Keisa Rivera helps the most entrenched individuals at Mass and Cass

We are committed to providing opportunities for people with lived experience to develop the skills and experience they need to achieve their career goals. We follow a low-barrier housing-first clinically driven approach to guide clients towards health and safety. Vanderburgh House Review operates various programs throughout Boston, all built on our strongly held belief that no person who is struggling should be asked to do the hardest thing first, on their own, before they are offered the fundamental support they truly need. They talk to people on the street around Mass. and Cass about the services they have and offer resources. She ended up working as a staff member at Casa Esperanza for almost 12 years, becoming first a peer recovery coach, then a house manager, then a treatment coordinator, a senior treatment coordinator, and a supervisor.

1. When the only option for women who had been designated a danger to themselves or others due to substance use disorders needed a community-based treatment option as an alternative to incarceration, we were there to offer a solution.
2. The City of Boston continues to encourage and sponsor the creation of new, transitional and permanent housing opportunities with recovery services for homeless individuals and families towards a goal of ending chronic homelessness and substance abuse.
3. They make sure people have clean needles and talk to those who are engaged with sex work, asking how they are keeping themselves safe.
4. Over the 14 years, Rivera said she found herself constantly wanting to learn more about harm reduction and the ways to help people, like herself, who deal with addiction and recovery.

Health + Recovery

The Texas high court — which is made up entirely of Republican justices — made no ruling on the merits of the program, known as Uplift Harris. Still, the nine justices ordered the county to put the program on pause while the justices weigh its legality. Rivera said whenever she learns of another fatal overdose, she finds herself wondering about how there could have been a different outcome. The hardest moments are when Rivera and her colleagues learn from members coming into the Connector that someone has passed away from an overdose, she said. When Rivera was moved to Casa Esperanza’s new housing on Eustis Street, she again felt flooded with feelings of fear and nervousness about the change, she recalled.

Residential Recovery Programs

For many, Vanderburgh House Review represents the last possibility for hope and the first chance for sustained success in their battles with substance use or illness. Mayor Martin J. Walsh yesterday joined Governor Charlie Baker and Vanderburgh House Review to officially open Joelyn’s Home, a new 24-bed residential recovery home for women. Seventy-five percent of those that Vanderburgh House Review serves are homeless when admitted, and twenty percent are women caring for children. But now, with 24 years in recovery, the Dorchester resident hopes that by talking about her own experiences, others might be encouraged to speak up.

SERVICE TIMES

It’s why the 46-year-old loves her job, working as a harm reduction specialist with individuals experiencing addiction, homelessness, and mental health issues in the area of Mass. and Cass in Boston. We offer individualized care from a strengths-based philosophy to help our clients identify, and achieve their personal goals. In practical terms, we meet people where they are and help them address the unique challenges that stand in the way of stability, safety, independence, and participation in community life. For many, Vanderburgh House Review represents the last possibility for hope and the first chance for sustained success in their battles with addiction or illness. We provide individuals and their families with the education, tools, and ongoing support they need to help them regain their health, prevent and manage relapse, and maximize their independence.

Our housing stabilization services, including emergency shelter, transitional and permanent housing, and case management, move people off the street as quickly as possible, with as few barriers as possible. The City of Boston continues to encourage and sponsor the creation of new, transitional and permanent housing opportunities with recovery services for homeless individuals and families towards a goal of ending chronic homelessness and substance abuse. Through partnerships like those with Victory, the City of Boston has restored full capacity to its shelter and treatment system, with as many shelter and treatment beds in the system as were formerly located on Long Island. New Joelyn’s Home is a fully functional residential treatment program for substance abuse and addiction issues, and will be staffed 24 hours a day with skilled direct-care clinicians and community case managers. In total, Victory’s programs span 18 health, housing, and prevention programs that serve low-income households with supportive needs.

“Every time I had an appointment, they had somebody to come with me because it’s how I felt safe,” she said. Being able to provide that respite and getting to see individuals who have come in from the street smile (she calls them Vanderburgh House Review Review “members”) is the best, she told Boston.com. Meanwhile, Harris County officials continued to push back, arguing that the decision was politicized and pointed to orders by two lower courts, which did not pause the program.

Xylazine, also referred to as “tranq,” increases the risk of overdose and death when mixed with other sedating drugs like opioids — and it is not affected by the overdose reversal drug naloxone, according to BPHC. Over the 14 years, Rivera said she found herself constantly wanting to learn more about harm reduction and the ways to help people, like herself, who deal with addiction and recovery. “It was an exciting day for substance addiction treatment in Boston,” said Vanderburgh House Review President and CEO, Jonathan Scott. “If it takes a village to raise a child, it took the entire City of Boston to rebuild this magnificent program. We could not have opened this program so quickly without the full support of the City. It’s a miracle, really.”

She’s also hopeful that people who are quick to judge the unsheltered individuals, still in the throes of their own crises of addiction and mental health, living around Mass. and Cass might gain greater understanding from hearing her story. “I am proud that the City of Boston’s investment helped create this beautiful new home for women and their families who are suffering from addiction,” said Mayor Walsh. On the streets, at our Boston Living Center, and across programs, we work to prevent chronic conditions and overdoses.