Restructuring our Maintenance Department

Caz Recovery provides primarily residential treatment and support for people with substance use disorders. Since our services are all residential, we have quite a few properties to maintain throughout Erie and Niagara Counties. At the moment, we have seven larger group-living facilities, two apartment buildings, 22 Supportive Living apartments, and nearly 60 Supported Housing apartments.

Our Maintenance department is tasked with ensuring that all of these properties are safe and well-maintained. Over the last few years, we’ve been slowly restructuring the department to be more responsive to the needs of our programs. That restructuring has now entered a new phase thanks to Clarke Reed, our brand-new Facilities Manager.

Clarke Reed, Facilities Manager

Clarke’s actually been with the agency for twelve years, though he left in 2019 to pursue another opportunity. Thankfully for us, he returned in the summer of last year to serve as the Maintenance Coordinator at the Garden Lofts. About three months ago, we asked Clarke if he wanted to assume this newly-crafted role. Previously, Caz Recovery had a Property Manager position. It included overseeing the Maintenance department and some administrative functions of the Amherst Station Apartments. The new role focuses specifically on maintenance across the agency.

As Facilities Manager, Clarke said he’s responsible for “the overall management of the Maintenance department.” This involves managing the Maintenance staff, working with vendors and contractors, and supervising projects. Clarke is also learning new skills like writing policies and procedures. “It’s been really interesting to me,” he said. When he needs support with this new skill, he looks to Sue Bissonette, our CEO for guidance. “She’s just such a great teacher,” said Clarke.

Benefits to the Programs

Clarke has also implemented a change the agency has been working on for some time: Maintenance Coordinators are now assigned to specific programs. This allows each of them to develop an in-depth knowledge of their assigned facilities. They’ll be responsible for ensuring “everything is up-to-code” according to Clarke. Conveniently, this modification has improved communication across the agency. “The Program Managers are very happy with onsite Maintenance staff,” he said.

Everything hasn’t been easy, however. Clarke and his team are finishing up some renovations to Supportive Living apartments, and COVID has certainly complicated some of the plans. Prices for materials have gone up, and obtaining certain appliances and supplies has been difficult at best. Despite these setbacks, Clarke is moving ahead with his projects. Next up, he and the Maintenance team are planning on renovating Sundram Manor’s kitchen and a few more Supportive Living apartments. Clarke knows that these projects would not be possible without the support of his staff. “I appreciate the hard work that they’re doing,” he said. “They work very well together as a team.”