Education

Two pros splitting Island social work responsibilities

KATHARINE SCHROEDER PHOTO School social worker Jennifer Olsen (left) and new town social worker Andrea Nydegger want Island residents to know they are here to help.
KATHARINE SCHROEDER PHOTO
School social worker Jennifer Olsen (left) and new town social worker Andrea Nydegger want Island residents to know they are here to help.

A year ago, it appeared to make sense that the Shelter Island School’s part-time social worker could fill her work week by also serving as a part-time social worker for the town.

But Jennifer Olsen, the woman appointed to those two positions, says she quickly realized holding those posts could lead to potential conflicts of interest as kids realized their school social worker could also be talking to their parents. As a result she asked to resign from the town.

“I was worried about it affecting my relationship with the students,” Ms. Olsen said. 

Enter Andrea Nydegger, the current Mattituck School District social worker, who has replaced Ms. Olsen as town social worker. She holds an undergraduate degree from Stony Brook University and her master’s from Columbia University.

Ms. Nydegger started her career handling substance abuse cases before spending 17 years working with students in educational venues. She is one of a handful of area professionals, including Ms. Olsen, who meet regularly to support one another and share resources they have uncovered that could be helpful to one another’s clients.

Ms. Nydegger puts in 12 hours a month on Shelter Island and wants to become “a trusted person families can reach out to,” assured that whatever they tell her will be kept in confidence.

She’s hoping her ability to speak Spanish — she studied in Spain earlier in her career — will open up possibilities of serving the Latino community on the Island. Ms. Nydegger will also work with the school district’s English as a second language teacher should she need assistance.

If Ms. Olsen is working with a child and reaches out to parents, she can now provide them with contact information for Ms. Nydegger. It would be up to the parents whether or not they follow up with the referral. That maintains the line of confidentiality with what a student might tell her, Ms. Olsen explained.

Ms. Olsen holds a degree in psychology from Fairfield University and a master’s in social work from Boston University. She worked in a group home in Boston before getting involved in educational counseling. She works closely with school psychologist James Dibble, she said.

Because the position of town social worker is so new, it’s “still a position in development,” Ms. Nydegger said.

With limited hours, her role is likely to evolve as a crisis intervention counselor with referrals for those who might need ongoing assistance. She will be available and can make arrangements to meet adults in the evening at the town’s Senior Activity Center where they can be assured their appointments are private.

Ms. Nydegger is also working with Karin Bennett at the town’s nutrition program to help the senior community. She has worked with seniors before, but needs time to become familiar with services that are available here, she said.

She’s hoping to establish a network of counselors who will accept insurance coverage or work at reduced rates for those who need ongoing assistance. There are a few resources on the Island, she said, but some residents might prefer seeing an off-Island counselor to protect their privacy.

Expanding residents’ access to affordable insurance is another service Ms. Nydegger hopes to provide. She is contacting clergy, town officials, police and other community leaders to help with referrals and also to offer ideas for workshops that might be useful to Islanders.

Among them is the idea of a stress management workshop, something Ms. Nydegger has done before and thought would be of benefit to the community.

“We all have stress,” she said, and learning how to deal with it is something she believes would benefit people of all ages.