PO Box 3516
Kingston, NY 12402
845.331.7080
Program Director: Amy Colon
Assistant Program Directors: Rissa Przekop and John Colon
Service Locations:
Family of Kingston, 31 Albany Avenue, Kingston
Family of New Paltz, 51 North Chestnut St., New Paltz
Family of Ellenville, 221 Canal St., Ellenville
Program Hours: 9:00am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Program supervisory staff are available 24 hours a day through the county-wide hotline and textline.
PRIMARY FUNCTIONS: Case management services for homeless individuals and families in transition; case management services for those struggling with mental health issues and/or at
risk of or who are currently substance abusers; long term case management and housing assistance to support individuals and families who at the time of intake are homeless, have a disability and are not yet capable of self-sufficiency; care management assistance to stabilize the medical/mental health needs of individuals with 2 chronic illnesses, or who have one and are at high risk of a second; care for individuals with HIV, a Severe and Persistent Mental Illness, or a Substance Abuse disorder, who have Medicaid benefits; assistance to attain security deposits, first month rent, or rent arrears as part of a program to prevent homelessness, or to house those who are already homeless; services to those re-entering the county from state prison, county jail or offenders who have minor children; sponsorship of the Moral Reconation Therapy program, a cognitive behavioral change curriculum and the Ready, Set, Work! program, a job-readiness curriculum; and, provision of specialized case management for Hispanic and Latino individuals and individuals dealing with immigration issues.
ANCILLARY SERVICES: Crisis intervention and prevention; assistance with short and long- term housing; information and referral, and when necessary advocacy to assist individuals to access entitlements, mental health and drug/alcohol treatment, and vocational and employment assistance services; job preparedness and one on one life skills training; limited transportation assistance; individual counseling; community education and training on issues of homelessness; assistance with immigration issues; translations; and other legal services.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS:
The agency continues to participate in the two major DSRIP efforts for the Hudson Valley, namely one established under the leadership of Montefiore Hospital, and the second under the leadership of Westchester Medical Center.
The program has stationed case managers in Ellenville and in New Paltz, in addition to Kingston, to better address the needs of the residents of those communities. They work out of Family’s walk-in centers and are able to provide localized service to respond to the lack of transportation available in the county.
Program staff continue to participate in the Ulster County Family Treatment Court panel, the Kingston Drug Court panel, the Ulster County Administrative SPOA committee, the Ulster County Residential SPOA committee, and the Continuum of Care committees, regularly attending weekly or monthly meetings as panel or committee members. This enables program staff to be aware of and to address the ever-changing needs of the populations served.
In 2021, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, New York State initiated two new programs funded by the federal government to assist citizens impacted by Covid. The first, the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), was created to assist tenants who had lost income due to the pandemic and owed rent for the period between March, 2020, and June 2021. ACMS staff assisted 115 individuals and their landlords with the applications, helping clients gather the necessary paperwork required for the application, then submitting that documentation into a state-run portal. This was often a lengthy process, requiring multiple meetings with both tenants and landlords.
The second statewide Covid-related program is the Emergency Housing Voucher
The agency continues to participate in the two major DSRIP efforts for the Hudson Valley, namely one established under the leadership of Montefiore Hospital, and the second under the leadership of Westchester Medical Center.
The program has stationed case managers in Ellenville and in New Paltz, in addition to Kingston, to better address the needs of the residents of those communities. They work out of Family’s walk-in centers and are able to provide localized service to respond to the lack of transportation available in the county.
Program staff continue to participate in the Ulster County Family Treatment Court panel, the Kingston Drug Court panel, the Ulster County Administrative SPOA committee, the Ulster County Residential SPOA committee, and the Continuum of Care committees, regularly attending weekly or monthly meetings as panel or committee members. This enables program staff to be aware of and to address the ever-changing needs of the populations served.
An important Covid-related program is the Emergency Housing Voucher (EHV) program. This program provides housing subsidies to certain prioritized groups of individuals and families who are either literally homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness. ACMS staff have assisted 210 individuals and families with these applications, which entail multiple meetings, entering initial information into a state-run portal, then uploading a large number of required documents, and communicating with EHV staff. Of those, 70 have been issued vouchers to date. When a client receives a voucher, ACMS staff assist in locating an apartment, identifying what household goods the client might need, and follows up with the clients to help them remain in stable subsidized housing. One problem which arises, as in all efforts to find affordable housing in this area, is that there is very little housing available. This requires staff to do more intensive work with clients, identifying housing and having lengthy conversations with potential landlords to advocate for the client to acquire housing.
In 2023, the program is moving to expand and enhance its services to Spanish-speaking residents of Ulster County. While we have had a limited capacity to serve that population, and few members of those communities knew of the services we can provide, we are now working to establish a Spanish-language Helpline. This Helpline will have expanded hours and more focused service. A member of ACMS staff will be doing extensive outreach and education to the community, and recruiting volunteers to work on the Helpline.
The program strives to maintain Family of Woodstock’s philosophy amidst funding pressures. We believe that we are “people helping people help themselves”.
(EHV) program. This program provides housing subsidies to certain prioritized groups of individuals and families who are either literally homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness. ACMS staff have assisted 71 individuals and families with these applications, which entail multiple meetings, entering initial information into a state-run portal, then uploading a large number of required documents, and communicating with EHV staff. When a client receives a voucher, ACMS staff assist in locating an apartment, identifying what household goods the client might need, and follows up with the clients to help them remain in stable subsidized housing.
In 2021, Amy Colon was promoted to Program Director.
The program strives to maintain Family of Woodstock’s philosophy amidst funding pressures. We believe that we are “people helping people help themselves”.