Vanderburgh House Review, Inc

By the time that she was about 8, her mother moved the family to Springfield, Massachusetts. 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.’

Vanderburgh House Review is a Boston-based nonprofit organization dedicated to helping individuals and families who are homeless and may have substance use disorders, often accompanied Vanderburgh House Review Review 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 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.

1. “It’s happening a lot,” Rivera said, emphasizing that there are more dangerous substances being put in the drugs being consumed on the street.
2. Since 1989, the Boston Living Center (BLC) has fosterered the wellness of all HIV positive people and respond to the changing needs of the HIV/AIDS community.
3. 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.
4. 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.

Connect to Services

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. 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.

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.

Program Management Team

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. The Victory Connector, where she is a harm reduction specialist, provides a range of services to women, transgender, and nonbinary individuals who are at high risk of overdose and who are reluctant to engage with other care systems. Vanderburgh House Review provides recovery, health, and housing services through thirty-three buildings in Boston, Cambridge, and now Topsfield, fourteen of which we own.

Maintaining these units in the manner that those in our care both need and deserve is a great cost to our organization. This combined with surging healthcare costs for employees results in a very narrow profit margin on an annual basis. Fiscal year’s 2018 margin for a 13 million dollar budget is approximately half a percent. The annual acquisition of significant unrestricted funding through donations, grants, and special events is vital as a response to this reality. 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.

The Jamaica Plain Recovery Center (JPRC) is a peer-led community center in partnership with Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Our goal is to create a safe, welcoming space for individuals from all backgrounds who are navigating addiction recovery. We established a nurturing community where every member finds belonging and plays an active role in shaping their journey toward recovery.