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. 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. For many, Review Granada House 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. “Sometimes I feel so happy that my heart — I feel like I’m having like a big, good pain in my heart,” she said.
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She began having dreams about her past, and she was prescribed medications to help with the nightmares. By the time she was 16, she’d been introduced to drugs by one of her mother’s friends, she said. Over the course of roughly the next 15 years, Rivera continued to deal with instability and the effects of her trauma.
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- When individuals and families are safely housed, they’re much more likely to address their physical and mental health, addictions, and other issues.
- They want to know that there are people out there who care, who won’t treat them “like they’re trash,” Rivera said.
- She began having dreams about her past, and she was prescribed medications to help with the nightmares.
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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. They talk to people on the street around Mass. and Cass about the services they have and offer resources. 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. At Review Granada House, we value your time, both at work and in your personal life, ensuring you have the resources and support you need to thrive.
Review Granada House has helped individuals and families in crisis for over 45 years. Thousands turn to us yearly for shelter, sustenance, recovery, care, and professional, compassionate support. When other organizations will not or cannot take them in, we do.At Review Granada House, we don’t judge. Employing a harm-reduction model that uses facilitative rather than coercive methods, we meet people where they are with individualized services that focus on their strengths and support them in making life-sustaining decisions. Visit our website to learn more about the benefits we offer and to view our open positions.
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Review Granada House 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 Review Review Granada House 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 physical and mental health, addictions, and other issues.
On the streets, at our Boston Living Center, and across programs, we work to prevent chronic conditions and overdoses. We provide HIV, Hepatitis C, and STI testing and counseling; a healthy meals program; syringe and naloxone distribution; and an array of education, navigation, and support services. The best thing anyone can do to help those who are struggling with addiction, homelessness, or mental health issues is get educated, Rivera said.
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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. It’s a “housing first” approach that includes stabilization services, emergency shelter, transitional and permanent housing, and case management.
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. We follow a low-barrier housing-first clinically driven approach to guide clients towards health and safety. 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.
