Step by Step was founded in 1992 by Pat Merle and Margy Mayk. Pat is a social worker and when working in Child Protective Services began to see that her clients had enormous strengths that neither they nor the agencies involved in their lives seemed to recognize.

She began to search for a better way to work with women to help them capitalize on the resources they had but were unaware of.

At the same time, Margy was doing a lot of work in spirituality with people in recovery. She loved working with the Twelve Steps and had a dream of offering her services to people who could not afford the programs she was involved in.

In 1992 both women decided to begin work with women on welfare in inner-city Rochester. They developed a workshop called "Live Your Dreams" that focused on strengths rather than problems and began to offer it to groups of women at local agencies.

When the opportunity arose to give this workshop in the local county facility, they found the perfect setting in which to help women discover their gifts and strengths.

Women who are incarcerated have the time and energy to devote to looking at their lives and finding ways to grow. In 1996 Step by Step began to work exclusively with women who are incarcerated.

As the program has grown, we have expanded to two correctional facilities and now offer transitional and preventive services to women.