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.
County Legislature Chairman Kenneth Ronk 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.
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