Yaya Por Vida

My sister, Yaritza Rollan (better known as Yaya ) dedicated her entire life to the arts. She tattooed, painted, drew, created murals and even got into Cosmetology. She began participating in local gallery events right out of high school, got herself into tattoo apprenticing all on her own and paved her own path to what would have been a bright future in the art world.

Sadly, she immediately met and became influenced by the darker figures of this profession and began a slow decline into opiate addiction. Nevertheless, she always held on tight to her art, still tattooed and still worked hard to stay on the path of her dreams regardless of her struggles. Sadly, the ten-year battle with drug addiction claimed her life December 28, 2019. That was the day another shining light in an otherwise grim world ceased to shimmer.

Her struggle was not in vain from where I see it. In the aftermath of her passing I learned how much she inspired those around her, especially at local community treatment center, Jesse Trice Jefferson Reaves House . In her worst moments (whether of her own accord or not) she always found a way to get clean again. Reaves house might have been her last stop on this earth, but it is certainly only one of many stops in her new journey across the universe.

Yaya por Vida has integrated work in the areas of harm reduction supplies, especially for our houseless SUD victims living on the streets with limited access to care. Meals, clothing, harm reduction with Naloxone kits, overdose reversal training, medical street team access, on site recovery peer support, community clean up, referral navigation for housing, medical, mental health, case management, infectious disease prevention programs, reproductive, sexual and emergency aid as well as access to alternative form of SUD healing (art as healing, all recovery meetings, etc.). Care kit drives are conducted 9 times a month (Miami Beach, Overtown,Liberty City, West Perrine, Stuart, Ft. Pierce, Port St Lucie, Vero Beach and Okeechobee). Since our first drive in September 2020, we have passed out a total of 11525 Nalaxone kits saving 169 lives thanks to our participants using our Naloxone to revive a bystander or friend. 

2025 GROWTH:

- Partnership with University of Miami through Gilead FOCUS has allowed is to prepare the opening of four HIV testing sites and facilitate our on field rapid HIV/HCV testing.

- Expansion to 4 Street Outreach Cities with Rite Life Services and Foo Society

- NASTAD and Reframe Drug Checking Cohort Graduates

- CARS Peer Recovery Communities Cohort Graduates 

- Launch of our Art as Healing Skool Edition for at risk youth at the McKenzie Project

- Launch of our Art as Healing Youth Mentorship Pilot 

- Awardees of the Miami Foundation Community Grant. New Moon Fund, Third Wave Mobilize, Impact Deposits and Gilead FOCUS 

- Infectious Disease and Overdose Prevention Advocacy lead for Florida Harm Reduction Collective

- Disaster Response and Needs Bank  for Hurricane Melissa and SNAP cuts

- Staff now trained as Wellness Recovery Action Plan and Restorative Justice Circle Keeping Facilitators

- Keynote Speakers for Miami Dade College Changemakers Week: Civic Engagement through Restorative Justice Circle Keeping