Help is coming for providers who assist those struggling with addiction, places like Samadhi Recovery Community Outreach Center in the Hudson Valley.
“(We) really put the focus on the people," said Samadhi Executive Director David McNamara. "And also when I say the people, I mean the people we serve, but also the people that work for us.”
Samadhi was awarded nearly $800,000 through Ulster County. The funding comes from a pot of money available to addiction service providers across New York through the attorney general’s lawsuit against opioid companies, which were deemed partly responsible for the opioid epidemic.
What You Need To Know
- Ulster County awarded Samadhi Recovery Community Outreach Center nearly $800,000 from New York's Opioid Settlement Fund
- Samadhi Executive Director David McNamara says the funds will go toward expanding the center's outpatient detox services
- It will also allow Samadhi to hire more certified peer recovery advocates and at least one vehicle to use for transport at its housing facility
McNamara said the money will go toward expanding outpatient detox services.
“We offer one-to-one counseling," he said. "We offer groups, specialty groups, groups around trauma groups, around family issues, couples counseling. You know, so all the different aspects of things that might come up with with opiate use disorder or substance use disorder in general.”
These dollars will also help Samadhi’s new housing facility that provides emergency housing to people dealing with addiction and mental illness. Specifically, the center will be able to hire four certified peer recovery advocates and at least one vehicle to use for transport.
As these funds are coming to Samadhi, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced another $2.2 million available from the opioid settlement to connect New Yorkers with addiction services. Grants will be provided for up to 11 providers statewide, which will try to combat the crisis as a state report found that New York’s opioid death rate exceeded the national average in 2020 and 2021.
“It allows us to double the amount of people we serve," McNamara said. "We've got we've got over over, you know, 30 to 40 people on a waiting list right now.”
These funds are critical, McNamara said, because the need for addiction services hasn’t really waned. And the support that folks need is more than just a trip to the doctor’s office.
“The underlying causes of the addiction, whether that be a mental health disorder or trauma-based disorder, generally the addiction will just reoccur, you know, and it may reoccur in different ways," McNamara said.