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Westchester Arc
The Gleeson-Israel Gateway Center
265 Saw Mill River Road
Hawthorne, NY 10532
914.949.9300
info@westchesterarc.org

24-hour
Crisis Intervention:
914.949.8200

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Message from
Ric Swierat:

Heroic Staff During Hurricane Irene

September 2, 2011

The past week has been challenging for all of us at work and home. I want to extend my deep appreciation and recognition of the dedication of our staff to make sure our folks were safe during the hurricane and assisting with the re-opening, cleaning up and resettlement of our folks.

I am aware that a number of our staff still have no power. Your personal discomfort and worry has not stopped you from providing the necessary support to our folks. That is more than admirable….it is heroic.

We had many residential staff who stayed on beyond their work schedule to ensure safety and coverage. Five of our homes had no power and some had damage. Two of our homes were evacuated and had to provide support and services in an unfamiliar environment.

A number of our day programs had no electricity on Monday, but day program staff came in anyway to make sure the sites were clean and ready for re-opening on Tuesday.

The Manzi Center (699 Main St – Mt. Kisco) experienced the most damage with flooding and electrical issues which affected the alarm systems, telephones and computers. The center opened on Wednesday through the dedicated work of Kristin Springer and the facilities and day program staff.

I want to specifically thank the administrative staff who assisted me throughout the weekend and Monday to make sure we all had the correct information about the conditions of our facilities and opening announcements posted on the radios, website and telephone messaging system.

In general, we got through this storm with only minor issues and delay of services.

I cannot express enough thanks and appreciation to all our staff for your dedication and caring throughout this event.

I wish everyone an enjoyable and safe Labor Day holiday.