Rockland Independent Living Opens Peer Recovery Center

The Rockland Independent Living Center opened a Peer Recovery Center to serve people dealing with mental health and/or substance abuse issues. There was an informational open house on Thursday.

The Peer Recovery Center helps individuals take control of their lives by providing small groups as well as one-on-one support, from specialists who themselves have experienced mental health or substance abuse issues. 

“This program is innovative and pushes the bar. It’s here to listen to ‘you’ and ask ‘what do you think will help with your wellness,” said Sean Campbell, peer specialist.

The program is designed to provide a respectful, goal oriented focus on wellness; dealing with issues of housing, education and employment, social needs and opportunities, health, and available benefits, all of which provide support during the recovery process. 

“This is a regional concept that is collaborating with Rockland, Orange, Ulster and Duchess counties,” said Andy Kohlbrenner, director of the regional recovery center and program development. “It’s non traditional and it’s going to be driven by the person who wants the service. The peer support is very critical and effective. We’re here to help the quality of life of people.”

“By partnering up with other agencies, we’re able to take advantage of collective resources and experience,” said Hoehmann. “We have a tremendous staff of 25. By mandate, 50 percent of our board and staff have to be people with disabilities.”

The other agencies RILC has partnered up with are Independent Living of Orange County and People Incorporated.

“We hope to set you up with a network of people and we’re in the process of setting up support groups,” said Levi Riddick, Senior Peer Specialist who is also a travel trainer, benefits advisor and is knowledgeable on substance abuse issues.

This peer program can be tailored to the individual’s needs without the stigma attached to it, whether he or she would like to go back to school or if connect to a network of people or improve health and nutrition in his or her life.

Also, since it’s tailored to the individual, the peer program can take place in any location that creates the most ideal and comfortable environment, such as a coffee shop, their home or at RILC.

“We can meet in a neutral place to ease transition into the program,” said Riddick. “The recovery center is not confined by four walls.”

It’s flexible with meeting times and not confined to a 9-5. This new program is only a month old and is grant funded so it’s free.

“We’ve been told that this is permanent funding and we’re committed to make this sustainable,” said CEO George Hoehmann. An Olmstead mandate in the late ‘90s stated that people should have the least restricted setting of care and more integrated settings. However, there was not much action until Governor Andrew Cuomo mandated in his January state of the state speech that every state agency will implement this by October. The state hopes to have 12 recovery centers.

“Because we’re so new, we’re still building activities based on need,” said Kohlbrenner.

RILC has been in the community for 25 years and is the only cross disability serivce agency of its kind in the county. It serves people with all disabilities.

It advocates a Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) to help individuals become successful in the community. It also provides services in four languages: sign language, English, Spanish and French/Creole.

“We are actually one of 37 Independent Living Centers across New York and several hundred across the country that are funded through the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973,” said Hoehmann. “This recovery center is reinvestment dollars from the state’s closures of psychiatric centers.”

RILC is the only independent living center that operates in Rockland County.

Joel Taveras is the director of the PACER Home Aide program at RILC.

“We’ve been providing this since 1995. A home-aide helps individuals with everyday tasks, but sometimes there’s a language or culture barrier,” he said. “With this program, you have the ability to hire a person that will met your needs.

There is also now a new Homework Help Club for children with learning disabilities two afternoons a week.

“Also, we’re always looking for volunteers,” he added. “Our volunteers are great and we appreciate everything they do. Some of them are high school students.”

Friday’s Cyber Cafe Anniversary & Jawonio Art Exhibit

On Friday from 1-4 p.m. RILC will celebrate its William J. Mullin Computer Center/Cyber Café’s 9th anniversary with a special Jawonio Day Services Artists Exhibit.

“We’re delighted to have pieces from Jawonio’s art center here,” said Hoehmann. “I encourage everyone to stop by.”

The Cyber Cafe was Rockland's first internet cafe for people with disabilities and was the brain-child of William J. Mullin, who passed away in 2008. Mullin was an active member of the Spinal Cord Injury Society and an advocate for the disabled in Rockland County.

Hoehmann added that the café will start opening up on nights and weekends and people can come in at anytime and use word processing or surf the net from 9-5.

“We provide social opportunities for people to come in and help with employment,” Hoehmann said, adding that seniors also come in. There are also classes in which two instructors lead small groups of 4-6 in “intimate classes to give people the opportunity to have hands-on learning. And they’re very inexpensive.”

Peter Stirpe, who is involved in the housing campaign, began the computer curriculum at RILC.

RILC offers basic computer classes twice a week for an hour and there’s a 2-hour Monday class on Adobe Photoshop. There is also a course that focuses on Microsoft Word.

About RILC

Rockland Independent Living Center is dedicated to empowering disabled people to exert independence, choice and control in every aspect of their lives.  The vision of the Rockland Independent Living Center, which has been serving the lower Hudson Valley Community since 1987, is a barrier-free society with opportunities for all persons to achieve their maximum potential.  Programs and resources offered provide needed support to individuals with all disabilities at literally every stage of life.

Rockland Independent Living Center is located at 873 Route 45 (at the corner of Route 45 and New Hempstead Road) in New City, NY.  For more information, contact Andy Kohlbrenner, Director at (845) 624-1366 ext.130 or Sean Campbell, Peer Specialist, at ext. 135.