Shelter Island Editorials: One welcome, one farewell
Social worker Jennifer Olsen is offering her services without cost to Shelter Island residents in a ground-breaking program funded through the town’s 2015 budget.
In a firm commitment to the community — meaning putting its money where its mouth is — the Town Board allocated funds for a town social worker in its 2015 budget.
Jennifer Olsen, presently the Shelter Island School’s social worker, will also work about 12 hours a month helping families resolve problems by guiding them toward resources that can specifically address their needs.
The board should be congratulated, but the real honors must go to Marilynn Pysher who led the Communities That Care chapter on the Island and pushed for a town social worker. CTC is a national, volunteer-based organization dedicated to curbing alcohol and drug abuse among young people, but when the CTC here wound down because of lack of volunteers, Ms. Pysher didn’t give up on Islanders in need.
Last May, Ms. Pysher summed up the state of the CTC: “We’re exhausted and we don’t really know where to go from here,” she said, but pledged to stay the course for the remainder of 2014. At the same time, she lobbied hard for a town social worker, a post Ms. Olsen is filling.
There’s no doubt social problems have to be addressed on the Island. A CTC survey taken by Island students and released last spring showed positive trends on some fronts, but serious ongoing concerns, particularly about some younger students. A significant number reported first trying alcohol at age 13 and by age 14, 30 percent were drinking regularly. Family supervision needed work in some Island households and there was too little positive social involvement.
Ms. Olsen will be available not just as a sounding board for a parent, but will have connections with agencies on the local, county and state levels that can help bring education, stability and healing.
For Ms. Pysher, it’s simple. “You can pay me now or pay me later,” she said last spring, explaining that what it would cost now to employ a social worker, already familiar with a lot of the problems on the Island, would be less than what it costs in police manpower and other services when unaddressed problems surface.
We wish Ms. Olsen well in her new role and express gratitude to community leaders, especially Ms. Pysher, for addressing a situation, finding a solution and getting it done.
Farewell
We wish Cara Loriz the best as she leaves her post as executive director of Sylvester Manor and moves to the West Coast with her family.
Ms. Loriz has been a strong and articulate advocate for one of the Island’s most beloved institutions. She’s helped steer the Manor on new courses with a rapidly expanding staff and a budget that tripled under her stewardship. The Manor is a year-round resource for Islanders through its many programs, and much of the credit goes to Ms. Loriz.
We’ll miss Cara’s leadership and dedication, as will all Islanders, and wish her and Mike and the family all good things in their new life.
