The Outreach Report
Welcome to The Outreach Report monthly staff e-news!
The importance of annual Recovery Month every September cannot be overstated. It increases awareness of mental health and addiction recovery and educates people about the nature of addiction and the recovery process. It recognizes the achievements of people in recovery, and the contributions of treatment and service providers. It helps remove the stigma that can prevent people from seeking help. It encourages people in need of treatment to seek help. It promotes the societal benefits of prevention and motivates communities to invest in prevention and recovery services. It fosters a sense of community among people in recovery, their families, and supporters. It promotes evidence-based treatment and recovery practices. And it promotes the message that behavioral health is essential to overall health
The theme for Recovery Month this year is The Art of Recovery. As we’ve seen firsthand here at Outreach, art can have a transformative impact on mental health and substance use recovery. We are so fortunate to have many talented art therapists working with our clients of all ages. For the Recovery Month edition of the agency newsletter The Vision, and for Outreach’s 2023 annual report, these specialists shared with us some of the beautiful and profound artwork their clients have created (some samples are below.) To learn more about The Art of Recovery and see additional art created by our client community, please check out the new issue of the Outreach newsletter which are both available on the agency’s website at opiny.org.
Artwork created by residents at OH II and the Men’s Community Residence.
Save the Date!
- SAMSHA’s The Art of Recovery: A Discussion with Emmy Award-Winner/Producer Hank Azaria and other special guests September 27 (1:00 PM – 2:30 PM) Click here (Webinar Registration – Zoom (zoomgov.com)) to register to view live via Zoom
- Payroll Calendar for September – October 2024
September 20th, October 4th, & October 18th - Upcoming Holidays: *October 14 & November 11
- Please note that these are two of the four annual “floating holidays.” Employees can observe 3 of these 4 holidays. If you wish to take the 4th, you must use a vacation day to do so. Additionally, all Outpatient units are open on these days. Please speak with your supervisor if you wish to take either of these dates off.
- Free, OASAS-Sponsored EBP Trainings – to apply & for additional trainings click here: https://opiny.org/sor-trainings/
- Screening for Psychological Trauma and PTSD (3 Hours), October 8, 2024, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Registration Deadline: October 1, 2024 - Mastering Crisis Responses: Comprehensive In-Person, Community, and Phone Strategies (3 Hours), October 16, 2024, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Registration Deadline: October 9, 2024 - Developments in the Field of Substance Abuse: 2024-25 (3 Hours), October 17, 2024, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Registration Deadline: October 10, 2024 - Neurobiology of Addiction (3 Hours), October 23, 2024, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Registration Deadline: October 16, 2024 - Working with Alcohol and Substance Abusers Who Are Unable to Sustain Abstinence (3 Hours), October 24, 2024, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Registration Deadline: October 17, 2024
- Screening for Psychological Trauma and PTSD (3 Hours), October 8, 2024, 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Click this link to register for any of the other trainings listed above. Please be sure to only register for courses that you are eligible to participate in: https://forms.gle/qbMmFLMZTuK9s9Cw8
Best wishes to staff who celebrate Birthdays in September
Elva Aguilar
Oscar Bejarano
Gregory Dale Berger
Leanna Bianco
April Bradshaw
YaTonya Yasmin Burks
Jessica Callaghan
Lenny Cifuentes
David Dimichele
Mia Eaton
Tiana Farmer
Christina Gagliardi
Delia Giambone
Sarah Elizabeth Gibbs
Katarzyna Gora
Ana Victoria Harris
Melissa Herrmann
Cynthia James
Elliot Kloper
Salena Kwok
Karissa Lago
Ashley Mack
Estefany Reyes Montero
Angela Dee Morris
Rick Ocasio
Kathleen O’Neill
Nina Parrish
Takhim Pierre
Takiyah Preston
Jeffrey Reh
Eduardo Rivera
Jewel Robinson
Rasheem Robinson
Jessica Shuren
Jessie Zhao
Welcome to New Employees hired between June 16th – August 1st
Marissa Baldanza
Jeffrey Tremayne Ball, Outreach Recovery Center
Victoria Ewart, Outreach House II
Nytiah Germain, Women’s Recovery Residence
Ebony Hood, Richmond Hill Wellness Center & CCBHC
Denise Lloyd, Women’s Recovery Residence
Jennifer Macancela, Outreach House II
Laura Mullen, Women’s Recovery Residence
Tyra Powell, Outreach House
Morgan Seenaraine, Richmond Hill Wellness Center & CCBHC
Congratulations Employees of the Month
We salute staff members who were selected by their colleagues and leaders as their program’s Employees of the Month! Congratulations and thank you for your dedicated service to Outreach and its mission to help build healthy lives!
Kara Edwards, Women’s Recovery Residence
Rebecca Harras, Suffolk Ave
Martha McNeil, Richmond Hill
Best Wishes and Congratulations
- OTI is pleased to announce that April Bradshaw has been promoted to a full-time program coordinator. She will transition out of her Program Associate Role and will be shifting to an evening schedule to oversee operations in the night courses of the CASAC Program.
- Congratulations to both Rebecca Hladky, Assistant Vice President of Residential Services and Christine Selario, Program Director of the Men’s Community Residence for successfully passing their Licensed Clinical Social Work (LCSW) examinations!
- Kelsey Silver, AVP of Quality & Data Analytics and Elva Aquilar, EHR Coordinator & Quality Specialist both presented at the Connections#2024 conference held earlier this month. This conference is Netsmart’s annual user group meeeting which brings together Netsmart’s executive team, national providers and subject matter experts to discuss the future in healthcare technology strategy, with strong emphasis on system inter-connectability for total population healthcare management and value-based reimbursement requirement and governmental expectations. Kelsey’s session described managing implementing multiple interconnected technology projects and the planning, execution, and support strategies that made these implementations not only possible but also highly effective in supporting service delivery and operational efficiency. Elva’s presentation focused on “out of the box” technology solutions for end users to increase efficiency.
In honor of Recovery Month, Outreach participated in numerous community events, including, but not limited to:
- The 9th annual Heroes Against Heroin Walk was another tremendous success. The walk raised critical funds for Outreach programs and services. Special thanks to Marsha Radulov, Director of Special Events and Fundraising for coordinating with the Brower Family to ensure fun was had by all, and to those who staffed Outreach’s Narcan training table at the event.
- John Venza, VP of Residential Services & Business Development partnered with Youth Enrichment Services and the Town of Islip to recognize Islip Goes Purple at the Long Island Ducks game. The ceremonial throwing out the first pitch and special purple jerseys had Outreach, YES and Islip Goes Purple represented on the team jersey as well as on the field.
- Staff and clients participated in the Town of Islip’s kick-off for its annual Islip Goes Purple festivities in recognition of National Recovery Month.
- Staff participated in the Town of Huntington’s Opioid and Addiction Task Force’s Celebration Annual Wellness Walk and the Installation of The Hope and Healing Sculpture Exhibit in Heckscher Park.
Staff Profiles: Meet some of Outreach’s Incredible Peers!
Charles Bunge
Peer Coordinator, REACT Center
What are your name and pronouns?
He, him
Where are you from?
I’ve been in Suffolk County for the past twenty years.
When did you join the Outreach staff? Where do you work?
April 27, 2024, I’m a newbie! I work at REACT, and I also work on the Street Outreach Team the goes all over Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk Counties). Right now, I’m focusing on Nassau County to get more familiar with it. I’m always seeking where would be the best places for the folks I meet on the street. Beyond outreaching to people, my goal is to get them into treatment. While I’m always advocating for the services at Outreach, where people go depends on what works best for them.
Why did you become a Peer?
For 38 years I had an active heroin addiction, since I was 13. Then I got into an accident driving 90 miles an hour and hit a tree. That put me in a wheelchair for 14 months. After 8 months of being in a wheelchair and clean, I knew I wanted to give back. I got my CRPA and that’s how I’m giving back. Soon I hope to get my CASAC.
I love the CRPA job because it allows me to be on a level where I can meet with clients and tell them my life story and they can relate; a dialogue opens with them. I speak Spanish and I’m an open book. Clients can tell me whatever they want. I meet them where they are at.
What are your main responsibilities as a Peer?
In a nutshell, as a peer I break down the resistance to help people conform or surrender to treatment. I let the clients know that they are in charge of what they do, and I also make them aware that for every action there’s a reaction.
What do you enjoy most about working as a Peer at Outreach?
Oh so many enjoyable situations. I love working with Katia (Andrade, Director of REACT Center). She’s an excellent director, very professional. The staff here are all really pleasant to work with. Then there’s all the clients that I enjoy working with.
What do you enjoy most overall about working at Outreach?
It’s definitely thus far, the team at Outreach. They are empathetic and sympathetic. The position is very rewarding. It’s easy to tell someone there’s a better way of living after I lived in a terrible way for 38 years. Touching base with the clients that’s the best part.
Jack Townsend, CRPA/CASAC-T
Bellport & Brentwood Outpatient Services
Where are you from?
I grew up in Port Jefferson.
When did you join the Outreach staff? Where do you work?
I joined Outreach in June 2023. I work with adolescents in Brentwood and Bellport, and also with the Women’s Day Program and Evening programs at Bellport.
Why did you become a Peer?
Honestly, I was in recovery for a long time. My friend Jeremy overdosed and died. We were very close. After that, I relapsed during Covid. I went to rehab, and a friend suggested I should look into being a CRPA. I wasn’t really interested but my sponsor said, “do it.” The first day of class (CRPA training), the teacher said, “Why are you here?” I said, “I don’t know.” Last day of class, we watched a video about a woman, who had lost her son to overdose. She said that she didn’t want anyone to feel like she did. I could really relate to that. I don’t want others to feel like I did after my friend died. I’ve had 53 friends die due to overdose. I keep the purple ribbons for each of them above my desk as a powerful representation of the realities of addiction. Unfortunately, I keep having to add more ribbons. I didn’t really choose this field; I’m just trying to heal myself. I tell my clients I’m not here for you, I’m here for me and if that helps you that’s a bonus.
What are your main responsibilities as a Peer?
Before I worked at Outreach, I went through a lot with family court to get to see my daughter. It was a nightmare. I worked with (Suffolk) TASC, and that was the springboard for me to work with Outreach. Now in my role as a CRPA, I work with women in the (Bellport) Evening program and use my personal experience to help them navigate the court system. I guide them through the process. When I was going through court, I thought I would see my kid tomorrow, but the reality is, it’s a long-drawn-out process. I don’t want anyone to go through what I went through alone. I try to help them and make them aware it’s a 9-month experience. That experience is probably my best asset with the Women’s program.
What do you enjoy most about working as a Peer at Outreach?
The thing I like about the peer role is being able to share my experience, as opposed to being a counselor. I think the relationship I have with clients is that they understand that I understand. The relationships I have with the clients are like they are all family. I refer to the women as my daughters, even those who are older than me!
What do you enjoy most overall about working at Outreach?
Honestly, the people, mostly the women that I work with. Even with all my years in recovery, the therapists and mental health counselors teach me so much. It’s such a new field for me, coming from a telecommunications and construction background. I am constantly learning. Even the ethical side of things. Megan Ryan (Director of Bellport) teaches me through supervision. She protects me by helping me set boundaries. Because my heart wants to do everything for people. That’s been the most difficult thing about being a peer – separating my friends in recovery that I can take anywhere, from the clients that I drive to and support through treatment for work.
Outreach is Hiring!
Full-time and part-time career opportunities are available throughout the organization. If you are interested in any position, please speak with your immediate supervisor, and/or feel free to apply directly to the position by linking here: ADP Workforce Now – Career Center or, here: www.opiny.org/careers. If you have any challenges in applying for open positions listed on Workforcenow, please call the HR Department at ext. 2230 or email HR@opiny.org.
2023 Annual Report featuring client artwork now available online!
Check all that we’ve accomplished together as agency in 2023 by linking here: https://opiny.org/annual-report/. If you’d like a hard copy of the annual report, please reach out to Michael Stewart at michaelstewart@opiny.org.
Outreach Fun Fact
Outreach House I in Ridgewood, Queens opened in 1984. This program was New York State’s very first chemical dependency treatment and recovery program for adolescents in an intensive residential setting.
