Congratulations to Katie Taylor, the recipient of the August Staff on the Rise recognition! Katie is the Housing First Coordinator and has been with RISE for two years as of the end of July. During that time, she has proven to be excellent at providing services and care to the program participants.
As the Housing First Coordinator, Katie works with individuals and families experiencing homelessness to locate and access suitable housing. Once housing is obtained, she assists them in maintaining their housing though monthly contacts to ensure the individual or family is happy and safe in the home, is maintaining the apartment, and complying with the landlord’s expectations. Katie says, “this helps make sure the residents are living safely in the community and is a plus when encouraging new landlords to participate in Housing First.”
Harlan Hall, the RISE Housing and Support Services Clinical Director, commends Katie’s dedication to the program saying, “she is instrumental in creating procedures and guidance for the Housing First Program that provides support to families and individuals experiencing homelessness.”
“Katie was clever and imaginative when she confronted the unique obstacles that the pandemic presented.”
During the last 18 months monthly contacts became difficult due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “Katie was clever and imaginative when she confronted the unique obstacles that the pandemic presented,” Harlan states. For instance, Katie began reaching out to her residents by phone or if possible, using tele-conferencing programs like Zoom. She also organized delivery of needed personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies to ensure the safety of her residents. When meeting in person to deliver food or other sundries, she followed strict Covid-19 protocols to ensure their safety. “Additionally,” Harlan continues, “some residents lost social connections, jobs, and volunteer opportunities, resulting in them being isolated in their homes, so her solid and consistent communication ensured that they knew they were not alone, and they were supported.”
An important aspect of helping Housing Fist residents maintain their homes is ensuring their mental and physical needs are met. If the individual or family is eligible and willing, Katie refers them to Care Management Services and if not, she provides those types of services herself, helping individuals and families obtain medical and mental health treatment, and connecting them with community resources and other services. All of which enables them to remain stable in their homes. Harlan appreciates these efforts and says, “Katie collaborates with many other support services for her residents to fill gaps in their local safety net.”
“An important aspect of helping Housing Fist residents maintain their homes is ensuring their mental and physical needs are met.”
Katie says, “I enjoy my job. I’ve always enjoyed helping others and getting to meet new people. In this position, it is very gratifying to see how different individuals deal with situations that they are thrown into.” For example, one woman Katie was working with had lost custody of her child due to being homeless. After she obtained stable housing Katie connected her with Care Management services through Catholic Charities and she was able to reunite with her child. Katie explains, “since she had stable housing, was back on her medications for her mental health, and was complying with treatment and other services, she was able to regain full custody.”
“The toughest part of my job,” Katie says, “is that I am not able to provide housing for everyone in need because of limited funding restricting the number of people that can be housed each year.” And because the housing is permanent, there is very little turn over, limiting the ability to house new people each year. “However,” Katie explains, “thanks to the Coordinated Entry Program, if an individual or family meets the eligibility criteria, I am able to put them on a shared wait list for the Capital Region area, and when other agencies providing similar housing programs have an opening, they are able to provide housing for these individuals and families.”
“My parents set excellent examples of dedication and hard work.”
Prior to working for the RISE Housing First Program, Katie worked at the Northern Rivers Children’s Home in the Pueblo dorm for about 10 years as the Senior Youth Specialist working with 15-to 18-year-old boys. After this, she worked at the Schenectady ARC for a couple of years. Then, while attending school to earn her bachelor’s degree in Community and Human Services from SUNY Empire State, she worked at the Saratoga Bridges Day Habilitation Program.
“My parents set excellent examples of dedication and hard work,” Katie says and credits them for the compassion and care she puts into her job. She shares that her father was a Tech Sargent in the Air Force and later worked at the VA Medical Center in Albany as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). Her mother, who also worked at the VA Medical Center, was a Registered Nurse (RN) in the psychiatric unit for over 30 years. Katie said, “They raised two children, and in order for one of them to always be home with us, they worked alternate shifts, sometimes bundling us up in the car to hand us off to one another in the Medical Center parking lot.”
Katie is a single mom of an 11-year-old and enjoys being involved in her son’s sports, including both baseball and football. She even serves on the board for of his football league in Mechanicville. In her down time, she loves listening to music, watching movies with her son, both at home and at the Drive-in, socializing with friends and spending time at her family’s camp at Sacandaga Lake on the weekends in the summer.
“I am thankful for and appreciate the wonderful staff members at RISE,” Katie shares. “I coordinate with the Care Managers and Community Outreach Court Coordinators to provide services for the individuals and families in my program.” She is also grateful for the strong non-profit community in Saratoga County as she interacts with several agencies dedicated to ending homelessness. “I also appreciate the RISE administration team, especially Harlan who is a wonderful man to work for. He cares about staff and about the individuals we serve. He and the rest of the Admin team are very supportive and creative in making adjustments to accommodate the needs of those we serve.”
RISE Administration is appreciative of Katie’s hard work and dedication. Please join us in congratulating her for being the recipient of the August Staff on the Rise recognition.