For Release: Immediate, July 12, 2001

Governor Pataki Breaks Ground for Women's Drug Treatment Residence

Participating in the groundbreaking are, from left, OASAS Commissioner Jean Somers Miller, Carmen Rivera and Sandra Ruiz Butter of VIP Community Services, Governor Pataki, Assemblywoman Gloria Davis, City Council Member Joel Rivera, State Senator Pedro Espada, and Assemblyman Jose Rivera.

Governor George E. Pataki today broke ground to expand residential drug treatment services for women at a new women's residence operated by VIP Community Services' in the Bronx.

The 35-bed residence will replace a 25-bed residence. The State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services is supporting the project with $3.7 million to help women who need six to nine months in treatment. The Dormitory Authority's Office of Construction is providing construction project management services to build the residence.

The new facility, to be built on one of the last city-owned vacant lots in the East Tremont community, will provide a full range of treatment services, including individual and group counseling, exercise and recreation, vocational and educational services, as well as a "Serenity Park" to help mothers learn parenting skills and visit with their children.

Governor Pataki said, "We want all women in New York suffering from alcohol and drug addiction to have access to the best quality treatment possible. The opening of this facility is a clear reflection of New York State's commitment to help women reach a full recovery and return to their homes, jobs, families and their lives - free of drug abuse."

Thirty-one percent of all individuals entering alcohol and substance abuse treatment in New York State each year are women, and two-thirds of them have children. In the New York City treatment programs, women represent 33 percent of the population, and 70 percent of them have children.

OASAS Commissioner Jean Somers Miller said, "Under Governor Pataki's leadership, New York has the most comprehensive drug treatment systems in the nation, and we are only becoming better by providing appropriate, accessible and effective care. Women with a drug-abuse problem face many other related problems that impede their struggle to overcome their addiction and re-enter society."

Douglas M. VanVleck, the Dormitory Authority's Managing Director of Construction, has named Mitch Greig as the Project Manager, with Thomas Valdes as the Field Representative. The OASAS project is part of the Dormitory AuthorityÕs Statewide Facilities Construction Program, led by Pat Cinelli, Director of Statewide Facilities, with Mukund Joshi as the Supervising Project Manager for Manhattan, the Bronx and Westchester.

The Authority selected Castro-Blanco, Piscioneri and Associates as the project architect, with American Builders Group as the general contractor. The Authority anticipates project completion in the summer of 2002.

The new Women's Residence will be run by VIP Community Services, a comprehensive substance abuse treatment organization offering outpatient and residential drug treatment, methadone treatment, vocational and educational programs, health care and housing services since 1974.

VIP Community Services will focus its efforts on individuals who have recent histories of alcohol and substance abuse, and have been unable to make the transition to work because of these barriers. Using a "work-first" approach, VIP will develop subsidized job opportunities for participants to gain the work experience and skills needed to move to regular unsubsidized employment.

For more information, contact Claudia Hutton, Press Officer, at (518) 257-3382 or at CHutton@dasny.org.
To read the full text of Governor Pataki's press release, go to http://www.state.ny.us/governor.

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