Substance abuse, now in epidemic proportions in many cultures, is of major concern nationally and transculturally. It is important for nurses and other health care providers working with an increasingly multiculturally diverse client population to understand the cultural implications of caring for clients with alcohol and drug dependence. The purpose of this ethnonursing research study was to discover meanings and expressions of care for substance-dependent African American women in the research context of an inner-city transitional home. A convenience sample of 12 key and 18 general participants was included in this study. The study was conceptualized within Leininger's culture care theory. Ethnonursing techniques of participant observation and focused in-depth interviews were used to collect data. Results included four universal care themes discovered in this study. Gender/cultural-specific care needs in relation to social structure, ethnohistory, and cultural context were discovered to influence the women's health/well-being as they moved through recovery.