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We often treat our street intersections as meeting points, a place to meet a friend before continuing together to a shared destination. We hope to meet you at The Corner with the same goal in mind: to collaborate, walk together, and work together to better support individuals in recovery.

When the road is dark, we rely on the streetlamps and lights above us to help guide the way. The work we do for those in recovery comes with challenges, but when we hear from ATR participants, they light us up. Our ATR participants are resilient; their courage guides us and inspires us.

The beginning of Christina’s story starts with words like, “a mess” and “hectic,” and she sat in “hopelessness.” After going through program after program, she asked herself, “’Here I am again. What am I going to do?’ I [started] to see the light at the end of the tunnel.” Emotion and reflection ripple across her face as she says, “After doing this so many times . . . is this going to be the last time I have to go through this pain again?” It was the support of Eileen’s House through the Gavin Foundation that really made the difference. A few months after she began, Christina was able to enroll in ATR and begin working with ATR Care Coordinator Stephen Steele. “He made sure that I got everything I needed. He’s gone out of his way for me many a time,” Christina shares with a smile.

Once enrolled in the ATR Paths to Empowerment (P2E) job readiness program, Christina started to uncover who she was and who she wanted to become. “[P2E] started giving me that motivation that I needed and that guidance,” she says. Christina shares that other programs often have options available to help individuals in recovery build life skills, but none went as far as ATR in giving participants the option to enroll in sponsored job training through ATR Career Services. She enrolled in the Home Builders Institute (HBI) carpentry program, setting a goal for herself to join the carpenters’ union when she graduated. Her instructor, Greg “Gray” Wilder, says, “I saw her [blossom] in the class. She picked her head up, she started to become assertive; the confidence came back.”

Each stage of Christina’s success is bookmarked with people surrounding and supporting her: P2E Instructor Natasha, HBI Instructor Gray, and ATR Care Coordinator Stephen, along with other Gavin Foundation staff who connected her to resources. With this community behind her, Christina says, “It makes me overwhelmed with gratitude that there are people who really care about us and want to see us succeed, [who] tell us that we’re worth more than we thought we were.” Through the years of trying different recovery programs, she had attended peer support meetings, and gained her faith and spirituality. Christina says this community of support gave her, “a sense of belonging,” where she was celebrated every step of the way.

With the help of her ATR Coordinator, Christina enrolled in the State Opioid Response (SOR) Rapid Rehousing (RRH) program, which provides housing supports for individuals in recovery, and lived in a sober house for a few months. “It was like a breath of fresh air getting out in the world by myself, having my own place again,” she shares. “I struggled with homelessness for over 10 years . . . I can’t even find the words for the happiness, the peace of mind, the stability that it gave me.” After graduating from HBI job training, Christina eagerly submitted her application to the carpenters’ union. Six months later, she got her acceptance letter.

Today, Christina has stable housing, a career that she loves and can build on (no pun intended), and she has restored her family. “That was my most important thing, was getting my children back and my family back, and I have that. Now, I have a career and my life is pretty good.” But she is not stopping there. She was recently asked to speak to the women at Eileen’s House, and says, “My life is never too busy to find that time to give back.” Christina dreams of helping other single mothers through recovery, helping them continue their education and access housing. With a laugh, she says her dream also includes going on vacations, building success in real estate, and getting rich. Christina once dreamed of having a normal day-to-day life with her family. Now she has more dreams and is looking forward to what comes next.

When we have exciting updates about the ATR program, you can find them here. Consider this your one-stop shop for ATR announcements.

We enter the holiday season reflecting on the gratitude we have for each of you and the ways you contribute to our mission at ATR. We are honored to share stories of ATR participants and celebrate the success built through our partnerships. We stand ready to support individuals in recovery in Massachusetts and look forward to growing in the New Year, but our work is not possible without your dedication.

We hope you find time to celebrate, rest, and find joy this holiday season.

From all of us on the ATR team, happy holidays.

ATR Management Team, pictured left to right, back row: Brita Loftus, Michaella Jones, Erin Allain, Kelly Joseph, Liesl Martin, James Harrison. Front row: Carole Goldberg, LeAnne Rowley.

Not pictured: Katherine Conforti, Chynere Scott-Dottin

Working Recovery: 2023 Recap

In September, we continued our annual Working Recovery series, celebrating both National Recovery Month and National Workforce Development Month with a virtual panel discussion. Attendees from across the nation joined us to learn more about the importance of supporting the recovery community in digital skill-building, which ultimately affects participants’ success in the workforce. 

The information presented and the viewpoints each panelist brought to the discussion was an overall invaluable experience. We hope you get a chance to watch the recording and share your thoughts with us!

If you were unable to attend, click below to find all the event information.

Have a topic idea for Working Recovery events?

Contact us – we would love to hear from you.

Beep beep! ATR has a lot of moving parts and our team oversees the traffic of incoming participants, ready to begin their recovery path. With that, we know there are thousands across the nation who are starting their recovery journeys, too. This Traffic Report is where our communities intersect across the state of Massachusetts and across the country.

Holiday Toolkit

The holiday season is here, which often means a rise in recurrences (i.e., relapses) and overdoses. We have created a holiday toolkit for individuals in recovery to help them navigate the holidays. This season can bring us moments of joy and grief, but our hope is to provide the tools to create a safety plan, build a support system, and implement self-care in your holiday schedule.

Click below to download the holiday toolkit and share with your networks.

We are excited to not only share the progress of the ATR program, but also share this space with partnering organizations that are making an impact on individuals in recovery and spotlight their work. In The Rotary, we will host discussions with other organizations as well as discuss important topics that are affecting our community and our participants. In a rotary, you may find yourself in the midst of chaos and confusion, but The Rotary is where we come together to help one another move in the right direction.

ATR Partner: Home Builders Institute

ATR Job Trainers focus on supporting ATR participants through job training programs, so they have career opportunities after completing the program. While the Home Builders Institute (HBI) is focused on supporting ATR participants as they build their resumes and careers, HBI Boston Program Operations and Carpentry Instructor Greg “Gray” Wilder is also focused on helping ATR participants build self-esteem, self-confidence, and healthy habits to support their recovery. 

Read more about our partnership with HBI and Gray Wilder below.

ATR Job Trainers focus on supporting ATR participants through job training programs, so they have career opportunities after completing the program. While HBI is focused on supporting ATR participants as they build their resumes and careers, HBI Boston Program Operations and Carpentry Instructor Greg “Gray” Wilder is also focused on helping ATR participants build self-esteem, self-confidence, and healthy habits to support their recovery. This 12-week carpentry program is designed to prepare participants for the home renovation industry, but it prepares them for much more. In addition to the course material, hands-on learning, real-world practice in the construction field, and certifications, Gray equips participants with life skills through volunteer opportunities, encouragement, and an emphasis on teamwork. It is safe to say that one of the most unique and indispensable features of HBI’s carpentry program is Gray Wilder himself.

HBI has partnered with ATR since 2020, and we are grateful for the continued dedication to ATR participants in their careers and recovery success. Gray says that in Massachusetts, the construction industry is Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) -friendly, meaning that individuals with a history in the criminal justice system can more easily access employment once equipped with the necessary training and certifications. However, HBI goes beyond the minimum requirements with a lab set up for students to practice their skills and receive guidance from an instructor before heading into the field. Partnering with local charities, Gray has implemented volunteer opportunities where students can give back to the community and practice their skills in the field. “It [also] helps the students that may have had difficulties in their past behaviors, to make amends to society as a whole . . . I make sure that they understand that they’re doing something that’s really good, and they should be proud of themselves,” he shares. Gray takes the opportunity over the 12 weeks to talk with his students about the concepts of learning from “past me” and defining who “present me” is becoming.

Through HBI’s CORE training, ATR participants learn job safety, construction math, and additional trade training to set them up for success. Participants earn a Pre-Apprenticeship Certificate Training (PACT) certificate in carpentry, and Gray encourages students to obtain OSHA-10 and green building and weatherization certifications to boost their resumes. He builds time into each class for students to lead a review where they can practice their presentation skills, while the rest of the class practices respecting the presenter. He arranges for local contractors to do mock interviews with his students, so they are prepared after graduation. Gray explains that there are three things a student needs for an opportunity: willingness to learn, responsibility, and safety. With the time, resources, and effort Gray invests in each of his students, he says, “the only reason somebody isn’t employed when they leave my class is because they don’t want to.”

Gray stays in touch with the students who want to stay connected after graduation—even students who did not finish the course and still look to him for encouragement and guidance. He makes sure that each graduation is filled with past, present, and future students so that they not only form a connection to the program, but also build a network to support their careers. “I want them to work as a team,” he says. As a graduate of the ATR program and HBI carpentry course, Christina says, “[Gray is] the guy who opens the door. I still talk to him to this day. He’s just supporting us the whole way; he just wants to see us succeed.” While Gray is a dedicated teacher of hard skills students need in the construction industry, it is his commitment to nurturing his students’ soft skills, such as forgiveness, compassion, punctuality, and confidence, that makes him exceptional. We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with HBI and learn from Gray Wilder’s commitment to each individual’s potential.

There are always training opportunities, webinars, and events to look forward to. Check in here to put your next destination on the calendar!

Looking for Training Opportunities?

Careers of Substance

An initiative of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Bureau of Substance Addiction Services (DPH/BSAS)

Careers of Substance is a central resource for anyone involved in preventing, intervening in, treating, and supporting recovery from addiction in Massachusetts. Click below to view the Careers of Substance training calendar, share these valuable training opportunities with your team, or subscribe to the newsletter.

AdCare Educational Institute

BeHERE Initiative



Community Health Training Institute