EIN: 45-2910746
Mission Statement
APRC is one of five Recovery Centers managed by RPSV. The organization’s mission is to nurture the resilience of adults with mental health, substance use, and homelessness challenges. We meet individuals where they are, without judgment, and stand beside them in their journey. RPSV provides safe, supportive environments, both in-person and virtually, for individuals to grow and learn from peers who are also in recovery. Everyone employed by RPSV is trained and certified as a peer recovery specialist and has lived experience in the areas of mental health, substance use, and/or homelessness. Staff are living examples of resilience.
Program Summary
RPSV’s centers offer programs designed to address each individual’s real or perceived barriers to successful recovery. We encourage individuals with mental health challenges to embrace their self-worth. We encourage individuals with substance use concerns to let go of self-destructive habits. We assist homeless adults with building social skills and securing housing. RPSV’s programs give people practical tools to propel them forward while helping silence their inner saboteur.
RPSV’s safety net services help stabilize individuals by addressing their immediate needs. These include daily meals, benefits access assistance (to such programs as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, medical care, Medicaid/Medicare, Affordable Care Act, eye exams, dental cleanings, housing), transportation assistance, information referral, and crisis support.
Food insecurity is the common denominator among everyone we serve. Nearly everyone at RPSV’s five centers suffers from it. Historically, we have found that once immediate needs are met, individuals are more willing to consider accepting additional assistance. RPSV provides meals and snacks daily at its centers.
RPSV team members strive to conduct one-on-one conversations with each participant. For individuals who are chronically homeless or who have mental health challenges, for example, socialization may be a waning skill as people tend to keep to themselves. Through the one-on-one sessions, individuals begin to open up about their lives and needs so they can be addressed. For individuals, especially those who believe their opinions do not matter (such as the homeless or the formerly incarcerated), discovering they have a choice, and that they matter is empowering and transformative. Individuals then begin to advocate for themselves and their futures.
Each center also offers daily group support sessions. In these sessions, individuals discuss concerns and interact as a collective, to learn and grow from each other. RPSV uses peer support, identified by the SAMHSA as an evidence-based best practice, to help people recover. With peer support, individuals who have gone through their own recovery journey inspire others. RPSV staff are all in recovery and are trained to support participants. Our staff serves as living role models that recovery is possible. Many participants credit the peer support groups as the catalyst for change, as they are motivated by others going through (or have gone through) similar situations.
Additionally, RPSV staff assists individuals with job searches, creating resumes, obtaining jobs, computer training, securing birth certificates, social security cards, and ID cards (which are needed to apply for employment and housing), identifying sources for legal assistance, helping secure financial assistance, transportation aid, and haircuts/grooming appointments (for the homeless).
RPSV also offers virtual groups on a variety of topics Monday through Saturday throughout the day for those who are home-bound or who prefer virtual support. Further, RPSV Cares, the organization’s newest program, offers calls from peer recovery specialists to individuals in the community who need someone to talk to in the evenings. This time of day can be challenging for those we serve, particularly for individuals with addiction concerns, because relapses often occur when individuals are alone and do not feel supported.
Impact Statement
In the last twelve months, RPSV has served 2,804 individuals in Northern Virginia. The organization provided more than 12,500 services to these individuals (some come to our centers once for a specific need, some come for a short term until their needs are met, and others use our services for years). RPSV provided virtual support to 146 individuals, some of whom utilized these programs dozens of times throughout the year.
RPSV provided more than 35,500 meals and snacks to address food insecurity in the past year.
Each week at our center individuals are eating for the first time in days, and are being connected to safety net services such as SNAP, medical care, housing, and employment help.
An average of 1,040 were connected to housing or medical care
An average of 400 received assistance with securing ID cards, birth certificates, or other needed identification cards
What ways can the public get involved?
APRC welcomes volunteers to support the daily operations of the center, in-kind donations of food, clothing, and toiletries to help those we serve in their daily lives, and financial donations, which are always welcome.
How are charitable dollars spent? Where does my donation go?
Donations to APRC follow donor intent. For example, if a donor designates a specific purpose or program to support (e.g., food for daily meals or hygiene products for participants), those funds are used in such a manner. If individuals give general funds that are not designated, those donations go toward the greatest needs of the center, such as supplies for the meals program or the art for therapy effort). General funds may also help pay bills that keep the center operating (e.g., rent or electricity). All funds donated to APRC are used for this facility only.
Information provided March 2024