Isabel Byon: 0:01

The New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports, or OASAS, provides this podcast as a public service. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the agency or state. This is Addiction: The Next Step.

Jerry Gretzinger: 0:21

Hey everybody, it's Jerry Gretzinger, your host for Addiction: The Next Step. You know we come to you from the New York State Offices of Addiction Services and Supports, but we are excited when we take our show on the road, and that's what we're doing again today, because we are at the Alcohol and Drug Awareness Council of Orange County. We are out here today and we are speaking to a couple of people who are going to talk to us about another use of the opioid settlement funds. These are the dollars, obviously, that came to New York State and the opioid settlements that we could put towards work to help address the opioid crisis and the overdose crisis that we've been dealing with. And you know, OASAS has just a portion of those dollars to put to work, but it's been hundreds of millions of dollars now that we put to work and this is one of the areas where that money is going and we think it's making a tremendous impact and that's why we have these wonderful folks joining us today to explain what that impact is all about and what it's doing.

Jerry Gretzinger: 1:14

I've got MaryAlice Kovach here. She's the assistant director here at ADAC. I've also got Colin O'Connell. He's a self-direction support broker with Independent Living and he's also a student right now. We'll talk about that and how that plays into the topic today in just a moment. But what we're here to talk about and we've talked a lot about this because it's such a big deal is a scholarship program to help people who are interested in the field of addiction pursue being a CASAC. And it's so important, it's so critical Workforce. You know, we want to make sure that we maintain the workforce, that we grow the workforce, that people who are in it can advance themselves in it and that people who are new to it can start their career, start their path with it. So I've talked enough. MaryAlice, let me have you jump in here and explain how this scholarship works, and I just want to lead you in a direction. Some people hear scholarship and go oh, they'll give me a couple of bucks to pursue a degree. This goes well beyond a couple of bucks.

MaryAlice Kovach: 2:11

Absolutely so. Thank you for having us and for being here. We are so grateful to be recipients of the community-based organization portion of this scholarship program. A few years ago, when this all started, our program was really low in numbers and we were offered to participate in this scholarship program and it has really helped us to help the state grow the workforce. So we have currently last year and this year have educated 27 students under the OASAS scholarship in our CASAC training program and it covers the entire cost of the program for our students all 350 hours, the entire tuition, textbooks, materials, everything. So it really helps them to be able to focus on their education and not worry about how to make payments or anything else.

Jerry Gretzinger: 3:05

Yeah, I have young kids who are college age and I think they refer to something like that as a full ride

MaryAlice Kovach: 3:10

A full ride, yes.

Jerry Gretzinger: 3:12

Which is amazing because it removes one of the barriers that so many people have, which is that financial piece right.

MaryAlice Kovach: 3:18

Right, absolutely

Jerry Gretzinger: 3:20

And I want to ask you this, too, you talked about putting 27 through, and I know there's waiting lists, right? How many are on the waiting list?

MaryAlice Kovach: 3:27

We currently have 70 individuals on our waiting list, .

Jerry Gretzinger: 3:30

, that's incredible and I'm sure I hope each one of them is able to go through the program. But so on an average year before this scholarship was available, what kind of numbers were you looking at then?

MaryAlice Kovach: 3:43

So since COVID especially really kind of decimated our in-person program and we had to pivot and go to some online training, we were looking at anywhere enrollment from 10 to 15 students and we would lose some through attrition or difficulty paying the tuition. We do have a few other funding sources that are available locally Orange County Employment and Training Administration, AccessVR through New York State but most of our students were self-pay and also working adults, as Colin is right. So many of our students were already either working in the field or working in a different field and looking to transition. So we were graduating under 10 for the last probably four or five years. Even last year, in the first year of our scholarship, before it was really widely promoted, we had eight students in our program last year, but I'm very happy to say we have 19 students. We started out with about 25 this year and we have 19 students right now and 14 of them are on the scholarship. So we are really excited about that.

Jerry Gretzinger: 4:45

That's great and really I mean we say waiting list it's because you know we're waiting for classes, we're waiting for the release of additional funding, right?

MaryAlice Kovach: 4:51

Correct, yes.

Jerry Gretzinger: 4:52

Well, I know, as OASAS I'll speak on OASAS's behalf that we're very excited to hear these types of numbers, that it's doing what it was intended to do. And, Colin, I said before we're going to get to you now I said you're a student but you have also been working in the addiction field for many years. You have your own personal lived experience with addiction and it's something passionate, something you're passionate about, that you want to continue to advance. Talk to me about what led you to this field. So I guess your lived experience and why it's something you've made your life's work.

Colin O'Connell: 5:25

Well, I mean, I do have lived experience since 1987. I'm a person in long-term recovery and you know I've seen the need in Orange County for addiction services. I've been involved with the Alcohol and Drug Awareness Council since 1990. So I actually worked for the council for a decade and so I've been in contact with the council ever since then. And so for me, at this point in my life, I'm just feeling a calling, especially with the opioid epidemic and the fact that it's been such a crisis.

Colin O'Connell: 6:00

Yeah, well, okay, luckily I'm bilingual English, Spanish and I speak several other languages. This is a community that could really use some support, and so, with my skills and also with my lived experience, I want to get out there. I want to help people and I want to make a difference and bring the message of hope, because that's the really critical thing at this point. People need hope, and so, if I can be an agent of that, I'm ready and able, and also with this scholarship, this scholarship is the reason why I'm able to attend these classes, without which I work for a not-for-profit, and essentially, being able to take the courses have a free ride that allows me to really benefit from all facets of this course.

Jerry Gretzinger: 6:47

Yeah Well, I think that was part of our thinking initially was that we understand that finances can be a major barrier to people like yourself who want to do this but just can't. They haven't got the wherewithal to make it happen on that end, so removing at least one barrier is tremendous, and so I wanted to point out too you are a certified recovery peer advocate.

Colin O'Connell: 7:08

Exactly.

Jerry Gretzinger: 7:08

So you talked about giving people hope and I'm sure, having walked the walk as you . have, being a certified recovery peer advocate, you're able to show people hey, I've done this, you can do this as well.

Jerry Gretzinger: 7:21

And now you want to enhance what you're able to provide by going through the CASAC program

Colin O'Connell: 7:26

Exactly because it's just building on the experience that I have now, the education that I have now, and, um, yeah, it's just, it's an expansion for me, it's an expansion of knowledge, it's an expansion of exposure to the field. Um, all of my instructors in the course are experts, and so I actually worked with them before when I worked at ADAC and now, to see their expertise grow and to just absorb more of it, it's just very exciting for me. I love coming to class. I always learn something

Jerry Gretzinger: 7:58

Yeah. And you say coming to class. And I know, MaryA lice, it's still, there's still a lot of virtual element to this right. So it's not like you know. Again, we say barriers. Sometimes people have an access problem because they can't get the transportation to get to. You know, an old-style school building if you will, but there is that to log on and do it remotely.

MaryAlice Kovach: 8:17

Yes, absolutely, and we have realized since COVID that we can provide a really rich and amazing educational program through that virtual and in-person option. So right now we are hybrid. Right, we call it hybrid. We're all completely live instruction. We don't do any not live instruction, and the students really love the opportunity to get together with each other in person. When I took my CASAC training here in 2020, well, I started out here in 2012 as a career shift in the CASAC training program, but when I completed mine, it was completely online. We didn't meet each other in person until our graduation, so that really took a lot away from building that camaraderie. But being able to offer the both in-person and virtual option has been beneficial to our students and reduces the barrier of location. We're located in Orange County, but we can have students from farther away because and that kind of opens up the access throughout the state with the scholarship program as well.

Jerry Gretzinger: 9:19

Yeah, really increasing the opportunity for people?

MaryAlice Kovach: 9:21

Yes.

Jerry Gretzinger: 9:22

And so what I mean now you've graduated? Just so many. I mean, what have you heard from people who have gone through this program and benefited from the scholarship, about you know how their lives have changed having this available to them that wasn't available before?

MaryAlice Kovach: 9:38

Yeah, I think the most. We've completed the one whole group and this group is ready to graduate in June. But the folks who have graduated already, who are out there doing the work or finishing up their internships, they were just so grateful for that opportunity and many have said that they never would have been able at that point in their lives to pursue it. They've wanted to. Many of our scholarship recipients are also in recovery and so they have wanted to do this work but just weren't able to financially afford it. So they offer to come back and speak to our students. They want to know when graduation ceremony is, so they can come back and talk about how the scholarship has benefited them, how the education has benefited them. So it's really been. You know this is a small county so we're very much in contact with many of our former students and I haven't heard any negative feedback, and I'm not just saying that.

Jerry Gretzinger: 10:37

Well, we haven't either, which is great, and you know I think you know again, we talk about the settlement dollars that are out there, and to be able to use these dollars to create a larger workforce that can go out there and provide the support, provide the services, like Colin, that you're already providing and that you're going to provide even more of when you complete this is tremendous, and we want to point out, too, that, thank goodness, this year we've been able to see a slight rollback in the number of overdose deaths, and I think this is a piece of what's been the solution so far, and we want to continue that. So thank you both for being a part of that, Mary Alice on your end, and Colin for being out there in the trenches and doing the work and wanting to do more of it. Thank you, guys very much. Do you want to give out any information about how to contact ADAC if somebody's in this region and says hey, you know what, I want to know more.

MaryAlice Kovach: 11:27

Absolutely. You can call our office at 845-673-5903 and ask for a training coordinator, or you can visit our website at www. adacinfo. com.

Jerry Gretzinger: 11:43

All right, that's perfect, and I'm going to follow that with some of our information. If you want information about OASAS and maybe you're in a different region of the state and you want to find out more about scholarships where you are, you can go to oasas. ny. gov, O-A-S-A-S, dot N-Y, dot G-O-V, and you can also go to the HOPEline. If you need someone to talk to or know someone dealing with an addiction issue, that's 877-8-HOPE-NY. I'm your host, Jerry Gretzinger, for Addiction: The Next Step. Until we see you again next time, be well.