Agency History

In 1963, when women who abused alcohol were sent to jail rather than to treatment programs, Our Home Foundation, Inc. was born in Milwaukee, WI. A home at 2843 W. State St., with room to help 7 women recover from alcoholism, was created. As the house originally belonged to Mrs. Meta Orth, it quickly became known among its residents as “Meta’s House.” In the over forty years since, the organization named Meta House (it officially adopted this name in 2000) has celebrated many remarkable accomplishments. Some of the most significant:

1970:   Meta House moves to two side by side homes on N. Farwell Ave. and gains space for 11 clients. Treatment begins to address a variety of substance abuse issues.

1985:   Meta House adds another facility (on N. Maryland Ave.) and 9 more beds to its resources.

1988:   The agency purchases the former St. Casimir’s convent on N. Bremen St. with 30 beds—the first residential treatment program in Wisconsin for women and their children.

1997:   The agency acquires the rectory next door to Meta House’s residential treatment program facility, allowing it to accommodate up to 38 women and 22 children.

1998:   Meta House begins a collaboration with Step Industries, a job-training program for people in recovery. Meta House also creates an outpatient treatment program for those women who are not in need of the structure of residential treatment.

1999:   Meta Housing is born with the purchase and rehabilitation of 12 apartment units for women in early recovery and their children at 128-138 W. Locust St. This building becomes the agency’s transitional living facility, where clients focus on re-entering society as productive, responsible women.

2000-2003:   Meta Housing expands when the organization constructs three apartment buildings on N. 1^st St. to provide long-term housing and supportive services to families headed by homeless women in recovery.

2003:   The outpatient program capacity doubles. The agency can now accommodate up to 60 women and children in its residential program, up to 50 women in the outpatient program and can house 28 families in its transitional facilities.

2004:   Meta House begins its Maternal Health Project, expanding services to pregnant, postpartum and parenting women and their children. The agency helps the State of Wisconsin win a 3-year, $22.8 million Access to Recovery grant used to double the capacity of Milwaukee County’s substance-abuse treatment voucher system.

2005:   Meta House is featured in President Bush’s 2006 Federal Budget for Health and Human Services, and the President spoke about Meta House’s successful model during his March address to the White House Faith-Based and Community Initiatives Leadership Conference.

2006:   Executive Director, Dr. Francine Feinberg, is appointed to the National Advisory Council on Maternal, Infant and Fetal Nutrition Council.

2009:   Meta House moves its outpatient clinic and administrative center to a newly-reconstructed facility adjacent to its residential buildings, forming a campus-like setting.

2010:   Meta House begins a collaborative partnership with the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare and the Milwaukee County Children’s Court; this pilot project is intended to keep children safely with mothers who struggle with substance abuse.