Please join us in congratulating Amy Perkins as the December 2024 Staff on the Rise recipient and on her recent promotion to the Supported Housing Program Director! Amy’s leadership skills, and her unwavering commitment and kindness to the individuals she serves exemplify the qualities of a Staff on the Rise recipient.
“I’m confident that Amy will do a wonderful job!” exclaims Sybil Newell, RISE Executive Director. “Amy has worked at RISE for over 20 years and held various roles throughout her career. She is known for her kindness, and she truly treats our residents like family. Amy is exactly the kind of person to be a role model for compassion and dedication. Congratulations Amy!”
As of March 2025, Amy will have worked at RISE for 22 years.
As of March 2025, Amy will have worked at RISE for 22 years. Amy began working at RISE as a Counselor for the Progressive Steps Apartment Program (PSAP) and spent the last 7 years she was in PSAP as the service plan writer. Eventually, Amy moved to Supported Housing where she has worked as a counselor for the past 10 years. Amy shared that she applied to the Supported Housing Program Director position because she felt confident that she could assist with making sure the program was running smoothly, and residents were remaining safe in their apartments.
“Supported Housing is about providing residents a safe apartment where they can live so they can work on reaching their full potential of being as independent as possible while still having an advocate that can work with them to assist with their goals,” Amy explains. “As the program director, I will be overseeing everything in the program with the help of an amazing team. I want to make sure that staff feel supported and are happy in their roles. I will be making sure that guidelines are met, and that we are meeting the needs of the residents by connecting them to day programs, assisting them with managing their medications, and being there for them when needed.”
As program director Amy will have many new tasks.
Amy will take on a lot of new tasks in her role as the program director, one of which will be doing the intakes for new individuals coming into the program. Amy shares that she felt comfortable when she did her first intake with the support of Jackie Knowles, Residential Director. Amy says she felt at ease with the intake process due to working for such a long time in supported housing and being able to easily explain what the program is all about. “The intake process is having a conversation with the individual about their needs and goals and explaining how the supported housing program can assist in meeting them.”
Amy has always loved RISE and the mission of the agency – helping the people we serve to live independently in the community. “Over the last 22 years, RISE and the staff that work for the agency have become another family to me,” she shares. She explains that while RISE has expanded tremendously over her time working for the agency, the mission has always been the same – to provide support to those in need.
Helping people comes naturally to Amy as she has always been very empathetic. She began her education at SUNY Morrisville by studying Aquaculture. However, she felt drawn to psychology and decided to change her path which led her to working in human services. “I think it is just part of who I am. It is my personality. I have always wanted to help people and be there for them,” she shares. “It is such a great feeling to see people being supported in their lives, getting their needs met, and seeing them happy as they reach their goals.”
Amy credits her stellar work ethic to her parents. Amy’s mother maintained a loving home for her and her sister. Amy’s father was in the military for 20 years and even served in Vietnam. “He instilled in me the importance of reliability, honoring your word, and treating others with respect,” she proudly shares.
Amy has been married to her husband, Tom, for nearly 20 years. They have a son Trevor who lives in Colorado with his girlfriend, and what Amy affectionally calls her grand puppy, Maui. Amy and Tom have five cats and a bird, Mickey, who is 30 years old. Additionally, they are currently feeding four feral cats in order to eventually build enough trust with them to get them spayed or neutered, and adopted. “I’ve always enjoyed helping animals and, in the past, I’ve volunteered at animal shelters.”
Amy and Tom find adventure in traveling and enjoy traveling to different parts of the United States and taking cruises to different parts of the world. Some of the places they have been are Australia, New Zealand, England, Scotland, Spain, Iceland, and the Caribbean and most recently Italy, Turkey, and Greece. One of Amy and Tom’s favorite places to visit is Disney World, especially when accompanied by friends. When she is not traveling, Amy enjoys spending time with family and friends, hosting game nights which she says is a lot of fun, and of course enjoying her animals!
RISE administration appreciates all that Amy does for the agency and for the individuals we serve. Please join us in congratulating Amy as our December Staff on the Rise recipient!