About
About Ford Street Project
Ford Street Project is a Mendocino County nonprofit that has been assisting people experiencing addiction and homelessness in Ukiah, California since 1974. What began as the Mendocino Alcohol Project has grown into a multi-program organization combining substance use treatment with food security, emergency shelter, transitional housing, and permanent low-income housing. The recovery campus operates from 201 Brush Street with related properties along Ford Street, and the program celebrated 50 years of community service in 2024.
The Ukiah Recovery Center delivers the clinical core of Ford Street Project’s work. Services include Social Withdrawal Management/Detoxification, residential treatment, and outpatient counseling, with on-site case management to connect clients to referrals for housing, medical care, and employment. The residential program has been continuously operating since 1975, with outpatient services added in 1997 and a sober living environment program launched in 2015. A 2025 ribbon-cutting marked the expansion of the recovery center, increasing capacity and program space.
Clinically, Ford Street’s program uses cognitive behavioral therapy alongside individual and group counseling. Trauma-informed care is part of the model, which is particularly relevant for the homeless and at-risk populations the organization serves. Vocational classes — organic gardening and commercial kitchen training — give clients employable skills and routine while in residential care, reflecting an integrated philosophy that recovery is harder without housing, food, and a path to work.
Executive Director Jacqueline Williams oversees the project, which holds 501(c)(3) status under IRS code. Payment options include self-pay and state insurance (including California Medi-Cal-funded substance use services typical for county-contracted programs). Adjacent Ford Street programs — the Community Food Bank, Family Emergency Shelter, Unity Village Housing, and transitional and permanent housing — strengthen long-term stability for graduates of the recovery program.
- Nearly 50 years of experience providing medical detox and residential treatment in Mendocino County
- Specialized trauma-informed care for patients with co-occurring PTSD and substance use disorders
- Comprehensive facility offering community food bank, emergency shelter, and low-income housing support
- Vocational training programs in organic gardening and commercial kitchen operations during treatment
- Naloxone distribution and overdose prevention education as part of discharge planning