Ellenville Regional Hospital proposes At Risk Family Transformational Pilot

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Print

KINGSTON – Noting that the Ellenville-Wawarsing area is one of, if not, the poorest area of Ulster County, officials from Ellenville Regional Hospital have proposed creating an At-Risk Family Transformational Pilot program.

Hospital President Steven Kelley told county legislators Tuesday night that the Wawarsing region has lost over 1,450 jobs since the 1990s, residents have lower than average rates of educational attainment, 18 percent live below the poverty line, and attainable jobs that don’t require degrees or training have low pay and minimal upward trajectory.

The goal of the program would be to provide an opportunity for Wawarsing region families to double their income and improve their economic and physical well-being.

The county health department’s Vin Martello assisted the hospital in crafting the program, which is designed to assist area residents to take small steps leading to big change.

“A little bit better pay, a little bit more job skill training, a little bit more education, a little bit better housing situation, much better connectivity to the network of services and programs in Ulster County,” he said. “The beauty of this is we don’t have to invent new services.” Martello pointed to a “world-class” community college, a “great BOCES program,” employment and training program, transportation system, and a “committed and passionate” community of partners who are willing to help people move forward on their own terms.

The pilot program would request $3.7 million over a five-year period to provide the individualized services to improve and positively influence the economic well-being of Wawarsing regional families.




Popular Stories