Amy Cottrell – Staff Spotlight

Amy Cottrell serves as Somerset House’s program secretary and just started in March. “A lot of us were hired recently but we all work together,” she said. Amy has an associate’s degree in science from Erie Community College and, like most people, her family has been touched by addiction. “I’ve always been interested in this line of work,” she noted.

Many things about Somerset House are appealing to her. “Everyone is very nice and very helpful,” said Amy. “You can go up to anyone and ask a question.” She is very grateful for staff across the agency who are willing to help out at Somerset House. The program is also “convenient and close to home” for her since she is a resident of Newfane.

As a program secretary, she is often the first point of contact for her program. Amy is also responsible for confirming appointments for our residents, coordinating their personal needs allowance, assisting with program documentation, and other tasks. However, Somerset House’s site supervisor, Erin DeWolfe, credits Amy for stepping up beyond her typical responsibilities in order to help the program when it needs it most. “She is willing to be flexible with her hours and always takes on more tasks,” said Erin. “Amy’s always coming up with ideas to make processes at Somerset House smoother and more efficient.”

It certainly helps that Amy has such an uplifting attitude. “Sometimes you just have to smile and laugh,” she explained. “I learned a while ago that you just have to take things one day at a time.” Amy also always puts the needs of our residents first: “If they need something, I’m there to help. I want to make sure we can help with their recovery and create a safe place for them. ” Clearly, Amy is a very supportive staff member. “I try to make everybody else’s jobs easier by helping out with the little things,” she said. “It’s good to know that I can count on anybody here.”