Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan Announces Partnership with Family of Woodstock to Offer Transitional Housing

Posted July 1, 2021

In May, County Executive Ryan formed a countywide Behavioral Health Task Force to identify gaps in the County’s existing mental health and addiction landscape to inform potential spending

$80,000 will be utilized for hotel stays for people who are entering or leaving substance abuse treatment

KINGSTON, N.Y. - Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan today announced that, through a partnership with Family of Woodstock, $80,000 will be allocated to administer housing vouchers for local hotel stays for people who are entering or leaving substance abuse treatment. This program is being established to fill an immediate need for those struggling with addiction, while Ulster County continues to invest in building long-term housing capacity.  

“Ulster County will continue to do everything that we can to help our residents who are currently struggling with addiction,” Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan said. “We are proud to partner with Family of Woodstock to make sure that residents have a roof over their heads as they prepare for their next steps of recovery treatment.” 

The Housing Vouchers aim to assist residents successfully entering treatment or returning to the community after successfully completing treatment. Residents will be able to have up to two weeks of respite housing with referrals being made through local treatment providers and placements being connected to Ulster County’s High Risk Mitigation Team.  

Ulster County’s High Risk Mitigation Team is a collaboration between ORACLE, Samadhi, Catholic Charities, People USA, Ellenville Regional Hospital, and the Ulster County Health and Mental Health Department. Individuals who are at risk of overdosing are connected to a peer care navigator through this collaboration and then this person tracks their treatment progress and checks in on them if they miss appointments or need additional support.

In May, Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan announced the formation of the Behavioral Health Task Force to identify gaps in the existing mental health and addiction landscape in Ulster County. Through this process the task force identified a lack of respite housing for people who are ready to enter treatment but need a safe place to stay for a few days while they wait for their treatment placement. 

The Housing Voucher program is being launched through the County’s HEALing Community study in partnership with Columbia University.

 

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