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On Thursday, February 9, 2006, PYHIT was featured on WNYT News (locally, Channel 13). A news crew visited the former Carmelite Monastery on Duane Avenue in Schenectady to do a story on how the building will be used by PYHIT and the progress made so far in transforming the building from a convent to a office / program site for job training and housing. Below is the summary of the newscast from the station's website (wnyt.com).
(Note: the title of the story and article below is somewhat inaccurate, as PYHIT has no plans to use the facility as a rehab or treatment center. It contains administrative offices and job training / education programs, and will eventually be used partially as transitional living for those who have already completed their alcohol addiction treatment and are working towards finding employment to support themselves once again.)
Monastery transformed into drug rehab center
Facility will also provide job training
SCHENECTADY, Feb. 9
By ABIGAIL BLECK
A Capital Region priest found a new use for an old monastery in Schenectady.
The Rev. Peter Young is transforming the 1940s cloisters at 428 Duane Avenue into a rehab center for people with drug and alcohol problems.
When the treatment program is fully operational the monastery won't just be a place where people go to get better. They'll also train for jobs that will help them get back on their feet once they are out.
The 120-room facility will become a one-stop shop of sorts for drug users and alcoholics. Treatment, housing and job training will be available, with many services provided by graduates of Young's 94 other rehab centers in New York.
“We have the kind of dedication from people who've been there and want to contribute to society in a successful manner,” Young said.
The monastery will provide opportunities for patients by partnering with vocational, educational and employment agencies in the community.
“This is one of the major reasons there's relapse, because if people just go to rehab and at the end of 28 days they're almost in the same place they started,” former drug user Joe Poppiti said.
Young understands that true recovery means the end of one life and the beginning of another.
“Our mission statement is creating a tax payer, and that means you've got to help people become independent, to be responsible as a person living in society,” he said.
Young is hosting an open house for the community next Tuesday at the monastery from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
(For pictures of the open house, click here.)
Last Updated: Thu Feb 9 09:12:00 PST 2006