom New York · Supported with housing navigation, aftercare resources, and therapy · Sober today · Shared with permission
Apply for housing help Fund the next scholarship
Featured tool

Get the Sober Living Companion app

Built by Empower Next Project, this HIPAA-compliant app supports residents in early recovery — sobriety tracking, GPS-verified meeting check-ins, easy rent payments, and an SOS button — while helping sponsor those who can't cover rent. Free for residents.

Download on theApp Store Get it onGoogle Play

Available for iPhone and Android. See everything the app does →

Sober Living Companion

Day 142 sober 🎉

📍
Meeting check-in
GPS-verified · NA 7:00pm
🏠
Rent
Paid via Zelle · $0 sponsored
📅
Meetings near you
One-tap Zoom · add to calendar
🆘
SOS
Alert your facilitator instantly
Built for everyone

Recovery looks like every one of us

Substance use and mental-health challenges touch families of every race, age, gender, faith, ability, and income. Our programs are open and welcoming to all — because dignity in recovery isn't reserved for some, it belongs to everyone.

We're committed to equity in who we serve and how we serve them: meeting people where they are, honoring their stories, and removing the barriers that keep too many from a safe place to start over.

All backgrounds welcome LGBTQ+ affirming Faith-friendly & secular Accessible & inclusive Youth & families Veterans
What we do

Our programs

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Empower Next Steps

Scholarships for safe, supportive sober-living housing for people transitioning out of treatment — covering the gap that treatment alone can't.

Learn more
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Empower Next Breath

The Empower Life Program: free Naloxone (Narcan) training and access to life-saving overdose-prevention resources for communities of every background.

Learn more
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Our Funded Partners

We fund frontline recovery organizations — Roseville Recovery Center, Sober Living Companion, and Chabad Treatment Center — and showcase tools that keep people supported.

See partners
Who we work with

Our partner recovery homes & treatment centers

We don't do this alone. We work alongside trusted recovery residences and treatment providers so the people we serve land somewhere safe, structured, and genuinely supported.

Resilient Recovery Housing

Structured, supportive recovery housing for people rebuilding their lives after treatment.

Visit their site →

Sea Change Sober Living

Recovery residences offering a safe, accountable place to continue recovery and rebuild daily routine.

Visit their site →

Chabad Treatment Center

A long-established treatment provider (est. 1976) offering care for substance use and addiction.

Visit their site →
Our blog & newsletter

The Empower Brief — what's changing in recovery across the U.S.

Our blog covers the trends that matter: shifting drug supplies and emerging substances, overdose data, naloxone (Narcan) access, mental-health resources, and the policies shaping recovery nationwide — in plain language, drawn from trusted sources. Subscribe and we'll email you every time we publish a new article.

💚 You're on the list — thank you! We'll email you when the next article goes live.

Free · No spam · Unsubscribe anytime · We'll notify you whenever a new article is posted.

Read the blog →
Drug trends Overdose & Narcan Mental health Recovery resources Policy & prevention

A registered tax-exempt nonprofit

Empower Next Project is a tax-exempt organization. Every donation is 100% tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

EIN: 39-3580172

Verify with the IRS