[3] After World War II, Mikels studied with and worked for Unitarian minister and social worker Conard Rheiner.

She did relief work with the American Friends Service Committee in Germany and Finland,[4] but was sent back to the United States because she had a record of hospitalizations for depression and homosexuality.

[2] She organized a gathering of halfway house professionals,[8] and gave interviews on her work: "No one at Conard House is treated as a patient," she told The San Francisco Examiner in 1964, noting that the residents kept pets, prepared their own meals, gardened, drank alcohol if they pleased, and had other ordinary freedoms and responsibilities of young adults.

[3] Mikels wrote and spoke about lesbian communities and intergenerational differences,[12] as well as the needs of older women without traditional family supports.

[13] The San Francisco Board of Supervisors declared November 5, 2009 as "Elaine Mikels Day", marking the 50th anniversary of the founding of Conard House.