Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor
About 20 people attended a Nov. 21 forum on issues raised by neighbors of 11 Chester Street, the Genesis House residential home for behavioral health clients that is run by Ascend Mental Wellness.
The session drew only four of the 30 or so neighbors who’ve expressed concerns, but several government officials attended:
Mayor-elect Diana Palmer, who currently is the Ward 3 Council member (the district includes Chester Street), her newly elected Council successor Dan Rice, Ben Driscoll, who represents Ward 5 on the Warren County Board of Supervisors and County Administrator John Taflan were all there.
Andrea Deepe, the chief executive officer of Ascend, led the meeting. Ascend administrators, Genesis support staff and others from the behavioral health community were also in the room.
Neighbors several times pushed back when Ms. Deepe cited efforts by staff that the neighbors said aren’t actually happening, especially in the last five years.
One said, “After 24 years…I am now at the point where I’m saying I’ve had enough. I don’t want these people in my neighborhood anymore if we can’t control them.”
Ms. Deepe says they are doing the best they can with challenging clients who have nowhere else to go.
However, she said, “I am appalled that the staff aren’t interacting with people who are coming to our door and complaining about things that they’ve witnessed, or they weren’t doing the right thing in terms of passing it on (to me) so we can address it.”
She expressed surprise to learn some staffers have been seen smoking cigarettes, possibly even marijuana, with clients.
“I can tell you, staff training is definitely forefront of our mind, not only the interventions, the deescalation techniques, the supports we’re providing to individuals, but also training on the communication with community members.
“I would hope that now you have my contact information. I’m happy to take phone calls…even to meet with you.”
Of a client whose loud, prolonged cursing, ongoing for several years, neighbbors describe as particularly disruptive, Ms. Deepe said, “If you call me and he’s out there screaming at that moment, I’m going to be on the horn to the staff to say, why aren’t you out there with him?”
An Ascend staffer said state funding cuts mean Genesis House residents who used to attend intensive day programs, “Monday to Friday, 8 to to 4,” now spend more hours at the house, not receiving the same level of supportive programming.
Ms. Deepe said plans are afloat to create a similar program locally. “The funding is there,” she says, “but it takes years” to work with the state and “red tape.”
Councilman-elect Rice pressed, “For these clients, yes, Genesis house may be the right place. But the question becomes, is Genesis house itself in the right place,” in a residential neighborhood?
Separately, he said, “Maybe, let’s give this situation a chance to evolve and hopefully improve, and we’ll come back if there hasn’t been a good change.”
Mayor-elect Palmer said, “I’m hearing Ms. Deepe say she has ideas for corrective action, including freeing up staff time by reducing paperwork, potentially having bonuses, asking you to call her directly so that she’s aware. As Dan just said, I wonder if it would be worth seeing if some of these corrective actions do improve anything. If they don’t, to please reach back out to us and we will continue to deal with it.”
One neighbor insisted, “I understand that (clients have) rights and all that, but we have rights, too, and we have a right to have a semi peaceful neighborhood.”
He said, “The message, that we have to call (police, or Ascend) every time? That’s a p-ss poor thing to get out of this whole meeting, is that I gotta call.”
Two days after the meeting, neighbor Stephanie Ruel told The Chronicle she called the Ascend office over an issue, but only reached a voice mail that said to call back during business hours.
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