HISTORY

Julien House Society is a charitable, non profit organization and is the parent organization under which Westminster House and all its programs operate. Founded in 1981, Julien House Society was named in honour of the highly respected BC-resident Dr. Walter Julien, a well-known dentist and member of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). The Society was created by a group of caring and compassionate members from the local AA community as well as concerned local business people. After a few years of looking for the best way to make a difference, they settled on the need for a safe house to be established for women recovering from alcoholism. In 1985 the Society leased a temporary home in New Westminster, BC and Westminster House opened its doors as a ‘sober house’ for women. Eventually the program and the momentum of the original founders grew, and a permanent house was purchased through a Human Resources Development Canada grant..

As Westminster House grew in size and reputation, it continued to offer women in search of abstinence from alcohol and drugs a more formalized, holistic approach to recovery. Today the program offers a wide range of services for women and their families.

Julien House Society has been in existence for more than 27 years, and the recovery program housed at Westminster House has been helping women recover from addiction using a 12-step based AA and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) program for more than 24 years.