IDRPP's Elizabeth Rivera Honored for Advocacy

In the year since IDRPP’s Elizabeth Rivera joined the Cache County MIECHV Program, she has visited multiple families, offered bilingual story hours all over Cache County, moved from part- to full-time work, and opted to help numerous people in her free time. So it isn’t a surprise that she was awarded the Collaborative Spirit and Family Advocate award at the Utah Home Visiting Summit last month.

Much of her work is with Spanish-speaking families, Rivera said. Her favorite part: “When you arrive at the homes and you see them scared or sad, and you do your planned activity, and when you leave, they smile. … Sometimes one smile can tell you so many things.”

Linking people who have needs with those who can help is important to Rivera. She survived a stroke in 2003 and has started each day since then with a grateful heart.

Rivera is a licensed early education teacher in both Utah and Puerto Rico, where she lived until a little more than a year ago. When her husband accepted a job at Utah State University, she accepted the change it would bring to her own life. As a person of faith, she believed she would find a purpose and calling in a place so far from home.

She has found it, she said. “It’s awesome because I know that I’m helping people who really need the help.”