Skip to content

Healing House

A home rooted in legacy. A sanctuary being prepared for generations of restoration.

The Joyful Woman Project owns the family home that will become the Healing House: an intimate, community-centered space in Houston where women can step away from daily demands and participate in restorative retreats, circles, workshops and wellness experiences. Our immediate priority is funding its complete renovation.

Planning and development stage

The story of the home

The Healing House is rooted in the former family home of Josie Smith’s grandparents, Louis and Josephine Smith, in Houston’s historic Sunnyside community. On August 28, 2026, the property was transferred by gift deed to The Joyful Woman Project for its future charitable use. The organization is now preparing to transform the existing home into a restorative community space where women who carry so much for others can receive intentional care, renewal and connection.

The family behind the home

The legacy carried forward.

The Healing House begins with the people who made this house a home. These photographs come from the family’s own albums. They have been cleaned, straightened and color-corrected, and nothing else: no face, room or detail has been altered or invented.

Archival photograph of Louis Smith Sr. standing beside his wife, Josephine Smith, the original owners of the family home that will become the Healing House.
Louis Smith Sr. and Josephine SmithWhere the story begins: the late Louis Smith Sr. and Josephine Smith, Josie Smith’s paternal grandparents and the original owners of the Sunnyside family home that will become the Healing House.
Studio portrait of Josephine Smith, Josie Smith’s paternal grandmother and matriarch of the family home that will become the Healing House.
Josephine Smith, matriarch of the homeJosephine Smith—the matriarch at the heart of the family home. Her love of cooking and bringing people together made the house a place of nourishment, welcome and connection. That legacy now guides its transformation into the Healing House.

A tradition of women gathering

Josephine Smith, Evelyn Stephens, Betty Tanner Thomas, Josie Smith and Evelyn Volter gathered around a table of food in the kitchen of the Sunnyside family home.
Three generations of women gathered around the table in Josephine Smith’s kitchen: Josie’s grandmothers, Josephine Smith and Evelyn Stephens; her paternal aunt, Betty Tanner Thomas; and sisters Josie Smith and Evelyn Volter. Surrounded by food, family and love, they reflect the home’s tradition of bringing women together—a legacy the Healing House will carry forward.

Women, food and gathering, in this house. The Healing House is being created to give other women what this table gave them: food, company and a room where nothing is asked of them.

Archival photograph of Louis Smith Jr., the eldest son of Louis Smith Sr. and Josephine Smith.
Louis Smith Jr., “Uncle Jr.”The late Louis Smith Jr., affectionately known as Uncle Jr., was the eldest son of Louis Smith Sr. and Josephine Smith. His life and memory are part of the family legacy connected to the Sunnyside home—a legacy now being carried forward through the Healing House.
Michael W. Smith standing with his older brother, Thomas Ray Smith, a Vietnam War veteran, Purple Heart recipient and keeper of the Smith family history.
Brothers and keepers of the family legacyBrothers Michael W. Smith and Thomas Ray Smith, sons of Louis and Josephine Smith. Thomas Ray—a Vietnam War veteran, Purple Heart recipient and the family’s legacy keeper—has helped preserve the stories and history connected to the home. Michael later partnered with his daughter Josie to carry the home into its next chapter as the Healing House.
Michael W. Smith and his daughter, Josie Smith, at their attorney’s office on the day the family property was transferred to The Joyful Woman Project.
CompleteAugust 28, 2026

From family legacy to charitable purpose

On August 28, 2026, Michael W. Smith and his daughter, Josie Smith, completed the gift-deed transfer of the family property to The Joyful Woman Project. Photographed at their attorney’s office, this moment marked the home’s transition from a treasured family legacy into a charitable resource being prepared to serve women and the wider community.

The document in the photograph is deliberately obscured.

Michael W. Smith

Michael W. Smith is a colon cancer survivor in remission whose courage, stewardship and commitment helped carry the family home into its next chapter. As the last living elder closely guiding this work, he partners with his daughter, Josie, to preserve the family’s legacy and transform it into a place of restoration for women and the wider community.

Help Carry the Healing House Into Service

Four years of family investment. One legacy preserved. A future place of restoration for women.

Following the death of Josie’s uncle—a decorated Vietnam War veteran, Purple Heart recipient and disabled veteran—the family faced an overwhelming reality: the property had fallen into severe disrepair and become filled with years of accumulated belongings.

Walking away would have been easier.

The family chose restoration.

Over the past four years, Josie and her family have invested thousands of dollars and countless hours clearing the property, hiring professional removal services, coordinating cleanup and preserving a home that could easily have been lost.

The family then made its greatest commitment: the property was deeded to The Joyful Woman Project, an IRS-recognized 501(c)(3) public charity, so that a private family home could become a lasting place of restoration for women.

We Have Carried It This Far

The nonprofit owns the property, and much of the difficult clearing work has been completed. However, the house is not yet safe or properly equipped to welcome program participants.

A comprehensive professional assessment must confirm the full condition of the property, the required scope of work and a responsible phased renovation budget.

As construction, maintenance and preservation costs continue to rise, completing this work requires support beyond what one family can provide.

The house today

Its present condition, shown plainly.

The Healing House is shown here in its present condition, before the full renovation. These rooms will not remain as they are. Final room uses will be named after the design plan and board-approved renovation scope are complete.

These frames come from a walk-through video of the property and are corrected for exposure only. Nothing has been staged or retouched.

  • Front room and entrance, present condition.
    Front room and entrance, present condition.
  • Kitchen, present condition.
    Kitchen, present condition.
  • Interior room with window, present condition.
    Interior room with window, present condition.
  • Interior room, with framed pictures set aside.
    Interior room, with framed pictures set aside.
  • Exterior, seen from the yard.
    Exterior, seen from the yard.
  • Yard and fence line.
    Yard and fence line.

The Healing House is currently under development and is not open for public visits. The street address is shared privately with funders and partners during due diligence.

What Your Support Will Make Possible

  • A comprehensive property and building assessment
  • Architectural, engineering and renovation planning
  • Electrical-panel replacement and necessary safety upgrades
  • Reliable central heating and air conditioning
  • Professional pest remediation
  • Accessibility and code-compliance improvements
  • Full renovation, furnishing and preparation of the Healing House

After renovation, every room will have an intentional purpose - creating space for women to pause, breathe, learn, reconnect and receive meaningful support.

The family has already contributed the property, thousands of dollars, four years of labor and the decision to dedicate this legacy to public service.

Your contribution is not beginning this work. It is joining work already in motion.

Help Bring the Healing House to Life

  • Give

    Help fund the professional assessment, critical repairs and transformation of the property.

    Fund the Healing House

  • Partner

    Contribute funding, professional expertise, skilled labor, materials, equipment or services.

    Start a partnership conversation

  • Share

    Introduce the Healing House to people and organizations that believe in women, family legacy and community restoration.

Thank you for helping us carry the Healing House into its next chapter - a lasting place of restoration for women.

Planned uses

Planned
  • Small restorative day retreats and intimate group experiences.
  • Healing and connection circles.
  • Educational and personal-development workshops.
  • Practitioner-led wellness sessions.
  • Community conversations and partner programming.
  • Program planning, volunteer coordination and nonprofit administration.

Current development stage

We publish where the project actually stands, and we will not put a date on anything until professional estimates exist.

  1. Texas nonprofit formationJuly 2026Complete
  2. Federal 501(c)(3) recognitionEffective July 8, 2026Complete
  3. Founding board formationComplete
  4. Nonprofit bankingComplete
  5. Property transfer and title workComplete
  6. Gift-deed transfer to The Joyful Woman ProjectAugust 28, 2026Complete
  7. Professional property assessmentPlanned
  8. Design, renovation scope and construction budgetPlanned
  9. Permitting and constructionPlanned
  10. Program launch and openingPlanned

Help turn a home the charity already owns into a lasting place of restoration.

Fund the Healing HouseOffer professional or in-kind supportDiscuss a funding partnership

The Healing House is currently under development and is not open for public visits.