The healing, joy, and recovery success continues here at St. Christopher’s Inn, despite the specter and impact of Covid-19! While a challenge this past year and a half, the dedicated staff and friars have worked tirelessly to overcome every obstacle and keep the doors open to those in need, true to the Atonement Franciscan mission “That Nothing (or No One) be Lost.”
Recognition Within and Without
The ability for a person we serve being able to leave here clean, sober and alive is the greatest gift and our greatest outcome measure. However, it is also refreshing to be recognized by the following local and national accreditation bodies.
NYS: The NYS Dept. of Health rated St. Christopher’s Inn treatment services as Substantially Compliant (their highest rating), awarding us a renewed three-year license.
International: Again (2021), CARF International has accredited and recognized the life-saving service offered here at St. Christopher’s Inn. Founded in 1966, CARF is an international and independent nonprofit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process and continuous improvement services that center on enhancing the lives of the persons served. St. Christopher’s recent Three-year Accreditation decision represents the highest level of accreditation that can be given to an organization and shows the organization’s substantial conformance to the CARF standards. An organization receiving a Three-Year Accreditation has put itself through a rigorous peer review process. It has demonstrated to a team of surveyors during an on-site visit its commitment to offering programs and services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality.
Other News
- Always aiming at enhancing meaningful and personal treatment services, in October 2021, made possible by the generosity of our benefactors, St. Christopher’s introduced Art Therapy to its clinical cache of healing tools. Led by Joy Pellegrino, Art Therapy facilitates the expression of one’s inner thoughts while helping to make sense of one’s emotions. Benefits are Self-Discovery, Improved Self-Esteem, Stress Relief, and more.
- In September 2021, the Inn introduced our Pathways to Vocational Readiness initiative, an in-house supervised vocational “certificate” program. This will both validate and boost the morale of the men in our care, while providing them with a work-experience history (some of whom have no stable or recent work histories). Supervised tracks include: Food Preparation, Housekeeping, Facilities and Grounds). The men are very excited about this.
- Here at St. Christopher’s, realizing that the families and children of those impacted by substance use are suffering, we have finally started our Outpatient Tele-Health program. Already having a “Waiting List,” finding “dedicated and mission-focused” Counselors and Lead Counselors will be our December-January 2022 focus.
- On December 10th, San Damiano (our After-Care House) began their Christmas Sale, offering handcrafted holiday decorations grown and/or made by our very own Brothers Christopher (those in our care).
- After three long years, St. Christopher’s Inn has been approved by NYS for Residential Redesign (what NYS OASAS calls a Part 820). Along with the support of the Inn’s benefactors, this new certification and paradigm will allow us to widen our scope of services and the length of stay for those in need. Currently, we are vetting a much-needed new Electronic Health Records (EHR) system to make the transition a reality.