Welcome. You Belong Here.
A healing space for people rebuilding their lives from addiction, trauma, homelessness, and incarceration. All it takes is a commitment to your recovery and to the people around you.
We’re a Black-founded and led recovery community in Washington DC’s Ward 8, free for every member.
More Than a Café.
A Community.
Recovery Café DC is a drug- and alcohol-free gathering space and a community of members and Member Leaders who show up for one another, week after week, on the journey toward whole, stable, meaningful lives.
Founded in 2018 by Jacqueline and Donald Conerly, who were named Washingtonians of the Year in 2024. RCDC was built from lived experience and a belief that everyone deserves a chance to get back up and try again. Read our full story →
Lives Changed in Ward 8 and Beyond
Member-reported outcomes from Recovery Café DC program surveys. Hope is recognized by SAMHSA as a foundational principle of recovery.
The Path Forward
Four steps. No shortcuts. Every one of them matters.
Come Experience Our Community
Visit up to 3 times before making any commitment. Come see the Café, meet our members, feel what belonging looks like. See the calendar →
Become a Member
Free and open to anyone ready to commit to their recovery and to the people around them, including a weekly Recovery Circle built on Loving Accountability. See what membership includes →
Grow Through the School for Recovery
Build real skills through classes in life skills, job readiness, and personal recovery, including Centering Prayer and Financial Literacy. Explore the curriculum →
Become a Member Leader
Grow into peer leadership. Member Leaders help facilitate Recovery Circles and guide the next person who walks through our doors. See how Recovery Circles work →
A Life That Lasts
Recovery does not happen in four neat steps, but having steps to walk, and people to walk them with, is what makes healing possible. We treat recovery like life or death, because for many of us, it is. Healing. Belonging. Recovery. Together, they last.
When I first came to the Café, because I suffered a lot of trauma in my life, I was unsure about trusting, but this has become a safe space for me.Sylvasti, Recovery Café DC Member