When a woman returns to herself, the healing reaches far beyond her.
The Joyful Woman Project is a Houston-based nonprofit creating restorative spaces and experiences for women carrying the weight of caregiving, leadership, family, work and life, so they can pause, reconnect and remember the woman beneath the responsibility.
- Houston, Texas
- IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) public charity
- Women-centered restoration
- Healing House initiative in development
Our current priority
Fund the Healing House renovation
The Joyful Woman Project now owns the family home that will become the Healing House. Our immediate priority is securing the funding and professional support required to assess, design and fully renovate the property into a safe, welcoming and accessible restorative space for women.
We would like to talk with
- Foundations and grantmakers
- Banks and community-development lenders
- Corporate partners and sponsors
- Major donors
The complete capital goal will be published once the professional assessment, renovation scope and board-approved budget are finished. We will not name a figure before we can stand behind it.
The work begins now
Restoration does not have to wait for the renovation.
The Healing House is being prepared for its future, but the work of restoration does not have to wait. The Joyful Woman Project is developing virtual and community-hosted gatherings where women can pause, reconnect and receive meaningful support. Join the interest list, attend an upcoming experience or partner with us to bring restorative programming to women in Houston and beyond.
Explore programs and eventsOur first gatherings are being planned. Join the interest list and you will be the first to hear when a date is confirmed.
Four ways to take part
- Join the interest listBe first to hear when a program date is confirmed.
- Volunteer your skillsOffer your time, your trade or your practice.
- Partner with usHost or sponsor a pilot, or start a funding conversation.
- Fund the Healing HouseGive toward the renovation, our current capital priority.
The family has already contributed the property, thousands of dollars and four years of work. Help carry the Healing House into service. Read the Healing House story.
The need
So many women are the people everyone turns to. They are caregivers, professionals, leaders, providers and cycle-breakers, carrying emotional and practical responsibilities that rarely leave room for their own restoration. Over time, a woman can become so practiced at holding everything together that she loses connection with herself.
The Joyful Woman Project exists to create intentional spaces where women can put down the weight, receive support, reconnect with their inner lives and return to their families and communities with renewed clarity, connection and joy.
Who we serve
The Joyful Woman Project supports women who spend so much of their lives caring for, leading, providing and holding things together that they have little room left to hear themselves.
- Women caring for children, aging parents, partners or loved ones through illness
- Women balancing careers, businesses, leadership and family responsibility
- Women navigating grief, caregiving, transition or a difficult season
- Women experiencing exhaustion, isolation or disconnection from themselves
- Women rebuilding their voice, boundaries, identity, purpose or joy
You do not have to wait until you are completely overwhelmed to receive support.
What we are building
Our founding vision includes restorative retreats, healing circles, educational workshops, community-centered wellness experiences and trusted pathways to qualified support.
Restore
Restorative spaces and experiences that give women permission to pause and receive care.
Reconnect
Authentic community, reflection and practices that help women reconnect with themselves.
Reclaim
Education and support that strengthen agency, clarity, well-being and joyful living.
The Healing House
A home rooted in legacy. A future sanctuary created for community.
In Houston’s historic Sunnyside community, The Joyful Woman Project now owns the family home that will become the Healing House, a restorative community space for intimate retreats, circles, workshops and practitioner-led wellness experiences. The renovation is in its planning and development stage.
The founder
Founded from lived experience
After losing her mother to colon cancer and later returning home to care for her father through his own cancer journey, Josie Smith came to understand how quietly caregiving, grief and responsibility can consume a woman’s identity. Her own journey back to wholeness became a calling: to create the kind of restorative space that women who hold so much for others rarely receive themselves.
Founding-stage transparency
We are building with intention
The Joyful Woman Project received federal tax-exempt recognition in July 2026 and is currently developing its initial programs, partnerships, funding plan and Healing House renovation strategy. We believe trust begins with honesty, responsible governance and clear communication at every stage.
