The founder and CEO of The Rose of Sharon 7, Inc. has transformed a single sober-living home into a growing network of residential programs helping women move from addiction and instability to education, employment, and independence.
Sharon Jackson’s leadership began with a problem she could no longer ignore.
Women affected by addiction were repeatedly moving between incarceration, treatment programs, homelessness, and unstable living conditions. Many wanted to rebuild their lives, but the systems surrounding them frequently addressed only one part of the problem.
Jackson recognized that lasting recovery required a more comprehensive solution—one that combined safe housing, structured treatment, personal accountability, trauma-informed support, education, spiritual development, and pathways to economic independence.
In 2012, she turned that vision into action by opening her first sober-living home.
Today, Jackson is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Rose of Sharon 7, Inc., a faith-based nonprofit organization operating multiple recovery residences for women. Its homes can collectively accommodate up to 38 residents, including women with dependent children.
Jackson’s growth from operating one residence to leading a regional network demonstrates what mission-driven executives can accomplish when strategic expansion remains connected to a clearly defined community need.
Transforming a Need Into an Organization
Jackson did not establish The Rose of Sharon 7 simply to provide temporary housing. She created the organization to address the conditions that often prevent women from achieving long-term recovery.
Her work was shaped by witnessing the consequences of addiction on individuals, families, and communities. Women were completing programs but lacked stable housing, continued guidance, education, employment opportunities, and the support needed to avoid relapse or reentry into the criminal justice system.
Jackson’s first sober-living home provided residents with safety, structure, accountability, and peer support.
As she gained greater insight into the needs of the population, Jackson recognized the demand for licensed residential treatment developed specifically for women. In 2016, she opened a six-bed, faith-based, licensed and certified drug and alcohol treatment facility.
She later expanded the organization by opening three additional recovery homes.
This steady growth reflects Jackson’s ability to move from vision to implementation while developing programs that respond to changing community needs.
Leading With Mission and Measurable Purpose
Jackson’s leadership philosophy is centered on the inherent dignity and potential of every woman.
She believes recovery should not be defined only by sobriety. Successful recovery also involves transforming harmful thought patterns, healing from trauma, restoring family relationships, developing life skills, continuing one’s education, and becoming capable of independent living.
This whole-person philosophy influences the services offered through The Rose of Sharon 7.
Jackson facilitates recovery groups that help women recognize the thought processes and behaviors associated with addiction and relapse. Participants learn practical skills involving cognitive restructuring, emotional regulation, behavioral accountability, healthy decision-making, and relapse prevention.
The organization also incorporates biblical principles into its recovery model. Faith is presented as a source of hope, personal responsibility, healing, and renewed purpose.
At the center of Jackson’s approach is a powerful distinction: women must learn to love themselves while learning to hate the disease of addiction.
This philosophy allows participants to confront their addictions without accepting the belief that their past mistakes permanently define their identities or limit their futures.
Education as a Strategic Recovery Tool
One of the most distinctive elements of Jackson’s leadership is her emphasis on education and career development.
Women who enter the program without a high school diploma are encouraged to return to school and complete their education. Others are motivated to attend college, earn certifications, pursue vocational training, or prepare for professional careers.
Jackson does not want program participants to focus solely on securing immediate employment. Her goal is to help them develop the qualifications, confidence, and long-term plans needed to build sustainable careers.
This approach strengthens the organization’s broader impact. Education and employment can reduce financial dependency, increase housing stability, strengthen families, and lower the likelihood that women will return to addiction or incarceration.
Some graduates have pursued careers in behavioral health and recovery services. They have become counselors, sober coaches, mentors, support professionals, and employees of The Rose of Sharon 7.
This creates an internal leadership pipeline through which former participants can use their lived experiences to support other women.
For Jackson, these outcomes demonstrate the value of investing in human potential. Women who once required intensive support can become trained professionals, employees, mentors, and community leaders.
Building an Organization That Supports Families
The Rose of Sharon 7’s ability to serve mothers with dependent children reflects Jackson’s understanding of addiction as a family and community issue.
Women with children can face significant barriers when seeking treatment or recovery housing. Some fear separation from their children, while others struggle to balance parenting responsibilities with the demands of recovery.
By creating an environment that recognizes these challenges, Jackson’s organization helps women pursue stability while remaining connected to their families.
This family-centered approach can produce multigenerational benefits. When mothers achieve long-term recovery, secure employment, continue their education, and develop healthier relationships, their children gain a stronger foundation.
Jackson’s work demonstrates that supporting a woman’s recovery can also strengthen her family and interrupt cycles of poverty, trauma, addiction, and incarceration.
Extending Leadership Across Riverside County
Jackson’s executive leadership extends beyond the operations of her organization.
As President of the Riverside County Sober-Living Coalition, she promotes ethical practices, accountability, and quality standards throughout the region’s recovery-housing sector.
Recovery residences can play a critical role in helping individuals transition from formal treatment to independent living. However, their effectiveness depends on responsible leadership, resident protections, clear expectations, and consistent standards of care.
Jackson uses her position to advocate for recovery environments that combine structure and accountability with dignity and compassion.
She also participates in the Riverside County Continuum of Care, collaborating with organizations and agencies addressing homelessness and housing instability.
Her involvement connects addiction recovery with broader regional priorities involving public health, housing, workforce development, family stability, and community safety.
Creating Partnerships That Expand Impact
Strategic collaboration is another important component of Jackson’s leadership model.
She is an active member of the Hemet/San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce and the Greater San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce. Through these organizations, she works to strengthen relationships between local businesses and the recovery community.
These partnerships can increase public awareness, create employment opportunities, develop referral networks, and help businesses understand the value of supporting individuals rebuilding their lives.
Jackson also serves on the HOPE for Hemet committee and collaborates with Girls World and Sheltered Pathways in support of World Homeless Day initiatives.
As a member of the Board of Directors for Black Voices of the Valley, she supports the organization’s Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway, Christmas Toy Giveaway, and other community programs held throughout the year.
These partnerships extend the reach of The Rose of Sharon 7 while allowing Jackson to contribute to coordinated solutions for families experiencing homelessness, food insecurity, financial hardship, and other barriers.
Executive Leadership Grounded in Service
Jackson holds multiple professional certifications, associate and bachelor’s degrees, and two master’s degrees. Her academic preparation complements years of hands-on experience serving women with complex needs.
However, Jackson’s leadership is most clearly demonstrated by the organization she has built and the people it has empowered.
Under her direction, The Rose of Sharon 7 has grown from one sober-living residence into a multi-home recovery network. It provides women with housing, treatment, faith-based guidance, recovery education, family support, and encouragement to pursue academic and professional advancement.
Its graduates are not merely completing programs. They are rebuilding families, earning credentials, beginning careers, and returning to the recovery field as mentors and professionals.
Jackson’s work offers an important lesson for executives across the nonprofit sector: sustainable growth begins with a clearly understood need, but lasting impact requires a model that treats people as capable partners in their own transformation.
Through strategic leadership, community collaboration, and an unwavering commitment to restoration, Sharon Jackson is building more than a recovery organization. She is developing women into independent professionals, strengthening families, and demonstrating how compassionate leadership can generate lasting social change.
