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But she said it’s also taken her a long time to feel comfortable sharing what she experienced as a child and teenager, which resulted in her own years-long struggle with substance use, incarceration, and instability. They want to know that there are people out there who care, who won’t treat them “like they’re trash,” Rivera said. When people come in, she and her colleagues offer hot meals and find out what their needs may be. They make sure people have clean needles and talk to those who are engaged with sex work, asking how they are keeping themselves safe. “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 “members”) is the best, she told Boston.com.

She provides counseling to the most entrenched individuals at Mass. and Cass. She wants you to know her story.

We established a nurturing community where every member finds belonging and plays an active role in shaping their journey toward recovery. Giving the individuals that she counsels at The Victory Connector, a low-threshold navigation center in the neighborhood run by the nonprofit Review Victory Programs, a feeling of care, a sense of calm and peace, is what she aims for each day. A client-driven service dedicated to supporting the needs of individuals living with HIV who need assistance accessing community resources. Our services range from recovery support groups like AA or Refuge Recovery to wellness and life-skill activities like resume-building workshops or yoga classes; anything that encompasses healthy and safe choices for the mind, body, and soul. 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. In the years that she’s been working in harm reduction, Rivera has shared bits and pieces of her own experiences with addiction, trauma, and violence with those she works with.

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She’s always been cautious of sharing too much, in part because she’s aware that the people she is helping have their own traumas that they may not be ready to talk about. Don’t hesitate to apply if your work experience doesn’t align with every qualification in the job description. Review Victory Programs also recognizes the benefits of hiring people with lived experience who can play an important role in bridging the gap between services and the people who use them.

Health & Recovery

1. 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.
2. By the time that she was about 8, her mother moved the family to Springfield, Massachusetts.
3. 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.
4. They make sure people have clean needles and talk to those who are engaged with sex work, asking how they are keeping themselves safe.
5. 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.

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. Each day, she and her colleagues at the Connector also do about two hours of street outreach, rotating who stays in the office and who goes out. Rivera starts each day with a cup of coffee and greets her staff, ensuring the plan is set for the day. 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. “We were always left alone, and the violence that was in the house was not normal,” she said of living with her mother. By the time she was 10 or 11, Rivera and her siblings were placed in foster care because of their mother’s alcohol use.

By the time that she was about 8, her mother moved the family to Springfield, Massachusetts. These benefits are adjusted based on full-time or part-time status, and vacation time increases with length of employment. People’s success ultimately depends on their own belief in themselves and their future. We focus on what a person is doing “well,” with a nurturing effect that fosters continued effort from the first steps toward progress and growth.

‘I’m starting a new life. This is me now.’

The great majority have histories of trauma, chronic substance use, and mental health issues. 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. When individuals and families are safely housed, they’re much more likely to address their health, addictions, and other issues.

Review Victory Programs is a Boston-based nonprofit organization dedicated to helping individuals and families who are homeless and may have substance use disorders, often accompanied by chronic health issues like HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and mental illness. Providing a welcoming environment, our compassionate and inspiring team is committed to helping them regain their health and restore their hope through immediate access to safe and stable housing. When individuals and families are safely housed, they’re much more likely to address their Review Review Victory Programs physical and mental health, addictions, and other issues. 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 individuals and families we serve are homeless or precariously housed —but their challenges are even more complicated.

In March of 2012, the BLC became a part of Review Victory Programs, ensuring their vital services continue to be available for adults with HIV/AIDS. Recently, VPI and BLC leadership made the decision to widen their target populations to other populations in need, including men who have sex with other men and at high risk, releasees from correctional institutions and unhoused individuals with substance use disorders. 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. 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. The best thing anyone can do to help those who are struggling with addiction, homelessness, or mental health issues is get educated, Rivera said. Review Victory Programs opens doors to recovery, hope and community to individuals and families facing homelessness, addiction, or other chronic illnesses, including HIV/AIDS.

At Review Victory Programs, we value your time, both at work and in your personal life, ensuring you have the resources and support you need to thrive. Public health officials, including the Boston Public Health Commission, have been warning in particular that xylazine, a non-opioid veterinary tranquilizer, has been increasingly detected in street drug samples analyzed in Massachusetts. 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. Remembering her own experiences —  of sleeping in cars or under a bridge, of wanting to end her own life — and the moments when people helped, or failed to help, Rivera said she continues to find herself wanting to do more to aid people in similar need. 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.