Vision, Mission, and History

1979:

■ Outreach is incorporated as a nonprofit – “Queens County Youth Development Corporation” – to conduct a broad based community awareness program surrounding substance abuse and chemical dependency, educate the community in working with youth and family problems, refer youngsters to appropriate programs, and work with the community to develop approaches toward solving these concerns.

■ As the average age for drug use drops, increasing numbers of teens and adolescents begin to experiment with and become addicted to an array of substances. Outreach workers find no programs to refer adolescents in need of treatment, so the first of two abandoned Ridgewood, Queens tenement buildings is purchased, with one goal in mind – to eventually create New York State’s first residential chemical dependency treatment program for adolescents.

1980:

■ With a $60,000 grant and staff of three, Outreach, more familiarly known as the ‘Outreach Project’ at this time, opens its doors as an assessment and referral center in Glendale, Queens. Based in a converted storefront – a former candy store – the small team visits Queens community parks and hangouts, reaching out to addicts to encourage them to seek help for their substance abuse, and connect them with treatment services.

1982:

■ Outreach purchases a second, adjacent burnt out tenement building in Ridgewood, Queens, laying the groundwork for construction of the “Outreach House” adolescent residential facility to begin!

1982 Groundbreaking for Outreach House I in Ridgewood, Queens – Pictured are some wonderful local, community, and political supporters with Outreach Co-Founder Kathy Riddle, including Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan, the honorable Michael Corriero, Matilda Cuomo, and more.

1983:

■ In response to increasing public demand for services, while the Glendale office focuses on Western Queens communities, Outreach/QCYDC opens a second assessment and referral site in Little Neck for Eastern Queens. This base office will eventually relocate to Bayside to serve an even greater portion of the borough’s individuals and families.

■ As Outreach’s geographic scope of service widens, administrative operations relocate from Glendale to Rego Park, and the seeds of what will become an extraordinary education and training program are planted, providing addiction-awareness training to community members, and professional workshops and seminars for individuals seeking drug and alcohol counseling skills With contributions from local church leaders, the “Substance Abuse Ministry,” a non-sectarian program to provide 2-hour trainings to community members, is created.

Circa 1983 at Outreach’s early offices, a glimpse back at training offered to the community since the 1980s! Pictured right, is Kevin Wadalavage, M.A., L.M.H.C., C.A.S.A.C., M.A.C., NCAC II, an original Outreach staffer.

1984:

■ A landmark occasion – Outreach House I in Ridgewood, Queens opens! This trailblazing program becomes New York State’s first chemical dependency treatment program to provide specialized treatment to adolescents in an intensive residential setting, Accommodating 36 adolescents, ages 12 to 17, the young clients represent varying cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds, and the new facility serves families across all five boroughs of New York City.

      

(Left) Outreach House I – 1984. (Right) The facility today!

■ In this same year, Outreach opens offices in Woodhaven, Queens and develops services beyond assessment and referrals. Observing the rate of substance use intertwined with juvenile and criminal justice involvement, a Court Advocacy Program is created that offers counseling intervention as an option in lieu of incarceration for young people.

Circa 1983 at Outreach’s early offices in Woodhaven, Queens, two of Outreach’s ‘trailblazing’ leaders – Co-Founder and CEO/President Emeritus Kathy Riddle and then Executive Vice-President Neil Sheehan.

 

1986:

■ Following from the success in diversifying service offerings, Outreach’s certificate of incorporation is amended to enlarge the organization’s purposes and activities, and expand the geographic range in which services are conducted. Outreach is officially authorized to “establish, own, operate and maintain outpatient and residential facilities for the diagnosis, care, treatment, rehabilitation or training of persons afflicted with the illness of alcoholism, alcohol abuses and significant others.” The development of programs from Queens through eastern Long Island will follow!

■ Receiving a grant from NYC to provide training to community members, Outreach begins educating professionals and the public about drug and alcohol abuse, and how to treat it.

1987:

■ Outreach formally establishes the organization’s Administrative Offices and Training Department at the former St. Anthony’s Hospital in Woodhaven, Queens.

1988:

■  Intervention and outpatient treatment services are expanded, as Outreach opens a full substance abuse spectrum treatment clinic in the St. Anthony’s facility, addressing both alcohol and other substances of abuse, vocational services, and more. Also established is Outreach’s first women’s program – a day initiative for women released from Parole.

1989:

■ Based on the success of the first Outreach House in Ridgewood, and in response to a growing need for residential treatment for adolescents on Long Island, Suffolk County’s Commissioner for Health asks Outreach to open a similar program. Outreach breaks ground in Brentwood and begins building a new 40-bed program for adolescents.

1991:

■ Outreach House II in Brentwood, Long Island, opens its doors, providing residential services to adolescents aged 12 to 17, from Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

(Left) Outreach House II in Brentwood, Long Island 1991. (Right) The facility today!

1992:

■ Evolving community need once again prompts Outreach to extend its services, now to eastern Long Island. Space is renovated in a Bellport, LI strip mall to launch a specialized intensive day rehabilitation treatment program for women and women with children. The program also offers evening adult outpatient substance use disorder treatment for men and women. Outpatient after-school services for youth are added several years later.

1997:

■ From its origins as a community education initiative in the early years, the Outreach Training Institute (OTI) is founded and the first CASAC (Credentialed Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Counselor) diploma class is launched in Queens, NY, training an initial group of 30 students. OTI’s subsequent growth to train over 300 students annually on average, across multiple campus locations, makes it the largest approved provider of CASAC training in New York State. The program provides students with all of the course work required to sit for the New York State Alcoholism and Substance Abuse credentialing exam.

■ Outreach acquires and renovates 117-11 Myrtle Avenue, in Richmond Hill, Queens. At the time a bowling alley and dance studio, the building is completely redeveloped to house the organization’s Executive/Administrative Offices, Outreach Training Institute’s largest campus, and outpatient treatment programs for adults, adolescents, and families, with special services for women. The facility opens in 1999.

(Left) Ribbon-cutting of Richmond Hill, Queens offices in 1999.  (Right) The facility today!

2001:

■ In Greenpoint, Brooklyn, ten community churches and congregational leaders ask Outreach to develop a facility to help people and families in need of substance use treatment in North Brooklyn. With support from NYS and NYC, Outreach undertakes renovations of two stories of leased space on Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, designed for outpatient counseling and training services. Treatment services are offered in English, Spanish, and Polish.

2003:

■ With the growth of the Long Island ‘arm’ of Outreach Training Institute and the desire to provide adolescent outpatient services in Suffolk County, Outreach builds the Training and Family Center, adjacent to Outreach House II in Brentwood. The facility houses CASAC class schedules, as well as after-school outpatient services for adolescents, and aftercare services for graduates of Outreach House II.

2008:

■ Outreach launches an agency-wide “Culture Change” initiative. As a result, the agency re-brands our message and image to reinforce our renewed mission and vision.  Our logo is redesigned and the tagline is transformed to “Outreach: Building Healthy Lives.”

2010:

■ Participating in the annual statewide Best Companies award program for the first time, based on employee feedback, Outreach is named one of the “Best Companies to Work for in New York State,” a distinction it would continue to achieve ten times times through 2020.

2011:

■ As part of a Citywide juvenile justice reform movement, Outreach partners with the Department of Education to open Outreach Academy, an alternative middle school program, in the Richmond Hill neighborhood of Queens. The District 79 school helps adolescents complete Grades 6-8 while addressing their drug and alcohol problems. This alternative school setting has since evolved into a step-down, recovery-based outpatient model for high school students located at Outreach’s Greenpoint facility.

2012:

■ Outreach assumes sponsorship of a bilingual, adult outpatient treatment program located on Suffolk Avenue in Brentwood, Long Island, formerly operated by the Town of Islip. Just days before the scheduled first day of service, Superstorm Sandy strikes, but the ‘new’ Outreach Brentwood facility stays open. The unit will thereafter become an essential center for adult outpatient substance use disorder treatment services in English and Spanish, and for Women’s Intensive Outpatient Services.

2014:

■ Outreach Training Institute’s (OTI) CASAC certificate program is reviewed by SUNY Empire State College and approved for up to 42 credits towards a bachelor’s or associate’s degree at that institution. OTI’s enhanced curriculum offers a jumpstart to Associates, Bachelors or Masters degrees, as OTI graduates can convert their training into college credits.

2015:

■ Following the tragic death of John Brower Jr. due to an overdose in 2014, parents John and Jody Brower form a foundation to raise awareness of drug abuse and to help raise funds to end the opioid epidemic on Long Island. After being introduced to Outreach shortly after their son’s passing, the John Brower Jr. Foundation, in partnership with Outreach, launches an annual 5K fundraising walk to support life-saving programs at Outreach.

(Left) First John Brower, Jr. 5K Walk, Jones Beach, LI, NY.    (Right) Home base for 5K Walk, Jones Beach, Field 5.

2016:

■ Outreach breaks ground for the building of a women’s community residence in Brentwood, Long Island on the 400 Crooked Hill Road campus. The facility will house 25 residential beds for adult women, recreational space, and state-of-the-art clinical and treatment program areas.

November 4, 2016 Groundbreaking for Brentwood Recovery Residence for Women

■ As construction begins for the LI women’s residence, growth is slated to continue at the Crooked Hill Road campus with plans for the future construction of a residential program for young adults, 18-24 years of age, and in NYC, Outreach proposes to build a women’s residential facility adjacent to its administrative headquarters and outpatient service in Richmond Hill, Queens, in the years to come.

2017:

■ Observing the evolving health workforce and increased need for integrated care, Outreach Training Institute formalizes a 135-hour CASAC certificate program specifically for Masters level behavioral health clinicians. Supported by a Department of Health Workforce Retraining grant, this program enhances the knowledge and skills of qualified health professionals in the areas of substance abuse and treatment.

■ Further adding to its portfolio in Brentwood, Long Island, Outreach Recovery Center (ORC) at Pilgrim State joins our continuum of care. Outreach assumes sponsorship and management of an adult community residence, adult outpatient program, and a specialized Veterans treatment track located on the campus of the Pilgrim State Psychiatric Center in Brentwood, LI on May 1, 2017.

2018:

■ As 2018 begins, Outreach premiers a new “organizational home” online – a dynamic website,  serving as the window into our treatment programs, providing up-to-date information on training opportunities, and telling the story of Outreach’s impact in transforming lives for the better. The agency’s social media presence is expanded with wide reach via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and ultimately Instagram.

■  In July 2018, after 39 years, Kathleen Riddle, founder, president and CEO of Outreach, retires. Culminating a two year process in executive succession planning, after nearly four decades with Kathy Riddle at the helm, Outreach welcomes a new leader, Debra Pantin, MSW, MS, as the new President and CEO, the second person to hold that position in the agency’s history.

 

2020:

■ In early 2020, Outreach began to provide outpatient services in Nassau County, assimilating the Roosevelt Educational Alcoholism Counseling Treatment Center (REACT) into the Outreach family. Outreach’s REACT Center, Roosevelt LI joined our continuum of services on January 2, 2020. The site, formerly REACT Center, Inc., helps adults and families of Roosevelt and surrounding communities in Nassau County break the cycle of addiction to alcohol and drugs, through adult outpatient and intensive outpatient services in English and Spanish, and treatment of co-occurring disorders.

 

■  As life in New York, the nation, and the world is tragically disrupted and turned upside-down a few short months into 2020 by the unprecedented global COVID-19, Outreach, in its 40th year helping New Yorkers, remains steadfast, resolutely dedicated to mission and work vital to assuring community health and well being. Determined to help clients and communities navigate the crisis, within a week of “New York on Pause,” Outreach services are transformed to ensure that our doors – physical and virtual – remain safe and open: our outpatient programs transition to virtual clinics providing tele-healthcare; our residential programs remain operational 24/7 ensuring a safe and therapeutic environment for the persons in our care; and our Outreach Training Institute remarkably converts to distance-learning, keeping aspiring health and behavioral health care clinicians on course to a brighter future.

■  Despite 2020’s challenges – and incredibly so, considering the difficult environment – Outreach achieves an extraordinary milestone. On January 15, 2020, the new Recovery Residence for Women on Outreach’s 400 Crooked Hill Road campus in Brentwood, Long Island opens to clients. An official ribbon cutting – socially distanced, and live-streamed via Facebook – is held several months later. In addition to 25 new residential beds, the facility has recreational space and state-of-the-art clinical and treatment program areas, to serve women from Nassau and Suffolk counties.