Home Review Victory Programs

We established a nurturing community where every member finds belonging and plays an active role in shaping their journey toward recovery. Our specialized, short-term treatment programs are for individuals diagnosed with substance use disorder who have additional treatment needs. 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. 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. They talk to people on the street around Mass. and Cass about the services they have and offer resources.

Prevention

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. But once in the foster home, Rivera said she continued to be exposed to alcohol, drugs, and sexual violence.
4. Fentanyl was found in nearly every opioid-related fatal overdose during that period, according to the state.

The great majority have histories of trauma, chronic substance use, and mental health issues. Almost half live with HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, and/or other chronic health conditions. 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.

Serve the person

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. For many, Review Victory Programs 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. When individuals and families are safely housed, they’re much more likely to address their 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.

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. They want to know that there are people out there who care, who won’t treat them “like they’re trash,” Rivera said. There were an estimated 1,696 fatal overdoses in Massachusetts during the first nine months of 2022, according to the state Department of Public Health. Fentanyl was found in nearly every opioid-related fatal overdose during that period, according to the state.

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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. The individuals and families we serve are homeless or precariously housed —but their challenges are even more complicated.

By the time she was 16, she’d been introduced to drugs by one of her mother’s friends, she said. But once in the foster home, Rivera said she continued to be exposed to alcohol, drugs, and sexual violence. “We were always left alone, and the violence that Review Review Victory Programs was in the house was not normal,” she said of living with her mother. Learn more about our Residential Recovery and Short-Term Treatment programs. People’s success ultimately depends on their own belief in themselves and their future.

Housing

Last year, 4,775 people turn to Review Victory Programs for shelter, sustenance, recovery, care, and professional, compassionate support. Our team of more than 200 staff across 19 programs works with people to develop and execute creative, safe solutions to the very real challenges they face. 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.