Antonio's Story

A CLIENT'S STORY: Antonio Fortuny

The core of what Span does is really very simple. We help people transform their lives.

Antonio Fortuny is one of these people.

Antonio, or Tony as he is known around Span, got involved with Span services more than a year ago. Since then he has been a regular presence at Span’s Adolph Grant Center, and has taken on responsibility as a peer leader.

Span interviewed Tony about his experience working with Span:

When I first came to the U.S. as a Cuban refugee, I was held for 29 days in a Florida detention camp. An uncle who lived in Massachusetts sent me money to fly to Boston, and when I was released I went to live with him in a suburb outside of Boston. I worked at a paper factory there for a year – that was my family’s business in Cuba as well – but I didn’t like living there so I moved to Boston. I had tailoring skills and held a number of tailor positions until 1996.

Addiction got the best of me at that time, and my life became difficult. I got clean in 1998 and had a good job at a large nonprofit in Boston, helping run a food pantry for more than five years, until 1994. It was heavy work and I began having physical difficulties that made it hard for me to work consistently, and I lost that job. The stress of this time led me back into active addiction and in 2006 I was incarcerated until 2008.

When I was released, I was immediately detained by Immigration at a detention center in Norwood, Massachusetts. After being detained for four and a half months, I was to be deported. However, Castro did not accept back people who had left Cuba as I did. Fortunately a staff at the Detention Center knew that Span had a case manager who was a regular visitor and introduced me. Thus began my relationship with Span.

When I was released from the Detention Center, I was sent to South Bay because I had an open case. When I was released, I had no money. My attorney gave me enough cash to get to Span. It was about an hour before Span closed – 7 pm – and two staff, Annie and Debby, greeted me. I was very hungry, had no where to go and no money. Annie and Debby gave me some food from the kitchen, and allowed me to use the phone to call my family to tell them where I was. That same evening, Annie and Debby helped me move into a sober house affiliated with Span, where the rent is subsidized. I followed all the rules, I did exactly what Span and the sober house asked of me, and I also began immediately spending each day at Span and volunteering in any way I could. I had to give back something!

My health is great today with the help of my primary care physician, Dr. David Stone at Tufts Medical Center. Span has shown me caring, compassion, gave me food and shelter when I had none, and understands who I am and what my life has been. After volunteering for several months, to cook congregate lunches at Span for clients, I was offered the opportunity to become a 20 hour per week stipended peer volunteer at Span! I had actually been recruited for two Peer Advocate positions at other agencies. But I decided to stay at Span. I have the perspective and experience of being a Span client, and can make a difference for people that come here. I know what people are going through. And I recommend Span to anyone getting out.