Utica, New York (March 2022) – The Center for Family Life and Recovery, Inc. has chosen Tabatha Sellick, from Oneida County Family Treatment Court as the winner of their 2022 Amethyst Award, which will be presented at their annual awareness breakfast on Tuesday, April 26, 2022.
The Amethyst Award is given annually to a member of the community who has helped others by inspiring them with the message of hope and recovery in the fields of mental health and chemical dependency, as well as treatment and prevention.
These are just a few of the amazing statements from her many nominations:
“Tabatha is one of the most dedicated members of our community supporting individuals working on their substance use disorder, mental health, and finding pathways for the whole family unit.”
“Tabatha works tirelessly with those suffering from SUD.”
“[She] is going above and beyond to service those in need through several specialty courts.”
“Her impact on the community keeps children and parents safe and making positive strides in their recovery.” “Tabatha’s work as Treatment Court Coordinator has made a lasting difference in the recovery community.”
“She is extremely caring and takes time with everyone she is talking to, to hear what they are saying.”
Each year at the annual awareness breakfast, CFLR celebrates their community partners who join them in the fight against substance use disorders. There will also be informational booths from services providers from all over the Mohawk Valley and Central NY providing information on recovery and prevention services.
“We want to recognize all our partners who play a role in the recovery community, whether it’s inpatient or outpatient, support groups, peer services, life skills, or advocacy“, says CFLR’s CEO Cassandra Sheets. “All of us together share a piece of the success stories we’re now writing. The Mohawk Valley is fortunate to have strong, community-minded leaders. For the friends and loved ones who are rebuilding their lives in recovery, the support they find locally helps to increase their chances of success. This area has numerous resources to help individuals and families get clean, sober, and achieve long-term recovery. More importantly, those resources work together to customize individual plans for the road to recovery,” Sheets said.
The awareness breakfast is scheduled for Tuesday, April 26th at Hart’s Hill Inn at 8:30am in Whitesboro and is open to the public. Tickets are $25 and are available online at https://www.whenthereshelpthereshope.com/calendar/cflr-annual-breakfast/
Center for Family Life and Recovery, Inc. is proud to be a leader in creating a world where people have the power to achieve and celebrate recovery. CFLR supports individuals and families struggling with addiction, mental health, and behavioral issues by inspiring hope, providing help, promoting wellness, and transforming lives. To learn more, visit www.whenthereshelpthereshope.com or call (315) 733-1709
I am Cassandra Sheets and honored to be the CEO of Center for Family Life and Recovery. I have had this honor since the inception of this Agency and truly believe that we all have the power to achieve and celebrate recovery! I started out as a case manager many years ago and received my Masters in Social Work with a passion for working with Employee Assistance Programs. This passion landed me at the Mohawk Valley Council on Alcoholism/Addictions and the rest is history of prevention, EAP and leadership growth but mostly embracing my family history of recovery and learning to appreciate it so much that we just needed to create an agency to help others find this joy in their lives. When I am not at work, I certainly keep busy with my family, husband, Bob of 26 years and our boys, Michael and Nicholas. We love to hike, and ski.
My name is Michele Kohl. I am still considered new here at CFLR. I worked in Healthcare for 28 years and a friend saw the CFLR COO position advertised and told me this would be perfect for me. I do feel this was truly meant to be as I love all the wonderful work CFLR does every day. I am very inspired by our CEO Cassandra Sheets who has taught me so very much in a short time. I feel very blessed everyday with all the inspiring stories of people who have been helped by the amazing staff at CFLR.
Hello, my name is Wendy. I live in Ilion with my husband, Jim. We’ve been married for almost 38 years. He is a retired Air Force Staff Sergeant, and we spent a few years moving around New York State and then finally retiring from Elmendorf AFB, Anchorage, Alaska. We have two daughters and four grandchildren. I have spent most of my working career in digital marketing, creating websites, working on various social media platforms and a host of other technical duties. I am a fluid art painter, using techniques such a Dutch pours on canvases of many sizes. I hope to one day sell my art to local businesses.
Sara Haag, MSW, recently joined the team at Center for Family Life and Recovery (CFLR) as EAP/Clinical Services Director. As a social worker, she is very passionate about providing hope to those who struggle. She enjoys designing and administering high-quality services for everyone, especially for highly vulnerable populations such as those struggling with mental health concerns, who are in active use and those in recovery, survivors of abuse, and the food insecure/poverty (to name a few). Over the past 15 years, Sara has held a variety of very diverse administrative roles at Central New York area nonprofits. Sara also loves to teach online as an instructor with Cazenovia College. She specializes in coursework relating to human services, continuing education, and credentialed alcoholism and substance use counselor (CASAC).
Hello Everyone! I’m Ambi, the Director of Family Support Navigation Services. “They” say that you don’t choose this field, it chooses you, and I don’t think that sentiment could be truer about my life. I never realized the impact that substance use of those I loved, through many years of my life, impacted me the way that it did. I didn’t know how much I would learn about myself or how many amazing people would shape the way I see the world, because of the journey of Recovery. I never said or knew I wanted to be in this field, until I was led there. I didn’t know the passion and fierce love I’d have for making a difference and the people I’ve met, or even believing I could make a difference, would become a part of who I am. I feel so lucky to be a part of a work family that shares this passion and joy of our community members and each other. When I’m not playing hard with our CFLR team, I’m a yoga/pilates loving, puppy snuggling, ballroom dancing, nature loving, jump roping, book worm, photographer, health food nut, student of life, introvert who loves the people in my life fiercely and finds joy in each day in the little ways.
Bonnie Carr joined the team at CFLR a little over 2 months ago as Director of Recovery Services. She is a Licensed Master Social worker in New York State and a Credentialed Alcohol & Substance Abuse Counselor. Bonnie is also a MINT trainer (Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers) trained by Miller & Rollnick. She has almost 39 years working in the field of behavioral health care as a clinician, supervisor and an administrator. Bonnie has worked in child welfare and both the addiction and mental health treatment settings. She has seen the behavioral health care field evolve over the years and she continues to promote and believe in the resilience and well-being of the individuals who seek our assistance. She is an animal lover owning two cats & a dog, loves her garden, watching it grow, feeding the birds and taking in beautiful sunsets. Her belief is that “Just a drop of kindness could make a difference in a person’s life”. [anonymous author]
I am Heather Youda, a little over 4 years ago, I was looking for a career change from the corporate world and found CFLR. My heart always seems to feel best working at non for profits and this has been home since I walked through the door. I am currently the Executive Assistant for the CEO and help with Human Resources and Fundraising, I love to facilitate events and meeting and engaging out in our community.