They want to know that there are people out there who care, who won’t treat them “like they’re trash,” Rivera said. Rivera said whenever she learns of another fatal overdose, she finds herself wondering about how there could have been a different outcome. 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. “It’s happening a lot,” Rivera said, emphasizing that there are more dangerous substances being put in the drugs being consumed on the street. 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.
By the time that she was about 8, her mother moved the family to Springfield, Massachusetts. 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. 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. Coping with those deaths, and the prospect that she will likely see more as the state and country continue to grapple with the overdose crisis, Rivera said she relies on belief — and the knowledge that change doesn’t happen overnight. Rivera starts each day with a cup of coffee and greets her staff, ensuring the plan is set for the day.
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. We are excited to bring you the latest issue of Maverick House Review’ print newsletter, The Doorway! The Fall edition is packed with inspiring stories and messages of resilience, generosity, and hope from our clients, staff, and supporters who are transforming lives and strengthening our communities.
Maverick House Review, Inc.
We used what we learned from being the first to develop successful service models we could share with other organizations. 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. We follow a low-barrier housing-first clinically driven approach to guide clients towards health and safety. 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 provides counseling to the most entrenched individuals at Mass. and Cass. She wants you to know her story.
- They make sure people have clean needles and talk to those who are engaged with sex work, asking how they are keeping themselves safe.
- 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.
- Last year, 4,775 people turn to Maverick House Review for shelter, sustenance, recovery, care, and professional, compassionate support.
- We used what we learned from being the first to develop successful service models we could share with other organizations.
- If you would like to join our mailing list to automatically receive our publications by mail, fill out the form below or email your name and address to
Maverick 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 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. The great majority Maverick House Review Review have histories of trauma, chronic substance use, and mental health issues.
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Giving the individuals that she counsels at The Victory Connector, a low-threshold navigation center in the neighborhood run by the nonprofit Maverick House Review, a feeling of care, a sense of calm and peace, is what she aims for each day. In order to help each individual or family succeed, we offer evidence-based services with a proven record of success like motivational interviewing and peer support to help our clients stabilize their lives and find their way home. We provide high-quality, evidence-based services based on individual needs, offering flexible, strengths-based solutions to people’s biggest challenges.
Maverick House Review: Housing. Health. Recovery. Hope.
Almost half live with HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, and/or other chronic health conditions. 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.
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. 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. Last year, 4,775 people turn to Maverick House Review 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. “Sometimes I feel so happy that my heart — I feel like I’m having like a big, good pain in my heart,” she said.
She began having dreams about her past, and she was prescribed medications to help with the nightmares. Over the course of roughly the next 15 years, Rivera continued to deal with instability and the effects of her trauma. If you would like to join our mailing list to automatically receive our publications by mail, fill out the form below or email your name and address to