Live & Learn AZ is a nonprofit organization founded in 2012 that aims to empower women and break generational poverty in the Phoenix metropolitan area. (Photo by Hunter Fore/Cronkite News)
The Live & Learn AZ office's “Empower Women” board shows how organizations support women, including relationship building and preventive health care. (Photo by Hunter Fore/Cronkite News)
April Hernandez smiles for a photo outside her workplace on Nov. 30. (Photo by Kevinjonah Paguio/CronkiteNews)
PHOENIX – On August 31, Maricopa County announced it would distribute approximately $2 million in the National Opioid Solutions Fund to 12 local entities. The county prioritized organizations that provide youth prevention and treatment, recovery programs, and harm reduction programs. More than two-thirds of drug overdose deaths from 2019 to 2021 involved opioids, according to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.
Live and Learn AZ, a nonprofit organization supporting women, received $60,000 of these funds. Live and Learn provides education and training to women who have experienced homelessness, domestic violence, and substance use disorders, and offers a structured two-year program to help women achieve financial independence. . The organization provides career guidance, job training, mentoring, and financial assistance.
Joselena Cordero, Live and Learn AZ's program manager, said the organization has a policy that requires six months of sobriety before women can participate in the program. She said she doesn't do drug tests, but most women are willing to do so.
Cordero said she has found it difficult for women who struggle with substance use disorders to get through the program and reach their goals. “We're trying to figure out how we can accommodate these people, because we don't want to be the ones that push them away. Rather, we want to make sure that their progress is different from other individuals. Because I want to understand that things look different,” she said.
April Hernandez, a former Live and Learn AZ customer, joined the program in June 2020. Hernandez said he has a history of crystal methamphetamine addiction and relapsed in 2021, several months after entering the program.
Live & Learn AZ provides financial education and career training to women in the community. (Photo by Hunter Fore/Cronkite News)
“I relapsed and became an active user again,” Hernandez said. “A few months later, my partner and I separated. When I realized I had lost my family because I wanted to use them, that's when Live and Learn said, 'No, don't worry.' We are here for you, we will get through this. I'm sure you'll be fine. ”
According to Maricopa County data, the drug overdose death rate from all drugs in 2021 was 37.6 per 100,000 residents, a rate that has increased since 2012.
Hernandez said she started attending Crystal Meth Anonymous classes every night on Zoom during the pandemic. She also attended Live and Learn workshops and began working to get out of her debt, she said.
“I struggled a lot, I felt guilty, I was embarrassed,” Hernandez said. “To overcome shame, I had to step out of it.”
Hernandez said Live and Learn gave her constant encouragement and support and never made her feel bad about herself. She is currently completing and earning her Human Resources certification and she has been sober for two years.
According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, more than 96,700 people die from drug overdoses each year, and opioids account for 7 out of 10 overdose deaths.
Cordero said he is currently discussing with his team how to spend the $60,000, but is thinking about using it for prevention education. She said some of their ideas include bringing in experts on drug use prevention, working with rehabilitation centers and 12-step programs, and finding individuals to lead workshops based on drug use education. It is said to be included.
“When I first joined Live and Learn, I was skeptical about it,” Hernandez said. “But the fact that they never gave up on me, it was the first time for me that I really had a team rooting for me, encouraging you, pushing you to grow, praising every little accomplishment I made. I didn't realize how much it meant to have someone who would do that for me. I didn't experience much of that when I was a kid, so that was my biggest takeaway. .”
