About Us

Our Story

Originally, Rise On was created to address the challenges faced by people who use drugs when accessing services. Individuals in our community who are experiencing active addiction or on their path to recovery, expressed facing many barriers in accessing services and care in the MetroWest area.

Clients shared experiencing hostility, lack of understanding, and disregard of individuals’ experiences when meeting with providers. Many clients identified the root of this issue to be the lack of knowledge providers have on addiction and the stigma held against people who use drugs. These negative experiences prevent many from being able to reach their health goals and sustain healthy practices in their daily lives. In order to support individuals’ health goals effectively, we must make patient informed decisions and adapt services to their needs. By meeting people where they are at, we can best provide the supports and resources needed. This may mean harm reduction services for a person who is not ready to stop using but wants to reduce risks, or connecting to support services for someone who is in recovery. But how can we ensure these services are accessible?

Centering what we learned from our community and assessing our program, we identified that having a single source that contains all our services would help bridge the gaps in care and accessibility. As a result, we began the creation of Rise On, an online user led entry point to Program Rise’s services. The development of Rise On has been a multi-year project that involved multiple iterations. And as we worked through the various versions of the app, we began to notice how applicable it was to the entirety of our program. Our Harm Reduction services are only one of three branches that exist within Program Rise. We also provide HIV Support Services and on site testing and treatment for STIs, hepatitis C, and Syphilis. In which there is crossover of clients and shared experiences with stigma, discrimination, and lack of services. So, by highlighting only one segment of our services not only did we neglect the clients served through the other departments, but also prevented any integration across teams.

Understanding the benefits of making the web app more holistic to the services provided at Program Rise, we redesigned Rise On to become a universal tool for anyone seeking services at Program Rise. While still maintaining our mission and harm reduction principles intact, we expanded the reach of Rise On by integrating all the services provided. Rise On, as you are experiencing now, was created through consideration of the needs of all the clients that may benefit from our services. Rise On developed into a culturally competent web app that allows individuals to access information about our services, community resources, health topics, and harm reduction tools at a click of a button. Additionally, Rise On allows for timely answers to question through our online chatting system that is operated by a Program Rise team member.

Rise On is dedicated to continue developing this tool into something that works for our communities. Rise On provides free and comprehensive care- whenever you need it, wherever you are in your journey. A tool informed by and for the communities we center in our mission. Together, we hope to continue assisting our community to Rise On.

Harm Reduction
Remove Barriers
Multilingual
Access to Care
Reduce Stigma
Dismantle Systematic

Our Mission

Revolutionizing access to care through the development of a mobile Web app coupled with a mobile health van that will provide direct access, care, and supplies to members experiencing multiple forms of marginalization and stigmatization in MetroWest who may be unable to find responsive services due to historic systemic barriers including cost, stigma, lack of health insurance, travel, concerns around immigration status, discrimination in healthcare , language barriers, and other social and cultural factors.

Our Core Values

In building Rise On, we are guided by the following principles:

Building a community of support & health.

We are not just building an application. We are building a welcoming community of support and health where all are welcome, and your privacy is important.

Meeting you where you are in your journey.

We understand change and recovery are not a straight line. We need to offer multiple entry points to meet people where they are, rather than people molding themselves to available services.

Promote healthier options, not judgment.

We follow a harm reduction approach—offering practical support based on your needs. This means reducing risks related to drug use while respecting the rights and dignity of people who use drugs.

Change is hard; reaching out shouldn’t be.

Whether you are in recovery, seeking harm reduction services, or seeking support amidst a life challenge, we seek to offer support that is easy to access, available, and nonjudgmental.

About JRI & Program RISE

JRI is a leader in social justice, with over 100 programs meeting the needs of underserved individuals, families and communities. JRI is committed to excellence, delivering targeted services that support the dignity of each person.

One of the many programs offered through JRI is Program Rise in Framingham, Massachusetts. Program RISE (RISE) is a multi-service site serving the MetroWest area. Servicing people who have co-occurring mental health and substance use concerns, a history of incarceration, communities of color, LGBTQ+ people, and people who use opioids—particularly those who have experienced a non-fatal overdose—and those experiencing or at risk of being unhoused. As community members, providers, and people directly impacted, we intimately understand the historical and ongoing marginalization of Black and Latinx people through the lack of culturally-responsive services and treatment access for substance use concerns.

More about Justice Resource Institute

We started Rise On to lift up our communities through innovative access to care.