Why We Exist

There is a significant gap in supportive housing for women in Lake County who do not have children living with them.

Women come to Monarch House from many different circumstances. Some are working to build stability that may have never existed, develop the life skills needed to create a successful independent life, or find their footing after years without the right support. Others are working to regain their strength and stability after hardship or an unexpected life transition.

We believe that difference matters. There is no single story that brings a woman to Monarch House, so there shouldn't be a one-size-fits-all path forward.

Our program starts with each woman exactly where she is. Support is individualized around her unique needs, strengths, barriers, and goals, giving her the foundation and tools to move forward and build the life she envisions.

Our Story

Have you ever tried to help a woman find a safe, affordable place to live while she works through the barriers standing between where she is and where she wants to be?

If you have, you know just how difficult that can be.

My name is Brooke, and throughout my career, I have had the privilege of working alongside women from many different backgrounds and circumstances. Their stories were different, but I kept seeing the same gap: women who were ready for something different in their lives but simply did not have a safe, stable place to land while they figured out what came next.

Sometimes what a woman needs most is not someone to rescue her or tell her what her life should look like. She needs time. Stability. Encouragement. Accountability. A safe place to exhale, regain her footing, and begin moving forward at her own pace.

I couldn't stop thinking about what might be possible if that kind of place existed in Lake County.

That question became conversations. Those conversations brought together a group of compassionate professionals, community members, volunteers, and supporters who believed in the same idea. Together, we created Monarch House.

Monarch House is supportive housing built around the whole woman—mind, body, and spirit. It is a place to restore what may have been lost through difficult circumstances, strengthen life skills, build confidence, work toward personal goals, and create a foundation for the future.

We don't believe there is one path forward. Every woman arrives with her own story, strengths, barriers, and hopes for her life. Our role is to meet her where she is, walk alongside her, and provide the stability, tools, support, and community she needs as she creates her own path forward.

Every detail of Monarch House—from the home itself to our individualized Flight Plans—has been shaped with dignity, respect, and intention by people who deeply believe in the women who will walk through our doors.

We wish the need for Monarch House didn't exist. But it does. And as long as it does, we want women in our community to know there is a place where they can be seen, supported, and given the space to begin again.

Because every woman already has wings.

Sometimes she just needs a safe place to find them.