News

March 2014 – The Oneida County Professional Training Coalition, in partnership with Center for Family Life and Recovery, Inc., will host a training, entitled “Responding to the Challenges of Sexual Offenders in our Communities: A Recovery-Based Approach,” with presenter Stuart Joseph, LCSW-R, and Bonnie Zweifel, LMSW, on Friday, March 21, 2014 from 9:00A.M. – 4:00P.M. at the Radisson Hotel, 200 Genesee Street, Utica, New York 13501. Cost is $30.00 per person, includes morning coffee, set-up, lunch and program materials. Registration begins at 8:30A.M. This workshop will increase sensitivity to the factors that can promote or hinder recovery of sexual offenders & increase sensitivity to the factors that can increase or decrease community safety. (*) O.A.S.A.S. credit hours are pending (i.e., 5 hours, renewal only).

Stuart Joseph, LCSW-R, Clinical Services Director at Center for Family Life and Recovery, Inc. has provided assessment and treatment (i.e., individual, family and group) to individuals who have committed sexual abuse since 1985. He was a NYS Office of Mental Health SIST (Strict and Intensive Supervision and Treatment) Provider for Oneida and Herkimer County. He has been a Clinical Member of National ATSA since 1994; member of the NYS Alliance of Sex Offender Service providers since 1991; received the Outstanding Contribution for the Field of Probation and Alternatives to Incarceration Award from the New York State Division of Probation and Correctional Alternative in 1986 for developing a program for probationers who committed sexual offenses. Joseph also was a probation officer in Madison County for 9 years, with a specialized caseload of sexual offenders. Bonnie Zweifel, LMSW, Counselor at Center for Family Life and Recovery, Inc. has focused her career on dealing with issues of sexual abuse. She has served in various roles at the YWCA Rape Crisis Services from 1977–1989. Since 1989, she has provided assessment and treatment (i.e., individual, family and group) to individuals who have committed sexual abuse. She has provided counseling since 2011 at the Oneida County Child Advocacy Center for minor victims of sexual abuse. She was the keynote speaker at the NYS Coalition Against Sexual Abuse in 1989 & is a member of NYS Alliance of Sex Offender Service Providers. She received the Marilyn Etcheverry Award of Excellence in 2004; this award is given annually to an individual or program that has been identified as having done exemplary work in the field of evaluation and treatment of sex offenders.

Individuals encouraged to attend this workshop include: social workers, addiction treatment and/or prevention professionals, case managers, case workers, residential providers, parole and probation staff, marriage and family therapists, hospital staff and administrators, professionals who are confronted with situations involving sexual behaviors in young children and adults & others serving individuals with co-occurring psychiatric and substance use disorders.

For more information or to register for this workshop, contact Samantha Madderom, Prevention Specialist for CFLR, Inc., at (315) 768 – 2677 or smadderom@cflrinc.org. Pre-registration is required.

February 2014 – Please join Center for Family Life and Recovery Inc. (CFLR, Inc.) for a free Lunch & Learn, “Healthy Nutrition for Professionals on the Go”, on Friday, March 7, 2014 from 12:00p.m. – 1:00P.M. at the CFLR, Inc.’s Main Office’s Training Room (502 Court Street, Suite 401, Utica, New York 13502). Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about better nutritional choices that they can make, resources to take home, tips for easy meals and grocery budgeting ideas.

This Lunch & Learn is the next in a series of wellness and self-care focused presentations funded through Excellus BlueCross BlueShield’s Community Health Grant and through the partnership of Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Eat Smart New York Program.

This event is free and a light lunch will be provided. Seating is limited, registration in advance is required. Register by calling, Sara Haag, CFLR, Inc.’s Employee Assistance Program Coordinator, at (315) 733 – 1726. Or, online to reserve your spot at www.tinyurl.com/CFLRLNL. Deadline to register for this event is Friday, February 28, 2014.

December 30, 2013 – January is National Mentoring Month, and to celebrate the benefits of mentoring relationships, Center for Family Life and Recovery, Inc. will be holding a Mentoring Open House on Wednesday, January 22, 2014 from 12:30P.M. – 1:30P.M. at CFLR, Inc.’s Utica Office, 502 Court Street, Suite 401, Utica, New York 13502.
Adult mentors are needed for several programs, including CFLR, Inc.’s Compeer Program and Second Chance Program.

• CFLR, Inc.’s Compeer Program matches trained volunteers in one-to-one supportive friendships and mentoring relationships.
• CFLR, Inc.’s Second Chance Program assists women, who have recently been released from prison to gain employment, and is a federally funded grant program conducted in partnership with The Workforce Investment Board.
To be a mentor, you don’t need special skills, just an ability to listen and to offer friendship, guidance and encouragement to a young person or adult; and you’ll be amazed by how much you’ll get out of the experience.
Mentoring happens in a number of settings, including in our local schools, in person at a time that is convenient to both you and the mentee, as well as via phone, internet and by mail. Surely one of these methods must be right for you!

To R.S.V.P. for CFLR, Inc.’s Mentoring Open House on Wednesday, January 22 from 12:30P.M. – 1:30P.M. contact Sarah Rivera, Program Assistant for CFLR, Inc., at (315) 733 – 1709 or srivera@cflrinc.org.

April 2014 – National Pill Take Back Initiatives are offered twice a year by local law enforcement agencies in partnership with the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency, in order to make prescription drugs less accessible to youth and others who may misuse them. These events provide community members with a safe place to drop off their unused, unwanted and/or expired prescription medications.

• 4.5 million American kids have reported that they’ve abused prescription drugs;
• Every day, 2,500 kids, aged 12 to 17, abuse a pain reliever for the first time;
• Prescription Drugs are the second most-abused category of drugs after marijuana;
• 70% of people abusing prescription pain relievers get them from friends or relatives.

So far, seven law enforcement agencies are signed up for April’s event in Oneida County, New York, including: Oneida County Sheriff’s Department, Utica Police Department, Rome Police Department, New Hartford Police Department, Whitestown Police Department, Kirkland Police Department and the Oneida Indian Nation.

For an up-to-date list of drop off sites, please visit: http://www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takback/index/html.

In 2012, and again in 2013, Center for Family Life and Recovery, Inc. received funds from the United Way of Rome and Western Oneida County, Inc. to support the National Prescription Drug Take-Back Days in Oneida County, New York. Last year, in September alone, Oneida County, New York collected 550.8 pounds of unused, unwanted and/or expired prescription drugs.

For more information on National Prescription Drug Take-Back Days, contact Samantha Madderom, Prevention, Advocacy and Training Specialist for CFLR, Inc., at 315-768-2677 or smadderom@cflrinc.org.

April 2014 – Every year, one or more members of the Community are recognized for having made significant contributions in the fields of mental health and chemical dependency, as well as their treatment and prevention – through the message of hope and recovery – with the receipt of the Amethyst Award; given by Center for Family Life and Recovery, Inc. (CFLR, Inc.) at their annual April Awareness Breakfast.

CFLR, Inc. would like to congratulate Cheryl L. Spina, CASAC, on being this year’s recipient of the 2014 Amethyst Award presented on Tuesday, April 1st, 2014 at the 16th annual April Awareness Breakfast. Spina, Intensive Day Treatment Director at Insight House, received this award for “improving the delivery of services to people with substance use disorders;” outstanding advocacy.

When asked what drives her passion for helping those who are dealing with a chemical dependency and/or substance use disorder, Spina responds, “it’s seeing someone, who is suffering [and/or has suffered], get over that bump in the road and [get to a] safe place.” As she points out, it’s not always a direct route, and there are many bumps and derailments along the way. “[When an individual comes back for treatment], it can sometimes be seen as a negative [quality]. However, when they do come back, I see this as a good thing. It means that they’re resilient, and that they want to better their lives [and maintain their recovery].”

Upon graduating from SUNYIT with a bachelorette degree in Sociology, Cheryl took a position at Insight House, as an Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services Residential Facilitator in 1994. From then until now, Spina has held various positions at Insight House, where she has counseled individuals suffering from various addictions, and assisted them in obtaining the necessary skills that they needed to regain control of their lives.

The best piece of advice that I can give to someone in the field is that “[as a clinician], you don’t always have to have all of the answers…being present, patient and [developing good] listening skills [are what is needed],” said Spina.