BTS Recovery

Beit T’Shuvah is a residential addiction treatment center, congregation, and an educational institute where life is celebrated and every soul matters.

Our Philosophy

Addiction is a symptom of a divided self; an unhealthy dependence on substances or compulsive activities to provide a temporary sense of wholeness and well-being. Through a community rooted in the spiritual principles of Judaism, authenticity, and transparency, Beit T’Shuvah members are taught to live in concert with their own inner value, dignity, and Kedusha:holiness. We believe everyone has the right to redemption, which is why we never turn a single soul away due to their inability to pay… allowing all who wish to make T’Shuvah.

Our Mission

Beit T’Shuvah’s mission is to heal broken souls and save the lives of those wrestling with addiction by providing integrated care in a community setting. We believe everyone has the right to redemption, which is why we never turn a single soul away due to their inability to pay.

Our Vision

We envision a generation where substances and compulsive behaviors are no longer used to provide a temporary sense of wholeness and wellbeing and instead where individuals live integrated lives of passion and purpose in authentic connection with others.

Our Story

In 1987, a social worker by the name of Harriet Rossetto made the decision to champion the cause of helping incarcerated Jewish men re-enter society. Through a unique partnership with Gateway Hospital, Beit T’Shuvah halfway house was born.

Shortly thereafter, former convict – and future husband – Mark Borovitz, joined Rossetto and they conceptualized a new way of looking at and treating substance abuse. Over the past 32 years, Beit T’Shuvah has grown into a renowned treatment center, congregation and educational institute and has transformed the lives of countless addicts.

Today, Rossetto and Rabbi Borovitz and their team of 100+ work to further Beit T’Shuvah’s mission as one of the nation’s most unique, esteemed and educational nonprofit treatment centers.

Leadership

Sergio Rizzo-Fontanesi, Ph.D.
Executive Director

Harriet Rossetto
Founder

Staff Directory

Harriet Rossetto, MSW, LCSW
Founder
Email | Bio
The founder of Beit T’Shuvah, Harriet Rossetto received her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Minnesota and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. After working for Pauline Ladeen at the Jewish Committee for Personal Service, Harriet founded Beit T’Shuvah in 1987 as a halfway house for Jewish ex-inmates making the transition to freedom. Under Harriet’s direction, with her husband Rabbi Mark Borovitz, Beit T’Shuvah has evolved into a 140-bed treatment center, a vibrant congregation and a leading educator on the role of community in recovery. She continues to direct Beit T’Shuvah’s clinical program.

Zac Jones, CADC-I
Director of Clinical Services; Interventionist
Email | Bio
Our Interventionist, Zac Jones, serves as Beit T’Shuvah’s Director of Clinical Services. Zac holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, is a Certified Alcohol Drug Counselor, and he is currently working to complete his Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. Zac has over eight years of experience working in the Clinical Department at Beit T’Shuvah and is tasked with supervising our Addiction Counselors as well as other clinical program personnel and oversees much of the day to day operations in the treatment program focusing on the highest level of care for BTS residents. Zac is a proud alumnus of the program and holds the mission of BTS close to his heart.

Nicole Goodman
Director of Communications and Outreach
Email | Bio
Nicole Goodman is Beit T’Shuvah’s Communication and Outreach Director. Her passion is to ensure everyone, both within the community and those outside, understand and have access to what we do at Beit T’Shuvah and create a space for BTS to be a part of the larger recovery community. After attending college at Cal State Northridge, in 2012, Nicole Goodman began working at Beit T’Shuvah for the renowned Prevention Department as an educational program assistant and became one of its most popular teachers. Since then, Nicole moved on to serve in various roles at Beit T’Shuvah including her work in the Development Department as the Grants Manager and as the Program Director for the Elaine Breslow Institute. Nicole is incredibly passionate about her work at Beit T’Shuvah and she continues to play a vital role in its development and growth.

David Baer
Program Logistics Director
Email | Bio
David Baer, Beit T’Shuvah’s Program and Logistics Coordinator. It is David’s task (not always an easy one) to ensure that resident programming runs smoothly and that the residents’ daily needs are met. David supervises the Program Facilitators, the Mind-Body program, roommate assignments, and the daily logistics involved in getting residents to outside appointments. A Beit T’Shuvah alumnus, David finds his work extremely rewarding: “There is no other place like it.” Beit T’Shuvah saved his life and his mission is to pass that on.

Rebecca Share, Psy.D.
Director of Clinical Training
Email | Bio
Rebecca Share is Beit T’Shuvah’s Director of Clinical Training. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Colorado Boulder and her Psy.D. from the California School of Professional Psychology (now a part of Alliant International University). Rebecca oversees Beit T’Shuvah’s therapeutic services and trains future therapists in the organization’s recovery model. To Rebecca, seeing new therapists gain confidence in their practice is wonderful; watching them go out and bring BTS’s message and understanding of addiction with them, even better.

Sergio Rizzo-Fontanesi, MSW, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Email | Bio
Sergio Rizzo-Fontanesi is Beit T’Shuvah’s Executive Director. He earned his Masters of Social Welfare and Ph.D. in Social Welfare from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. He is also an Adjunct Lecturer at the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. Prior to joining Beit T’Shuvah’s ranks, Sergio was Project Director of a research and evaluation group at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Having studied services provided by faith-based organizations and community mental health centers as a researcher, Sergio was struck by the comprehensiveness of Beit T’Shuvah’s wraparound biopsychosocial services. While Sergio is neither Jewish nor an addict, he finds that he can relate to the residents’ stories of brokenness and isolation. Sergio joined the Beit T’Shuvah family in July 2018.

Lysa Harrison, CADC-II
Intake Coordinator
Email | Bio
Lysa Harrison, Beit T’Shuvah’s Intake Coordinator, is a Certified Alcohol Drug Counselor II (CADC-II). She also has an Associate’s Degree in Occupational Services from ICDC College, where she graduated in 2012. Lysa is the “gatekeeper” of Beit T’Shuvah, conducting assessments and interviews of prospective residents, maintaining health records and speaking with the families and loved ones of those looking for treatment. Lysa loves working at Beit T’Shuvah, because she experienced the magic here as a former resident. Today, she wants to help people who are going through the same struggles she went through.

Russell Harrison
Operations Director
Email | Bio
To say that Russell Harrison wears many hats at Beit T’Shuvah as the Operations Director would be an understatement. Russell oversees compliance efforts with state and federal licensing and regulatory bodies, including the Joint Commission, the Department of Health Care Services, Cal/OSHA, and the Los Angeles Fire Department. Russell is also Beit T’Shuvah’s Safety Officer, putting him in charge of safety training, kitchen safety, and the emergency management program. He also manages the maintenance department. Russell chairs the safety committee as well as the quality committee which tracks data required by governing bodies to understand and improve the quality and safety provided for the community. Oh, and he is also the I.T. liaison. Russell has been a member of the Beit T’Shuvah community ever since he arrived as a day patient in 2011. He was hired in July of 2012 to the maintenance department and worked his way up to his current role as Beit T’Shuvah’s Operations Director.

Elena Bahar, LMFT
Family Program Manager
Email | Bio
Originally from Iran, Elena is Beit T’Shuvah’s Family Program Coordinator as well as an Associate Therapist. She earned her Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from National University. Elena connects families and friends of residents to the recovery process and runs family groups for residents. She educates families about addiction and the different dynamics that contribute to addiction, such as codependency and enabling. Elena also runs a Dialectical Behavior Therapy group for the residents and sees clients in a one-on-one setting. Elena came across Beit T’Shuvah as a coincidence when she was looking for a practicum site. Two-and-a-half years later, she considers herself extremely lucky to be part of of the Beit T’Shuvah family. In her words, “I’m absolutely in love with this community.”

Yael Landa, MA
Director of Right Action Gambling Program
Email | Bio
Yael Landa is the Director of the award-winning Right Action Gambling Treatment Program at Beit T’Shuvah. Originally from Israel, Yael holds an M.A. in Forensic Psychology from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York and has received extensive training in gambling addiction and treatment from the California Office of Problem Gambling. She is also a member of the Recovery Committee of the National Council of Problem Gambling in Washington D.C. Previously, Yael worked with mentally ill offenders with open cases in the Brooklyn Supreme Court, assessing defendants sent to treatment rather than jail, finding appropriate treatment centers, and presenting updates to the courts. Yael finds Beit T’Shuvah’s mission and Judaism-based treatment modalities unique and compelling and believes that every person deserves a chance to recover their passion and discover their purpose in life.

Carrie Newman
Alternative Sentencing Coordinator
Email | Bio
Carrie Newman (aka the “Jewish Jail Lady”) is Beit T’Shuvah’s Alternative Sentencing Coordinator. Carrie received her Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology from California State University, Northridge. She oversees the Alternative Sentencing program which includes coordinating fieldwork, transportation, and court schedules as well as reviewing and assessing admissions. Carrie herself was in and out of prison from ‘92-’96 until she finally became a resident of Beit T’Shuvah in 1996. Carrie loves her job at Beit T’Shuvah because she believes in the organization’s core tenets and wants to offer a chance at redemption to those who seek it.