Local 237 participated in a unique gathering of spiritual and secular leaders to exchange information on providing recovery services to alcohol and drug abusers. The event, held Jan. 12, was sponsored by the Dakota Group and Daytop Village, chemical dependency treatment organizations, and hosted by the Rev. Philip S. Saywrayne and his congregation at The Christ Assembly Lutheran Church in Staten Island.

Local 237 members join Business Agent Randy Klein and the clergy at the education forum on substance abuse. Pictured from left are: Elvis Santiago, Bellevue Hospital stock worker and volunteer pastor; John Hamilton, Bellevue Hospital stock worker and minister; Ken Miller, maintenance worker and shop steward at the Department of Homeless Services; Rev. Philip S. Saywrayne, senior pastor of The Christ Assembly Lutheran Church; and Bishop Dr. David H. Banke, President of the Atlantic District Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.

The Staten Island Community in Crisis Second Annual Education Forum was held in the borough recognized as having the highest incidence of drug and alcohol abuse. In his introduction, Walter Coughlin, President of the Dakota Group, explained that since abusers often turn to the clergy first, which then turn to providers, the forum is focused on bringing religious leaders of all faiths together with representatives from area hospitals, clinics and rehabilitation services.

Local 237 Business Agent Randy Klein, along with several union members, represented President Carl Haynes’ commitment to helping members find a way out of chemical dependency, and to strengthening communities where members live and work. The Union also hosted refreshments for the event. Klein, who coordinated the workshop “Drug and Substance Abuse in the Workplace,” at the 2005 Shop Stewards Seminar in Atlantic City, N.J., explained that the union helps members by sending them to the Central Labor Rehabilitation Council of New York, a Member Assisted Program (MAP), which allows Union representatives to speak directly with the provider if there is trouble on the job. Klein added that “the MAP has a legal right to speak to the union on job jeopardy issues — with a signed release — while the EAP does not have that ability.”

A powerful testimony in support of recovery programs was delivered by State Senator Diane Savino (D-Brooklyn; Staten Island). “I come from a long line of alcoholics,” said Savino, adding that her mother “hit bottom 22 years ago,” and has been a recovering alcoholic ever since. Savino emphasized that the way to “rebuild families” destroyed by substance abuse is to “turn to service providers.” She also urged leaders to help “remove the shame” from addiction by opening the dialogue and sharing recovery information.

Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan also drew from experience to endorse the value of treatment programs. “My father found AA when I was eight,” recalls Donovan, adding that as a D.A. he’s taken a tough stance on drunk-driving — a violent, random crime,” but he is “a supporter of treatment, not jail.”

Among the providers who spoke was Margherita Sansone, director of Bayley Seton Hospital in Staten Island, which operates a chemical dependency unit that Local 237 has turned to for special cases.

Local 237 Shop Steward Ken Miller, a maintenance worker with 16 years of service at the Department of Homeless Services, noted that “some of our maintenance workers have problems with chemical dependency.” Miller said he has helped addicted members by sending them to the Central Labor Council for rehabilitation services.

Miller, who attended the substance abuse workshop for shop stewards, adds,“It should be mandatory.” Bellevue Hospital Stock Worker Elvis Santiago, a Local 237 member and volunteer pastor at the hospital, said he attended the forum because it’s “an opportunity to open channels.” John Hamilton, also a Bellevue Hospital stock worker, with more than 20 years of service, is a minister at The Brooklyn Church of Christ. Hamilton, whose congregation includes teenagers and adults, said the forum “would enhance” his work as a minister.

In the invocation, Bishop Dr. David H. Banke, President of the Atlantic District Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, summarized the mission: “As religious leaders we have a responsibility to hook up with services. It’s about lives that are being lost that could be found.”