The Outreach Report
Welcome to The Outreach Report monthly staff e-news!
Save the Date!
- To celebrate the season and give teams a chance to come together, the Executive Team will be providing lunch at all sites on:
- Monday, 11/24 for Thanksgiving
- Monday, 12/22 for our December holidays
- Thursday, 1/8/26 for All Staff Holiday Party! The party will be held at Stonebridge Country Club in Smithtown from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. For details, please see invitation below. Please let your supervisor know if you plan to attend.
December 2025 Payroll Calendar
December 12, 26
Upcoming Holidays
Thursday & Friday, 11/27 & 11/28: Thanksgiving
Thursday & Friday, 12/25 & 12/26: Christmas
Thursday, 1/1/26: New Year’s Day
Celebrations in December:
December marks Universal Human Rights Month. Other celebrations include:
- 12/1: World AIDS Day
- 12/3: International Day of Persons with Disabilities
- 12/10: International Human Rights Day
- 12/14: Start of Hanukkah
- 12/16: Las Pasadas
- 12/21: Winter Solstice
- 12/25: Christmas
- 12/26: Start of Kwanzaa
- 12/31: New Year’s Eve
Recent Community Accomplishments & Celebrations:
- Outreach House 2 went all-in on the Halloween spirit this year! The residence’s Parent Committee helped co-host a fun and festive haunted-carnival–themed party, and staff joined in the excitement by transforming their office doors with creative, spooky decorations. A huge thank-you to everyone who made the celebration such a hit!
- Congratulations to EHR Coordinator/Quality Assurance Specialist Elva Aguilar, who co-presented myAvatar—Onboarding and Everboarding Strategies for Your Staff: How Outreach Empowers Staff and Streamlines Training at Netsmart’s national conference, Connections2025, in Kansas City, MO, last month. More than 47 organizations from across the country attended her session, an exciting recognition of Elva’s expertise and the impactful work she and the QA/QI team are doing across our agency.
- Vice President for Residential Services and Business Development John Venza presented to the Longwood School District’s Safety Committee on current trends in adolescent substance misuse and key treatment considerations. The audience included school administrators, a police precinct ambassador, representatives from the Suffolk County Police Department, educators, and various community stakeholders.
- On October 30, Outreach cut the ribbon on its new Young Adult Residence at the 400 Crooked Hill Road campus in Brentwood. Below is a short video featuring highlights from the day and remarks from our distinguished speakers. The residence’s opening was also featured on NewsdayTV and on the front page of the printed Newsday newspaper! Congratulations to all the dedicated staff whose hard work made this beautiful new facility possible, one that will provide vital support to young adults and ensure Outreach now offers a full continuum of care for adolescents, young adults, and adults.
Best wishes to staff who celebrate Birthdays in November
Jaime Barahona
Ellen Barker
Samuel Bello
Regina Burris
Marissa Cummings
Sabrina Marisela De La Cruz
Santos Delcid Sorto
Talia Dellamarco
Martin Field
Sky Gabrielle Garcia
Michael Lendl Herelle
Gabriella Kemmerer
Abigail Lambert
Antonio Lauradin
Julie Laurence
Matheus Lima
Meaghan McGuire
Danessy Medina
Dennys Steven Vasquez Moreno
Adrian Robert Mullins
Yasmin Olivares
Daniela Andrea Orellana-Salazar
Thanh Pham
Jessica Remache-Jara
Cayla Salti
Morgan Seenaraine
Kenneth Sergiacomi
Rynell Perry Wells
Lindsay Wiesen
Victoria Wilmarth
Rachel Witkowski
Welcome New Outreach Hires!
Kimberly Aviles, Overnight Counselor, Young Adult Residence
Elysee Botticelli, Counselor, Women’s Community Residence
Gabriel Chisholm, Milieu Floor Counselor, Young Adult Residence
Consuelo Da Costa, Counselor, Women’s Community Residence
Jamila Havercome, Intern, Outreach House I
Jade Hull, LPN, Young Adult Residence
Christopher Jackson, Overnight Counselor, Young Adult Residence
Jonathan Paul Kortmann, Milieu Floor Counselor, Young Adult Residence
Cynthia Lee, Intern
Sumaira Mahmood, Nurse, Women’s Community Residence
Amber Massey, Family Therapist, Outreach House I
Ashley Munroe, Counselor, Outreach House I
Keara O’Bryen, Social Worker, Young Adult Residence
Monika Rana, Counselor, Suffolk Avenue Outpatient Services
Anatasia Nicole Torres, Intern, Outreach House I
Upcoming Professional Development Opportunities:
- CASAC Training Program Scholarships: There are still scholarships available for the Winter 2026 entry points (January/February)! To apply, visit: https://opiny.org/casac-training/. Questions regarding the CASAC Training program? Email: OTIoutreach@opiny.org.
- Internship/Work Placements: OTI seeks to place interns and students into the field. If any sites have openings for interns or entry level positions, please contact our Placement Consultant @ TakhimPierre@opiny.org.
- Professional Development Trainings: Please see below descriptions for courses being offered in December 2025. To register, visit: https://opiny.org/sor-trainings/
• • • • • •
Medications for Addiction Recovery – (3 Hours)
This training will provide participants with knowledge and skills needed to counsel individuals on the use of addiction medications.
- Date:Tuesday December 9, 2025
- Time:2:00 pm – 5:00 pm
- Trainer: Gina Stafford
Registration Deadline: December 5, 2025
• • • • • •
Cultural Trauma – (3 hours)
The goal of this class is to help participants understand cultural trauma, increase their sensitivity to people who have experienced cultural trauma, and to enable them to be responsive to cultural trauma .
- Date: Wednesday December 17, 2025
- Time:2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
- Trainer:Gretchen Grappone, LICSW, Adjunct Instructor
Registration Deadline: October 15, 2025
• • • • • •
DBT Skills and Protocol Overview – (3 hours)
The training will give a brief overview of the research base of DBT in the treatment on Borderline Personality DO, depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders and the protocol of high fidelity DBT. The remainder of the time to explain the five DBT skill sets: Mindfulness, Self-Validation, Emotion Regulation, Interpersonal Effectiveness, & Distress Tolerance.
- Date:Thursday December 18, 2025
- Time:2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
- Trainer:Gretchen Grappone, LICSW, Adjunct Instructor
Registration Deadline: December 15, 2025
• • • • • •
Upcoming In-Person Staff Trainings:
Seeking Safety Therapy for the Integrated Treatment of PTSD and SUD – 1-Day Training
Where: Training Room – Outreach Recovery Center
Date: Wednesday, 12/3, from 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
Click link for more details & to register:
Motivational Interviewing – 2-Day Training
Where: Training Room – Outreach Recovery Center
When: Wednesday, 12/10 & Wednesday, 12/17 from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm both days
Click link for more details and to register:
Important Reminder: OTI has transitioned to a new Learning Management System, Digital Chalk. As part of the registration process, you will be asked to create an account. To apply for any of the courses, you will need to complete a separate registration form for each course. You will receive a response to confirm your enrollment. Please save your login credentials, as you will need them to access the training and future certificates or course registrations.
HR Column
Flexible Spending Plan Enrollment
Open Enrollment for Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) runs through Monday, November 24. However, employees may still make updates to their Healthcare FSA or Dependent Care FSA until December 31. After that point, your elections are locked in for 2026 unless you experience a qualified life event, which must be reviewed with HR. (Note: Transit FSA enrollment or changes can be made at any time.)
FSAs allow you to set aside pre-tax dollars for eligible expenses, lowering your taxable income; however, these are IRS-regulated “use-it-or-lose-it” plans, so thoughtful planning is essential.
The Healthcare FSA can be used for a wide range of medical, dental, and vision expenses, including many items that employees may not realize qualify. Important to note for Outreach CIGNA members: if you use the Nonstop card for any covered medical expenses that apply toward your deductible, those charges should notgo on your flex card.
Your Healthcare FSA is best used for non-covered services or other eligible expenses. For ideas, you can browse FSA-approved items on FSAstore.com, or even on Amazon by searching “FSA eligible items.” The maximum contribution for 2026 is $3,400, with the option to roll over up to $680 into 2027 if you re-enroll.
The Dependent Care FSA helps cover preschool, after-school care, day camp, and certain elder day programs, with a household maximum of $7,500 per year (no roll-over for this plan). The Transit and Parking FSA can be used for qualified commuting expenses and rolls over month to month, with a 2026 monthly limit of $340.
If you have questions or want help estimating your contributions, especially if this is your first time enrolling, please reach out to Vicki Wilmarth, Human Resources Benefit Coordinator at victoriawilmarth@opiny.org or (631) 521-8400, ext. 5136.
Compliance Corner
Managing Your Stress and Mental Health this Holiday Season
The holidays can be joyful time of celebration, but also, they can be stressful. Below are some quick reminders about how to stay grounded and energized throughout this busy season.
