KINGSTON – The Ulster
County Family Advocate Program hosted its official launch celebration
breakfast in Kingston Wednesday, attended by over 50 stakeholders in government,
nonprofit, and judicial sectors.
Funded entirely through the county legislature, at $100,000 per year,
the new position is managed through Family Services, a nonprofit social
services agency based in Poughkeepsie, with office and operations also
in Kingston.
Only five other family advocates exist throughout the rest of New York
State, noted Cheryl DePaolo, program director for the Ulster Prevention
Council, which helped create the resource.
Family members seeking help for their loved ones addicted to drugs may
call 845-458-7455 for assistance with treatment options, provider selection,
insurance hassles, and special needs, among other services.
A community lucky enough to have its own advocate enjoys the services
of a specialist trained in helping family members navigate the bureaucratic
and regulatory maze, which confronts drug addicted people seeking treatment
and recovery.
Family services CEO Brian Doyle called the program a “critically
important initiative,” expressing his pleasure during brief remarks.
He said that while most of the agency’s work is located in Dutchess
County, often much is learned from Ulster’s forward-looking approach.
Doyle was joined by Ulster County Executive Michael Hein, who underscored
the importance of the new family advocate in society’s fight against
addiction. “It’s 1.9 million New Yorkers whose families have
been turned upside-down, lives put in jeopardy. I have been to far too
many wakes and funerals, held far too many people in my arms,” Hein
said.
Ken Ronk, chairman of the Ulster County Legislature, explained how the
program sprung from work conducted over several years by members of the
Ulster Coalition Against Narcotics (UCAN), founded in Oct. 2014.
Ronk also credited Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright for
spearheading the idea for an advocate, after observing the frustration
of a close friend’s family seek options for an addicted family member.
“He felt like his efforts to find services was being thwarted, and
it seemed to be a systematic breakdown in program eligibility and delivery,
that made it almost impossible for most families to work through, particularly
when they were in crisis,” Ronk said.
UCAN’s recommendation for an ombudsman eventually grew into the
family advocate position, which has been filled by Carol Sutcliffe, former
coordinator of the Domestic Abuse Awareness Class program.
`Sutcliffe described the position and the services it offers in detail,
and recounted the story of how she came to be the candidate chosen. “Family
Advocate seemed very interesting to me; it seemed to be calling to me.
I was that family member negotiating the system of alcohol and drug abuse
treatment for many years, for a member of my family,” she said.
