All photography provided by Jared Chambers

Serenity Homes of Napa Valley - Saving One Life at a Time Since 1996

From the humble beginnings of one recovering person reaching out to help another in 1996, Serenity Homes of Napa Valley has provided affordable sober living environment housing for over 4,500 otherwise homeless individuals in early recovery from chemical dependency, helping them start productive lives, free of drugs and alcohol.

The story of Serenity Homes is compelling. Almost thirty years ago, Johnny Apodaca, the founder of Serenity Homes, and a recovering addict himself, began to provide shelter for homeless people in recovery with one fundamental requirement: they must remain clean and sober. Johnny found that need for sober living housing was urgent in Napa County, and soon additional homes were added to the first Serenity Home. As time went on, other requirements for the foundation of a sober life became evident and were incorporated into the requirements for living at the fledgling Serenity Homes. In addition to remaining clean and sober, as verified by random drug testing, participants in Serenity Homes Sober Living Program must follow house rules and help themselves by:

• Active participation in a 12-Step Recovery Program (Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous.)

• Personal responsibility for keeping themselves and their living environment neat and clean, and

• Employment, volunteering, or enrollment in academic, vocational or mandated recovery programs.

Built brick by brick upon this foundation, Serenity Homes flourished and became a nonprofit organization in 2006. Over the years, Serenity Homes has withstood economic downturns, real estate market fluctuations and has remained self-supporting, while charging participants rent that is well below market rate, at an amount we believe to be sustainable by participants in early recovery, giving them some breathing room to focus on their sobriety and heal, while also encouraging their productivity and financial responsibility.

Providing low-cost housing, a structured sober living environment, on site supervision and peer support are founding principles of Serenity Homes. During our almost thirty years of operations, we have maintained the delicate balance of adhering to our founding principles while remaining fiscally responsible.

Today, Serenity Homes operates seven sober living homes, two for women and five for men, providing an affordable, supportive sober living environment for fifty individuals in early recovery.

Serenity Homes, saving one life at a time for almost three decades, has created a positive ripple effect on services provided by the County of Napa and on the Napa Valley community by:

• Providing low-cost housing and avoiding homelessness,

• Promoting positive criminal justice outcomes,

• Decreasing relapse rates among participants, an

• Transforming participants into productive members of the community.

As a result, numerous divisions of the County of Napa have championed the tireless efforts of Serenity Homes: law enforcement agencies, Napa County Superior Court, the District Attorney and the Public Defender, Chief of Probation, Napa County Health and Human Services Departments.