Kiva Centers

10/12/2026

📢 Just a Reminder!

The Worcester RLC will be closed on Monday, October 12th, 2026 in observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

There will be no in-person or online groups that day.

We will reopen on Tuesday, October 13th, 2026 from 10 AM–4 PM!

10/08/2026

🎃👻 KIVA CENTERS HALLOWEEN PARTY! 👻🎃

Get ready for a spooky, fun-filled afternoon at Kiva Centers!

Join us for a Halloween Party with:
🎃 Games & activities
🍕 Pizza & snacks
🎤 Karaoke
👻 Costumes encouraged but not required!
🧡 Community, connection & fun!

Friday, October 30, 2026
1:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Kiva Centers
172 Shrewsbury St, Worcester, MA

👻 Planning to dress up? Please review our costume guidelines to help us maintain a safe, welcoming, and trauma-informed space for everyone. Costumes should not include fake weapons, blood/injuries, hateful or discriminatory themes, or content that perpetuates harm.

Come celebrate Halloween with us! Costumes, laughter, karaoke, pizza, and community- what more could you ask for?!

No referral. No membership. No insurance required. Just come as you are!

10/07/2026

What an incredible honor for Kiva Centers and for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. We are proud to have been nominated for two national CrisisCon awards, recognizing Kiva Centers in both the Crisis Residential & Respite and Mobile Crisis categories.

To see Kiva Centers and City of Worcester represented nationally alongside innovative crisis response initiatives from across the country is deeply meaningful. These nominations reflect the dedication of our Certified Peer Specialist workforce, the leadership of people with lived experience, and Massachusetts’ longstanding investment in peer-led, community-based alternatives to traditional crisis care.

We are incredibly proud of our entire team and grateful to everyone who has helped build, sustain, and believe in our Peer-Run Respite and Mobile Peer Respite models. Regardless of the outcome, having Kiva Centers recognized in two categories is an achievement worth celebrating and an honor for the communities we serve across the Commonwealth.

It was wonderful to see our friends at People USA present as well. We look forward to the continued presence of Peer-Run Respites in the national crisis response space.

[Image Description: a series of photos at CrisisCon. Two photos include a list of award nominees and another two include a group photo in-front of an illuminated CrisisCon26 sign and the other as a stand alone photo. Other photos include presenters speaking.]

10/02/2026

Feel-good Friday post! Michael, our TIP facilitator is officially CPS certified! 🎉

A Certified Peer Specialist is someone who uses their lived experience with mental health or recovery to support, mentor, and inspire others on their own journeys. CPS training equips individuals with the skills to provide hope, advocacy, and person-centered support.

We’re incredibly proud of this accomplishment and excited to see Michael continue making a positive impact in the lives of the young adults we serve.

Congratulations, Michael! 👏🎉

Thank you Kiva Centers for the incredible opportunity you’ve given our team.

10/01/2026

Our staff showed up in orange today. 🧡

Together, we recognize Orange Shirt Day by remembering the children who never returned home, honoring Survivors, and recognizing the lasting impact of residential and boarding schools on Native families and communities.

Every Child Matters. Yesterday, today, and always. 🧡

10/01/2026

What an incredible 53rd National Association for Rural Mental Health Conference in Santa Fe, New Mexico!

This year, Kiva Centers had the tremendous honor of sponsoring and planning the NARMH Conference. Our CEO, Brenda Vezina, who has a long history of service on the NARMH Board, served as Chair of the Conference Planning Committee, and our team was proud to help bring this national gathering to life here in New Mexico.

It was an honor to invite New Mexico Health Care Authority, Behavioral Health Services Division Director Nick Boukas to deliver a keynote address. His remarks on the state of behavioral health in New Mexico and the work underway to strengthen community-based behavioral health services brought an important perspective to the national conversation.

Throughout the conference, we sought to center community, culture, lived experience, and the knowledge of the people who call New Mexico home. We were especially grateful to welcome friends from Pueblo, Lakota, and Dakota Nations to open and close the first day of the conference, alongside an incredible flamenco performance celebrating the rich cultural traditions of New Mexico.

Kiva Centers COO Vesper Moore had the special honor of presenting the Peter G. Beeson Art Award to renowned cartoonist Ricardo Caté of Kewa Pueblo (Santo Domingo Pueblo), as well as presenting an abridged version of our training, “The Role of Peer Support as an Indigenous Practice.”

We also celebrate Eliza T. Williamson of NAMI Massachusetts, Rupi Legha, Steve Miccio of People USA, and Carol Kane on their recognition and awards during this year’s conference.

We are deeply grateful to every presenter, award recipient, performer, community partner, attendee, and member of the planning team who made this gathering possible.

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Santa Fe for an unforgettable 53rd NARMH Conference!

[Image Description: A series of photos and videos featuring presenters, award recipients, and performers on stage and throughout the ballroom at the Eldorado Hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico.]

09/30/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CXYKCUanr/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Join the SERLC and MBRLC Thursday, October 1st @ 6:30pm for a special conversation with Aroldo Ferreira, Director of the Massachusetts Certified Peer Specialist Program.

Aroldo's decades of leadership in peer support, multicultural community building, and lived‑experience‑driven training have shaped peer support across Central Massachusetts.

Aroldo will share insights from his work introducing peer support into inpatient settings, expanding support for Latino, Brazilian, Young Adult, and LGBTQIA+ communities, and developing multilingual trainings grounded in clarity, honesty, inclusion, and mutual support.

Learn more at https://namiboston.org/event/psan-recovery-speaker-series-aroldo-ferreira

Join us on Teams!
Meeting ID: 278 388 590 434
Passcode: Z2NY6bm2

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MTcwNTllNWYtYzliOC00MjVkLWEyZWYtMWFmYzdhOTdmYzQx%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%227ff12a0c-2791-49e2-8d6b-96e5d775c32f%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%225282852b-0c27-470b-be9c-2ed0fa46a899%22%7d

09/11/2026

This week, we made history.

Our Kiva Centers Soteria House in Las Cruces (the second active house of its kind in the U.S.) welcomed 3 of our first 5 guests into the house.

After months of providing mobile outreach while completing New Mexico’s residential licensing requirements, our doors are open and people are coming in to experience something unique.

For Kiva Centers, this moment represents something much bigger.

Our roots trace back to 1987, when mental health ex-patients and consumers in Massachusetts organized to demand a voice, choice, and something beyond the systems they had experienced.

Nearly 40 years later, people with direct life experience are not just advocating for change. We are continuing to build it in communities that need it the most.

Today, Kiva is a peer-run organization providing direct support across multiple states while also delivering training and technical assistance nationally.

From grassroots organizing in Massachusetts to welcoming guests into Soteria House in New Mexico, this is what happens when people most impacted by the mental health system are given the power to reimagine it.

[Image Description: a group photo of five people gathering smiling and doing the peace sign in a home kitchen. Followed by a series of interior pictures of an adobe home with warm colored art and furniture.]

09/09/2026

REMINDER!

The Worcester RLC will be at Out to Lunch TODAY September 9th, 2026! 🎉

Meet Us and come hang out with us, enjoy the event, connect with community, and say hello!

📍 Meet us behind City Hall at the Worcester Common
455 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608

We’ll see you there!

09/07/2026

✨REMINDER!

The Worcester RLC will be closed tomorrow, Monday, September 7th, 2026 in observance of Labor Day.

There will be no in-person or online groups tomorrow.

We hope everyone has a safe, relaxing, and enjoyable holiday!

We’ll see you back at the RLC on Tuesday, September 8th, 2026!