Rochester, NY- Recovery Options Made Easy (Recovery Options) was awarded $4 Million in support of NYS’ Intensive and Sustained Engagement Team, Governor Kathy Hochel announced. Recovery Options is the fourth peer-led organization across the state to receive this funding to provide services in the City of Rochester and Monroe County. Recovery Options is a Gowanda, NY based non-profit with services throughout WNY and the Finger Lakes.
“New Yorkers who have lived experience with mental illness are often the ones most effective at successfully engaging individuals with complicated mental and physical health needs,” Governor Hochul said. “By expanding this successful peer-led program to Monroe County, we can reach an even greater number of individuals with unmet mental health care needs and help connect them with the services and supports they can rely on to live safely and successfully in their community.”
The Intensive and Sustained Engagement Team (INSET) serves individuals with complex mental health needs who struggle to navigate traditional forms of mental health care. The Office of Mental Health (OMH) has awarded $12 million to the first three teams in New York City, Westchester and on Long Island. The Recovery Options award for the Intensive and Sustained Engagement Team is the first upstate-based team.
This funding will support the development of Recovery Options’ INSET over five years. The team will be comprised of a team lead, support staff, a family liaison, and licensed professionals, including a social worker and nurse practitioner.
Recovery Options Made Easy is a peer agency leader in NYS. They are uniquely appropriate to deliver on this project based on more than 30 years of peer service experience in multiple counties in WNY and the Finger Lakes. Recovery Options currently has supportive housing, Child and Family Treatment and Support Services (CFTSS), Peer Bridging and CORE (Community Oriented Recovery and Empowerment) programs in Monroe County.
“Recovery Options is proud to have been selected to lead the fourth, and first upstate, INSET program in New York State. We applaud Governor Hochul for recognizing the efficacy of peer-led recovery services and supports and providing Monroe County residents access to this innovative, peer-based resource to aid in their recovery journey”, said Recovery Options CEO, Shannon Higbee.
In addition to Recovery Options’ Monroe County programming, the organization operates supportive housing, CFTSS, respite and a STRAWW (Southern Tier Recovery Activities Without Walls) program in Chautauqua and Allegany Counties, CORE, Warm Line and other peer-operated, community-based recovery services across the area. Most recently, Recovery Options opened the first-of-its-kind Kirsten Vincent Respite & Recovery Center in collaboration with community-based services in an underserved geographic area in Buffalo, NY.
Recovery Options Made Easy is a peer-run, not-for-profit organization providing multiple recovery support to individuals experiencing mental health concerns across 10 counties in Western New York and the Finger Lakes Regions. Recovery Options services include supportive housing, community-based recovery services, and crisis response programs including crisis respites and warmlines. In recognition of the complexities involved in addressing mental health distress, Recovery Options applies trauma-informed strategies focused on an individual’s needs, with the goals of de-escalating a mental health crisis, as well as aiding in lifelong recovery.
