Through The Rose of Sharon 7, Inc., the California nonprofit is helping women overcome addiction, escape homelessness, pursue education, and build independent lives.
RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA. For women facing addiction, incarceration, trauma, or homelessness, completing a treatment program may be only the beginning. Without stable housing, employment preparation, education, emotional support, and a strong community network, maintaining long-term recovery can be extraordinarily difficult.
Sharon Jackson is working to change that reality.
As Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Rose of Sharon 7, Inc., Jackson has developed a comprehensive, faith-based network of recovery services dedicated to helping women move from crisis and instability to healing, independence, and purpose.
Her work is addressing some of Riverside County’s most persistent challenges, including substance abuse, homelessness, housing instability, recidivism, and family separation. By combining structured residential services, evidence-based recovery practices, spiritual guidance, education, and community partnerships, Jackson is creating pathways for women to rebuild their lives.
Responding to a Critical Community Need
Jackson’s commitment to recovery services was shaped by witnessing the devastating effects of addiction on individuals, families, and entire communities.
She saw women repeatedly moving between incarceration, substance-abuse treatment, homelessness, and unsafe living situations. Many were attempting to recover without the housing, structure, resources, and long-term support necessary to achieve lasting stability.
Rather than watch the cycle continue, Jackson chose to stand in the gap.
In 2012, she opened her first sober-living home, providing women with a safe and structured environment in which to begin rebuilding their lives. The residence offered more than temporary housing. It provided accountability, encouragement, stability, and a community centered on recovery.
Recognizing the urgent need for residential treatment services created specifically for women, Jackson expanded her mission in 2016 by opening a six-bed, faith-based, licensed and certified drug and alcohol treatment facility.
She later established three additional recovery homes. Today, The Rose of Sharon 7’s residences can collectively house up to 38 women, including mothers with dependent children.
The organization’s ability to accommodate women and their children is especially significant. Mothers working toward recovery often face the added fear of family separation or the challenge of finding treatment environments that recognize their responsibilities as parents.
By helping women achieve stability while remaining connected to their children, Jackson’s organization is contributing to the restoration of entire families.
Treating More Than Addiction
Jackson believes successful recovery must address the whole person.
Sobriety is essential, but it is only one component of transformation. Many women entering recovery must also confront unresolved trauma, damaged family relationships, unhealthy thought patterns, limited employment opportunities, and a lack of practical life skills.
Jackson facilitates recovery groups designed to help women recognize and change the thinking patterns that contribute to addictive and criminal behaviors. Participants receive practical guidance in cognitive restructuring, emotional regulation, behavioral accountability, healthy decision-making, and relapse prevention.
Her approach combines evidence-based practices with biblical principles. Women are introduced to faith as a source of hope, personal responsibility, healing, and renewed purpose.
Central to Jackson’s philosophy is the belief that women must learn to love themselves while learning to hate the disease of addiction.
By separating a woman’s identity from her addiction, Jackson helps program participants understand that their past experiences and decisions do not have to define the remainder of their lives.
Education, Employment, and Self-Sufficiency
The Rose of Sharon 7 also emphasizes education as a critical part of long-term recovery.
Women who have not earned a high school diploma are encouraged to return to school and complete their education. Participants are also motivated to pursue college, vocational training, certifications, and career opportunities.
Jackson does not want the women she serves to focus solely on obtaining their next job. She encourages them to prepare for sustainable careers that can provide independence, confidence, and financial stability.
This emphasis on education and employment helps address some of the underlying conditions that can lead women back into homelessness, abusive relationships, addiction, or incarceration.
Many women who complete Jackson’s programs go on to pursue careers in behavioral health and recovery services. Some become counselors, mentors, sober coaches, or support professionals. Others return to The Rose of Sharon 7 as staff members, using their personal experiences to guide women who are just beginning their recovery journeys.
These graduates demonstrate the broader value of Jackson’s work. Women who were once dependent on community services are becoming trained professionals, mentors, and contributors to the local economy.
Raising Standards in Recovery Housing
Jackson’s leadership extends beyond the residences operated by The Rose of Sharon 7.
As President of the Riverside County Sober-Living Coalition, she works to promote quality care, ethical practices, accountability, and responsible operating standards throughout the region’s recovery-housing community.
Sober-living residences serve an important role between formal treatment and fully independent living. When operated responsibly, they provide residents with the structure, peer support, and stability needed to practice healthy behaviors and transition back into their communities.
Jackson’s leadership reflects her commitment to ensuring that vulnerable residents receive services that protect their dignity and genuinely support their recovery.
She also participates in the Riverside County Continuum of Care, contributing to collaborative strategies addressing homelessness and housing instability.
Through this work, Jackson helps connect recovery services with the larger network of housing providers, nonprofit organizations, public agencies, healthcare professionals, and community advocates serving Riverside County residents.
Connecting Recovery With the Business Community
Jackson is an active member of the Hemet/San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce and the Greater San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce.
Her participation helps strengthen relationships between local businesses and the recovery community. These relationships can create greater awareness, employment opportunities, professional partnerships, and community support for individuals working to rebuild their lives.
Jackson also serves on the HOPE for Hemet committee, supporting collaborative efforts focused on the wellbeing and future of the Hemet community.
Her civic engagement demonstrates that recovery is not an isolated social-services issue. It is connected to public health, housing, workforce development, economic stability, family wellbeing, and community safety.
When women achieve long-term recovery and become educated, employed, and self-sufficient, the benefits extend throughout the region.
Serving Riverside County Through Collaboration
Jackson actively partners with organizations addressing homelessness, poverty, and family hardship.
She collaborates with Girls World and Sheltered Pathways in support of World Homeless Day initiatives, helping increase awareness and connect vulnerable residents with resources.
She also supports the Black Voices of the Valley Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway and Christmas Toy Giveaway. As a member of its Board of Directors, Jackson helps ensure that families in need receive food, toys, community support, and encouragement during the holidays and through additional programs held throughout the year.
These partnerships reflect Jackson’s belief that lasting community change requires collaboration. Nonprofits, businesses, faith communities, public agencies, and local residents must work together to address the interconnected challenges facing vulnerable populations.
Creating a Regional Legacy of Restoration
Jackson holds multiple professional certifications, associate and bachelor’s degrees, and two master’s degrees. She brings academic preparation, professional leadership, faith, and hands-on experience to every aspect of her mission.
However, the clearest evidence of her impact can be found in the lives of the women who have completed her programs.
They are mothers rebuilding relationships with their children. They are students returning to school. They are professionals beginning careers. They are counselors, sober coaches, mentors, and staff members who now help other women find their way forward.
Through The Rose of Sharon 7, Inc., Sharon Jackson is demonstrating what becomes possible when recovery services address the whole woman and when communities invest in restoration rather than abandonment.
Her work is helping Riverside County reduce destructive cycles, strengthen families, and create new pathways from addiction and homelessness to education, employment, leadership, and lasting independence.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for general informational and editorial purposes only. It does not provide medical, mental health, addiction treatment, legal, housing, social services, spiritual, financial, or professional advice, and it should not be relied upon as a substitute for guidance from qualified professionals. Recovery needs, treatment options, sober-living suitability, housing support, family reunification, education, employment outcomes, and long-term stability can vary based on individual circumstances, health history, legal status, provider guidance, program requirements, and available community resources. Individuals seeking help with addiction, homelessness, trauma, or related concerns should consult licensed healthcare providers, mental health professionals, addiction counselors, attorneys, case managers, or other qualified professionals.
