Rebuilding Ex-Offenders Successfully Through Opportunities, Rehabilitation & Education (R.E.S.T.O.R.E.)

R.E.S.T.O.R.E. serves women who often face overlapping barriers, including trauma, poverty, substance use disorder, mental health challenges, unemployment or underemployment, limited family support, and housing instability. By combining affordable housing with individualized supportive services, R.E.S.T.O.R.E. helps women heal from the inside out and build stable, productive lives for themselves, their families, and the broader community.

R.E.S.T.O.R.E. provides safe, affordable transitional housing and wraparound support services for justice-involved women ages 18 and older in Duval County and Northeast Florida. Through its “Optimism to the Future for Justice-Involved Women” program, R.E.S.T.O.R.E. helps women returning from incarceration move from instability to healing, employment, financial responsibility, housing stability, and long-term self-sufficiency. The program includes transitional housing, trauma-informed mental health counseling, recovery support, life skills coaching, financial literacy, employment readiness, legal service referrals, mentoring, accountability coaching, transportation assistance, and independent living support. Women enter R.E.S.T.O.R.E. through structured transitional housing, where they receive intensive support and begin rebuilding the practical and personal foundations needed for stability. As participants progress, they may move into the Step Up House, where they assume greater responsibility for rent, employment, budgeting, savings, and personal goals. The next phase of the housing continuum is the R.E.S.T.O.R.E. Quadplex, expected to open in Fall 2026. The Quadplex will serve as a bridge between supportive housing and true independent living, helping women continue building savings, credit, employment stability, and plans for permanent housing. The ultimate goal is to transition to independent rental housing or homeownership.