Bronx woman finds recovery and support at NYC Health + Hospitals\/Jacobi\u2019s Outpatient Treatment Program<\/p>\n
On a cold autumn night, Bronx native Jerica Rodriguez realized she couldn\u2019t keep going.\u00a0In two years, her world had collapsed. She lost her job. Her marriage had ended. Her beloved dog, Brownie, had died. And despite countless attempts, Jerica was still using heroin every day.<\/p>\n
Sitting at Brownie\u2019s grave, she made a promise to get clean.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was my rock bottom\u201d she said. \u201cI had had three overdoses by then and I knew I had to get clean or I\u2019d die,\u201d she said. \u201cThis time around I was going to remain sober, come hell or high water. I made a promise to Brownie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0Later in her Pelham Parkway apartment, Jerica called her mother, Julia, and asked for help.<\/p>\n
Jerica\u2019s addiction journey was a bi-coastal struggle between the Bronx and Southern California. \u00a0She was born in the Bronx, then spent her teen years in Fresno, where she began experimenting with marijuana, alcohol, and ecstasy. By her mid-twenties, she and her then husband were using heroin, crystal meth, Percocet, and Xanax\u2014stronger, more addictive substances.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t even aware how much strain and damage I was doing to my physical body. All my body felt was grief, loneliness, and despair. A constant hunger for something else, and I just fed it with the drugs because I didn\u2019t know what else to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Each move between California and New York felt like a fresh start, but the drug use escalated. Before she knew it, Jerica had been using various substances on both coasts for 17 years.<\/p>\n
Through it all, she remembered her mother\u2019s advice from years ago on where to go when you need help: \u201cIf anything ever goes wrong and you need a hospital, go to Jacobi.\u201d<\/p>\n
On October 31, 2024, Jerica found the courage to walk into NYC Health + Hospitals\/Jacobi. She was terrified, but the care team knew how to support her.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like trying to get a scared animal to come to you and they understand that you can\u2019t do big fast movements or I\u2019m going to run away,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, they were very kind and very gentle. They helped me come out of my shell and not be so scared to interact with people.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was admitted into the Comprehensive Addiction Treatment Center (CATC)<\/a>, an outpatient program offering withdrawal management, medication treatment,\u00a0individual and group counseling, and psychotherapy for people facing substance use related challenges.<\/p>\n Each year, the program serves over 500 patients, helping them build recovery plans that not only include evidence-based addiction treatment but also connect them to housing, food, vocational development, and legal resources.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, the Jacobi program is like an oasis in the desert that is addiction,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve been to other programs in the past. But this one is different. They treat you with a lot of humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n At Jacobi, Jerica found the support she needed to rebuild her health, and confront the emotional roots of her addiction. She learned coping strategies, rebuilt relationships, and slowly began to imagine a future not defined by drugs.<\/p>\n She credits Dr. Tiffany Lu and addiction counselor Omar Archibald for\u00a0guiding her through recovery.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I met Dr. Lu I breathed a sigh of relief because I knew I was in safe hands\u201d, Jerica says. \u201cShe remembered me and greeted me by name. She didn\u2019t see me as \u2018just another junkie.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Lu listened without judgment and celebrated small victories.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a journey,\u201d Dr. Lu explains. \u201cOur philosophy at Jacobi, and throughout NYC Health + Hospitals, is to evolve with the patient. We\u2019re here to support you through it\u201d.<\/p>\n Today, Jerica has been in recovery for over a year. She now lives with her brother in the Bronx. She enjoys her time crafting, and taking daily walks with her dog, Ivy Daisy. Jerica also aspires to become a Certified Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor, so she can help others.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the biggest thing is that I\u2019m more than my biggest mistake. This doesn\u2019t define who I am. This is a very, very small piece,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, for me, it\u2019s about getting my life back and for the first time in a very, very long time, being genuinely happy.\u201d<\/p>\n Call 718-918-4465<\/a> to make an appointment with the Comprehensive Addiction Treatment Center (CATC) at NYC Health + Hospitals\/Jacobi.<\/p>\n More Information<\/p>\n NYC Health + Hospitals Alcohol, Substance Use and Opioid Services<\/a>
NYCDOH Alcohol and Drug Use Services<\/a>
Prevent Overdose<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bronx woman finds recovery and support at NYC Health + Hospitals\/Jacobi\u2019s Outpatient Treatment Program On a cold autumn…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":95138,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-95137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95137"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95137\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}