Priya Haji

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1993

Priya Haji

Free At Last

http://www.freeatlast.org

East Palo Alto, California, United States

Community Improvement & Economic Development

The Bold Idea:

To treat the most marginalized, disadvantaged, and hard-to-reach substance abusers, ideally the service provider needs to be accessible and located within the community. In a small closed community like East Palo Alto, people are more open to treatment when the role models are people with whom they identify. Free at Last provides community-based, culturally appropriate prevention, intervention, bilingual outpatient and residential substance abuse treatment services for adults, intervention services for at-risk youth, transitional housing and aftercare for alumni. Their primary goals are to break the cycle of addiction and rebuild families, provide alternatives to incarceration, prevent the spread of AIDS, foster education and economic self-sufficiency, and contribute to the health and safety of the community.

Biography:

Priya Karim Haji is former Executive Director and cofounder of Free at Last. She spearheaded program design and development as the agency expanded in seven years from one program in 1993 to a multi-service agency with over 50 employees. As a board member she continues to act as a liaison with government agencies, foundations, and public policy groups, advocating for funding and social reform. As Board Treasurer she oversees the agency's budget and finances. A former Echoing Green Fellow, a 1996 Do Something Foundation Brick Award winner, member of the San Mateo County Women's Hall of Fame, Priya also is the first recipient of Free at Last's Courage to Change Award, given in September 2001. She is currently pursuing an MBA at the University of California, Berkeley.