Southern Tier 8, Leadership Alliance announce regional recovery-to-work program

DICKINSON, N.Y. — Workforce-development organizations representing the Southern Tier have announced a program called CREST, short for Collaborative Recovery Empowerment of the Southern Tier.

The CREST initiative will provide education and training for employers to hire individuals in recovery.

The goal of CREST is to maintain employment and “sustained recovery” for those currently managing their substance-use disorder in the workforce. Substance-use disorders impact over 1 million New Yorkers and Broome County “often ranks as one of the highest counties for opioid burden,” the Agency said in a news release.

The organizations that announced the program on Wednesday include the Leadership Alliance; Southern Tier 8; regional chambers of commerce; workforce-investment boards, and organizations dedicated to providing awareness and education regarding substance-use disorders across the Southern Tier.

CREST will begin with a 3-hour virtual workshop on addiction and recovery in the workplace. Hiring managers, supervisory staff, human resources personnel, and CEOs are encouraged to choose one of the three available dates to learn why businesses need to get involved, the science behind addiction, the legal issues surrounding retaining employees in recovery, and available tax credits for employers.

In addition, attendees will hear a testimonial from Dale Weed, president of Pure Functional Foods, a New York state business that has successfully hired individuals in active recovery.

The virtual program dates are scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 16; Thursday, Oct. 14; and Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. The workshops are each scheduled to run from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. with a networking session beginning at 8:30 a.m.

For more information on the webinar series and how to register, visit www.southerntiersummit.com

Organizations involved

The Leadership Alliance represents the informal merger between the Agency and the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce, two of the economic and business-development organizations within Broome County.

Southern Tier 8 — the local development district of the federal Appalachian Regional Commission and the Economic Development Administration — represents the economic-development interests of eight counties across the Southern Tier. Those counties include Broome, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego, Schoharie, Tioga, and Tompkins counties.

Southern Tier 8 first received funds to pursue the creation of CREST in April, prompting the organization to issue a request for proposals to build upon the regional board’s substance-use disorder ecosystem 2020 planning efforts.

Southern Tier 8 has partnered with several local chambers of commerce and organizations focused on recovery to educate Southern Tier employers of the “benefit of creating a culture of total wellness in the workplace as well as connect eligible jobseekers with employers that hire those in active recovery,” the Agency said.

Other partners currently include the Family & Children’s Counseling Services of Cortland; the Leatherstocking Education on Alcoholism/Addictions Foundation (LEAF); the Alcohol & Drug Council of Tompkins County; Hinman, Howard & Kattell LLP of Binghamton; Broome-Tioga Workforce; and Commerce Chenango.