News
Alliance is proud to welcome Tamara Green as our new Deputy Executive Director/Chief Program Officer. Tamara has decades of experience in nonprofit leadership, most recently as Chief Program Officer at The Fortune Society. Before that, she served as Associate Commissioner at the NYC Department of Homeless Services, and held leadership positions at Communilife and Harlem United. Welcome, Tamara!
Photo: David Nager/Alliance
I’d like to go by “J.” I’m 59 years old. I joined Alliance’s CHOICES in April after I overdosed three straight times when I took what I thought was heroin. If the ambulances hadn't saved me, I'd be dead.
I had been doing heroin, crack, angel dust, pills, and valium for 45 years. Heroin hadn't been "fun" for me for a while, and I’d tried to quit it a lot. My body craved it, and I was in serious pain without it. Heroin you feel physically. Crack is mental. Without heroin, your body hurts everywhere.
Heroin was also the worst drug for me because the things I did to make money for it were dehumanizing. Some of these things landed me in jail, and I was taking methadone when I was in jail, but when I got out, I'd crave heroin and start all over again. Nothing had changed.
After that third overdose in April, I said no more. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital from the Bronx referred me to Alliance, and after consulting the staff here I started taking Suboxone. They eased me into it with low doses, called microdosing, and I take Suboxone twice a day.
I come to group therapy meetings here. I don't talk much, but I listen to other people. It helps a little, but being on Suboxone is helping me more. Now I don't even think about heroin. I feel proud of myself. Oh yeah I do! I don't wake up sick anymore and have to go get money and get to a spot to get my fix. It's been over three months. I feel like I got another chance.
Now with my extra time and money, I want to take care of myself with healthier food and nicer clothes, and enjoy my apartment. I'm not the most social guy. I like to walk around, go to parks. I've always had anxiety and depression. I know that's not going to go away just because I got sober.
I receive social security because of my anxiety and depression. I have PTSD. I was seeing a psychiatrist with another program, but I was discharged and cut off from them. Alliance is helping me find another psychiatrist.
Thank God I got on Suboxone. Life isn't going to be easy, I still have these challenges that I can't control, but I'm glad to be sober.
I'd tell people who are interested in Suboxone it's your choice, I respect whatever you do. It's their own choice, I can't tell anyone what to do. But I know it worked for me.
1. Tell us a little about yourself, who you are, and what brought you to Alliance?
AJ: I've been at Alliance a little over 14 years, now. I got my Bachelor's in Psychology and had been working with children ages 3-6 who had behavioral issues. Then I started working with adult populations and that brought me to Alliance.
I came to NJ from Peru when I was 3. I grew up speaking Spanish and English. I was raised and stayed in Hudson County.
I'm an avid runner, so I love getting some miles in before work.
2. Have you always been into running?
AJ: Not at all. I was a terrible runner and athlete as a kid, but I got into running when COVID-19 started. While everything was closed, I needed to get outside. At first, I couldn't even run a 1/2 mile. But I needed to be doing something, and the runner’s high is real. Now I run along the waterfront, across the George Washington Bridge, anywhere. I've done many half marathons and I've run solo marathons.
3. Shifting gears a little, can you tell me about what you do at Alliance and what your program does?
AJ: I'm Director of Care Management at Alliance. Care Management is our Health Homes program which serves NYC Medicaid-recipients who have a qualifying condition. The program aims to reduce emergency hospitalizations and long-term health issues. We work with our participant’s doctors, state and federal housing and other agencies, and we accompany them to important appointments. Many of these patients have trouble navigating all their health troubles and the Health Homes program significantly improves all health outcomes, from HIV viral loads to stable housing to the interpersonal relationships our participants have.
4. And how long have you been in Care Management?
AJ: The whole 14+ years I’ve been here. I started as an Assistant Case Manager (what Care Coordinators were called). While I’m currently in a leadership position overseeing 4 teams, I’m still hands on with clients meeting with them and even accompanying them to the field as needed.
5. Is there an achievement or contribution to this program you are particularly proud of?
AJ: Seeing participants get their health to a level of stability makes me happy. A lot of them continue to come here, where they feel safe, and feel treated with respect.
It also makes me happy to see Peers become full-time staff. It's amazing to see them better themselves health-wise, and professionally. Currently some of the people in our Care Management team used to be former peer interns.
6. If you could change anything about the healthcare system, what would you do?
AJ: I'd put more of those resources into treating dementia, Alzheimer’s, and cancer. The elderly is a population that continues to be overlooked who, in my opinion, need the support the most. I’d make access to critical services such as homecare services and 24/7 care become a standard of care.
7. If you could do anything in addition to what you are doing now, what would it be?
AJ: If I won the lottery, I'd make sure the people in my life were taken care of before I spent anything on myself. If time and money weren't factors, I would get even more into running, I'd be a running coach and fly everywhere to run around the world.
8. So what should people know about you outside of work, besides your running?
AJ: AJ outside of work loves peace and quiet. Having a life outside of work is super important. You need to have that; work shouldn't be everything. I’m also an avid animal lover, I have two cats and a chihuahua at home. The cats are mine, the chihuahua is my fiancé’s.
Ashley Lynch, Outreach Coordinator for our CHOICES harm reduction program, wrote an article for City Limits about the need for greater investments in harm reduction. “Syringe Service Programs are another crucial component of harm reduction. These initiatives not only help prevent the spread of infections, but also establish points of contact where individuals can begin to build trust with a community provider and access resources, counseling, and referral services. By meeting people where they are, syringe exchange programs break down barriers to seeking support, no matter what that looks like for the individual” Ashley writes.
At Alliance, we believe in promoting the dignity, health, and safety of people who use drugs. We also support the journey of people entering or sustaining recovery from substance use, on International Overdose Awareness Day, and every day of the year!
My name is Rafael. I’m originally from the Lower East Side. I’m currently staying by the McDonalds on Madison Street near here. I appreciate being able to come to Alliance LES Harm Reduction Center for safer use supplies, socks, and all that. I’m a participant in Alliance’s CHOICES program.
I got trained in how to use Narcan in 2004, by the LESHRC team at your old site on Allen Street. The first overdose I saw was in 2013. It happened to one of my friends. At the time, it was actually just heroin, no fentanyl or xylazine. Nowadays overdoses are a lot more common. Just today I had to use Narcan on my boyfriend. And yesterday I Narcan-ed someone else.
These days, I mostly use crack/cocaine. I go to the methadone clinic across the street from LESHRC, which helps me reduce cravings for heroin, but it doesn’t help with my emotional needs like coming here does, and of course they don’t give me the safer use kits I need, like the sterile syringes.
I’m a hard worker, I’ve done HVAC, roofing, anything that comes my way. I’m looking for more steady work, and I’m going to try to apply to Alliance’s Peer Recovery Education Program.
My boyfriend says I have so much potential and can manifest anything I put my mind to.”
I love helping people. I don’t get nervous or scared anymore when someone overdoses, because I’ve seen it so many times. I notice the way their body or face looks, and I ask them what their name is, where they are, to see if there’s any kind of response.
If I could share one message with people about drug use, it would be that it’s okay to ask for help. I train all my friends how to use Narcan and how to test drugs for fentanyl and xylazine. I love what y’all do here at LESHRC. You’ve helped me save dozens of people’s lives. I hope to work here one day and keep up the good work.
I like to go by “T.” I’m a 34-year-old Hispanic man from Brooklyn. I describe myself as fun, laid-back, intelligent, hard-working, God-fearing, and a dog dad.
I’m in Alliance’s CHOICES program because I want to stop using opioids permanently, and I recognized I need help. I joined the program in February, after a small relapse. I had seen a post about CHOICES program on Facebook and reached out for help.
I got started taking opioids in High School, when my friends and I had “trail mix parties”—it’s pretty common—where we’d raid the medicine cabinets in one of our homes and take whatever we could find, not even knowing what they were. For all of my 20s, I was working exclusively to pay bills and buy more pills. My mental health was worsening, and my family was worried about me.
I tried stopping many times, promising “I will never make myself feel this way again,” but this disease is insidious. Triggers for me to go back to using had been family issues, and as a result of my substance use and relapses, I lost their trust, my apartment, experienced paranoia and psychosis, and had to sell my car to fund my drug use.
Every time I tried to stop, my withdrawal symptoms were like the worst flu you have ever had plus spasms and feeling like you were literally crawling out of your skin. I want to stop using permanently for myself, for my own benefit. I deserve a future.
My recovery coach Ashley was there for me and helped me figure out a treatment plan. I currently take prescribed Sublocade* and I’m receiving regular counseling services and mental health services. I know that all of this is essential for me to reach my goal of permanent sobriety. I haven’t taken opioids in the past 90 days.
The allure for opioids was the inability to properly cope with life, and the funny thing we all do is only remembering the good times we had while high, not all the bad.
Right now, I’m in a long-term facility, getting services from there, in addition to these at Alliance.
I love music, dancing, cooking, movies, the pool, hanging with friends and family, going for long drives to clear my head. I miss the old days when I was carefree, drug-free and cruising the streets on NYC in my yellow Mustang. These are the things I’m looking forward to doing more of.
* Sublocade is similar to Suboxone, a form of medically-assisted treatment that reduces withdrawal symptoms and cravings, helping people stop using opioids.
My name is Adriane. I’m in Alliance’s CHOICES program because it gives me structure and community. I’ve been taking methadone for almost 30 years now, first to stop using heroin, and lately because of the pain I experience from gout and arthritis.
I started taking heroin in 1989, after smoking crack for some time. It was so hard on me, hard to afford, and dehumanizing. My kids and I had become homeless in 1988. I love my kids, but I didn’t feel the same love I tried to give them when I was a kid myself. I cried a lot as a kid. My father wasn’t one to give love and affirmation, and my mother wasn’t into motherly love, although we did have a good relationship during the last six months of her life when she was dying in a hospital, and it was nice to bond.
Throughout my life, I’ve used humor to mask depression. People see me as a comedienne, and I like to make others laugh, but sometimes I feel frustrated that people don’t take me seriously in the moment.
I worked all my life, I worked in banks, the post office, and NYCHA (New York City Housing Authority). Sometimes people don’t realize that people using drugs like crack and heroin can hold down jobs, even if they’re experiencing homelessness.
I never regretted starting methadone treatment, and it helped me stop using heroin, but it wasn’t enough for my soul. I found Alliance after two of my daughters and my son came here for help with counseling and housing. I like doing the harm reduction groups here with Joel, Eddie, George, Tom, and them. Tom can tell if I need to say something about my depression or issues I’m dealing with. Alliance has lifted me at times when I needed it, when I was feeling suicidal.
I like the arts and crafts projects and the activities like potting plants. I appreciate helping others and this place gives me that urge to want to help people. Is life easy? No. I will probably rely on methadone for the rest of my life -- and I’m almost 75 years old. But I am always learning from life, and I’m trying to keep growing.
This Wednesday, I’m taking a trip with my kids to Florida, and then a train trip alone as part of an AARP group, going across the U.S.
Dr. David Berger, CEO of SUNY University Medical Hospital at Downstate was elected to join Alliance’s Board of Directors. With more than 25 years of healthcare leadership experience at several academic institutions, Dr. Berger leads the University Hospital at Downstate inpatient and outpatient services, accountable care organizations, community health centers, home care, and other related entities.
Dr. Berger’s expertise in healthcare will be invaluable to advancing Alliance’s work to provide services and resources that equip people to navigate systemic inequities and achieve health and well-being. His appointment was covered in NYN’s First Read and Philanthropy News Digest.
Photo from Downstate.edu
My name is Shirley. I’m originally from South Carolina but moved to New York City when I was young. I’m always kind and try to be a person others can come and talk to. I’m a Virgo so people tend to take my kindness as a weakness (but you shouldn’t).
I’ve been coming to Alliance LES Harm Reduction Center since 2001 when they were on Avenue B, and then on Allen Street. Harm reduction is a huge part of my life because whenever I’m feeling good, bad, or sad, that community makes me feel valued. I value being trained and knowing how to help someone you see overdose. Coming here helps me decide not to use. And when I needed to use, I came here for sterile syringes. And sometimes just coming in here made me think I didn’t need to use right away, after all.
I started using crack, cocaine, and heroin almost 30 years ago, and my relationships with those drugs were problematic. But they’ve been very hard to stop, of course.
I’m very independent by nature, so it can be hard to find community that engages me. CHOICES, and specifically arts and crafts projects that we do here, is helping me find things to focus on. Crack/cocaine is more of a mental thing, keeping your mind active makes me crave it less. Coming here, I can now go longer without using crack/cocaine. That’s what helps me the most here: therapy plus arts and crafts. Getting lessons and refreshers on how to deal with life. We do 50% of the work here, and that supports me after I leave this space.
Photo: David Nager/Alliance
1. Tell us a little about yourself, who you are, what you do, and what brought you to Alliance?
I was born in the Dominican Republic and came to USA when I was 14 years old. I’m a gay man with a Master’s degree in Social Work and have been at Alliance for almost a decade.
My mother wanted me to be a lawyer, so I went to college and graduated with three majors: French, Philosophy, and Psychology, thinking that would be a good combination to get me into Law School. My interest in social work initiated at 19 by attending support groups and then volunteering for a non-profit. After graduating college, I got a job as a Health Educator leading groups and providing educational sessions at another non-profit primarily helping Latino gay and bi-sexual men—I joined the Alliance family a couple of years after that.
2. Tell me about your current program/service and what problem it solves.
I currently work in our Health Homes Care Management program, helping Medicaid recipients living with chronic medical conditions and experiencing social barriers in accessing care, such as homelessness, food insecurity, mental health challenges, income, etc... We see that people experiencing these barriers are more likely to get sicker. Our goal is to keep them from needing to be hospitalized with life-threatening situations by addressing these barriers. We help them get to medical appointments, receive guidance on securing needed benefits, and maintain a healthier life-style.
I supervise a team of case workers and mentor three Peers currently: Rinaldo, Steven, and Brittany. Some of the peers I supervised over the years started as clients and are currently part of the Alliance Staff. I help Peers use their lived experience to serve as an example for clients. They can reach clients in ways I cannot.
3. How has social work changed since you’ve been in the field?
My career has changed as it is now more administrative and supervisory than directly with clients. My client case load used to be 60 clients, back in 2014—many with barriers like homelessness, no phone access—but now I supervise a team who meets with these people. I consider my team’s clients my clients, and I know a good amount of them by face and voice. Not all 300, but most.
4. What about the rise of telehealth?
Yes, telehealth. The pandemic really made it more mainstream, and there are pros and cons. Accessibility is a pro for people who are tech savvy. But you might miss certain non-verbal cues. Some clients at Alliance really struggled with telehealth because of income status, internet connectivity issues, or tech-savviness. Most of the people who want face to face interaction might not feel as comfortable with it, so we tried even early on in the pandemic to accommodate by meeting face to face in the community. However, I feel that telehealth is an additional method we can use maintain clients engaged.
5. Is there an achievement or contribution you are particularly proud of?
I think we have to look at each case individually. Some goals are easier to achieve than others. Most clients can use one achievement to jump start another. Some have used securing stable housing to immediately enroll in our Peer Training program, or go back to school, or start a family.
In order to service our clients, we need to get creative. There’s no cookie cutter way. I had a client living with dementia who initially couldn’t remember our sessions. He always wanted to go back to Puerto Rico, where he was from, but had no family—and he couldn’t remember this, either. I found we could keep him engaged when I made our visits both social as well as clinical. I’d play cards with him. Sometimes I’d bring Peers with me so it felt like more of a full house. And in accompanying him to medical appointments, we were doing more than just talking.
6. If you could do anything in addition to what you are doing now, what would it be?
In addition to working at Alliance full-time, I also work part-time as a psychotherapist with about 14 clients weekly. I am working toward getting my LCSW (clinical license). When I leave here, I usually work four more hours, primarily telehealth because it is easier for the clients I get assigned.
7. So social work is a big part of your life. Do you have a philosophy for approaching the work?
All clients are unique. One thing that’s necessary to keep in all interactions is a smile. You never know what someone is going through and greeting them with a smile can be a good start.
8. Tell me about Jossiel outside of work (here and psychotherapy work)
I enjoy drawing, dancing, exploring the city and socializing. I like to do things that are fun. As a kid, I took art and swimming classes. I like to swim and garden. I do not have a garden at the moment but have a lot of plants—orchids, succulents, others.
