Supervisor Spotlight: Angela Angora

Angela Angora, Site Supervisor and Community Residence Manager, has been tirelessly working to support our Veterans at Liberty Hall. She has been with Cazenovia Recovery Systems for two years and has brought about a complete transformation in the way that Liberty Hall operates. She always wanted to do something “positive that brought about real change,” and she has done just that at Liberty Hall.

“I originally wanted to become a probation officer but noticed that those positions mainly involved supervision,” she explained. Angela worked primarily with troubled youth and often noticed that the kids she served came from unstable homes with family members who weren’t receiving the support they needed. Merely supervising the problem didn’t suit Angela. “What I really wanted to do was to help and to treat,” she said. Her supervisor recommended that she pursue a career in recovery and she never looked back.

When Angela started at Liberty Hall, our residents felt isolated from the other Veterans on the Batavia Veterans Administration (VA) campus. The VA, being so complex, simply didn’t know much about Liberty Hall, so Angela set out to include our program into the larger VA family. The process took about a year and many, many batches of cookies for Angela to find the correct contacts within the VA system. Now, the partnership between Liberty Hall and the Batavia VA couldn’t be stronger.

This year, Liberty Hall participated in the VA2K and attends onsite cookouts and concerts. Liberty Hall also receives a portion of the donations sent to the VA and Angela attends monthly VA leadership meetings where she’s able to advocate for our program.

In line with the goals that the VA sets for itself, Liberty Hall is now placing a stronger emphasis on employability for our residents. Liberty Hall Veterans can be found working throughout the VA thanks to the Compensated Work Therapy Program, a program set up through the VA to help rehabilitate Veterans. Individuals receive minimum wage and 24 hours a week in structured and guided positions on the VA campus. This program is designed to instill “a sense of responsibility and a strong worth ethic” according to Angela. Our residents work in the kitchen, the gym, and one is even a certified nurses’ assistant. “I see the difference once they start in the Compensated Work Therapy Program. They have so much pride,” Angela said.

Not only do our Liberty Hall Veterans show their pride in their work, but Angela’s pride in her program is just as easy to see. Liberty Hall has made a massive transformation since she came on board and our Veterans have Angela to thank for their new-found inclusion and the comprehensive and inspiring support they now receive from the VA.