A New Year’s Message to Our Employees

Happy New Year!

Maybe, just maybe, 2016 will be a less hectic year! Certainly 2015 was a busy but positive year for Cazenovia. The changes were nearly constant but we adapted with both grace and vision. We reaffirmed our dedication to our mission, while acclimating ourselves to the changes throughout the field of recovery work.

At the end of June, we closed Visions Place, a program we operated for over a decade. Visions Place served homeless individuals with both severe and persistent mental health disorders and chronic substance use disorders. Due to changes in funding, we had no choice but to close Visions Place, despite the care it was providing through its services.

As we refocused our efforts to providing residential services that offer hope for those seeking recovery, our next steps were to move from the buildings which housed the New Beginnings and Ivy House programs. We moved the residents of these two programs to our Sycamore Street location, the former site of Visions Place. This move created Unity House, a new Community Residence for men. Although these choices were difficult, they were necessary to ensure the long-term financial stability of our agency.

But we were not to be finished with changes. Fellowship House of Niagara County reached out for assistance managing their agency in mid-2015. We agreed and worked throughout the last six months of 2015 to stabilize Fellowship’s financial operations and assist with the operations of their programs. On January 1, Cazenovia will officially bring the Fellowship programs under the umbrella of Cazenovia’s residential programs.

These programs include Madonna House, a 16-bed Intensive Residential Rehabilitation program in Lockport that serves women in recovery and their children; Somerset House and Sundram Manor, 17-bed Community Residences in Appleton and Niagara Falls that serve both men and women; and 15 Supportive Living beds throughout Niagara Falls. The Supportive Living program provides apartments which can include the children of residents.

We hope this transition, which is already underway, is seamless for the residents and creates minimal pain for the staff. Thanks to everyone’s commitment and expertise, we are now a major partner in recovery in Niagara County.

I would like to thank you for your hard work over the last year. It has not been an easy one, but it has certainly been transformative. It is only through your dedication to your job and commitment to recovery for our residents that we are able to grow. Everything you do is greatly appreciated.

Happy New Year and we look forward to our continued work with you.

Sincerely,

Sue Bissonette