In a lot of places in this world, when trouble strikes, you’re more or less on your own. In Ulster County, a friendly, trained voice on the other end of the line will offer comfort and connect you with food, clothing, a place to stay, and networks of helpers to keep your problem from becoming a catastrophe. Demonstrating their superb comprehension of the multifaceted nature of health, our readers chose Family of Woodstock as their favorite Public Health Organization.
Family will strive to help you solve “any problem under the sun” by applying their core principles—help needs to be creative, tireless, confidential, caring, and generally free. From its humble beginnings as a hotline in 1970, the organization has become a multifaceted, problem-solving powerhouse taking on homelessness, domestic violence, child care, mental and physical health, hunger, and disasters of all sorts.
Director Michael Berg takes pride in that evolution, which he says has been organic. “Our approach, to start with a rudimentary service and ask the person served what additional services or needs they have, has proven to be a very effective way to provide relevant services based upon the input of the people served,” he says. “Our staff and volunteers will not tell people what to do or burden them with judgement. We provide a safe space where people can describe their innermost secrets and those problems which are significantly impacting them without fear of judgement or violation of privacy.”
Berg, who’s been leading the organization since its founding, says another part of the key to success is being on the ground, where the people are—in Family’s case, that means headquarters in four towns. And you’re invited to join the dance, as a donor, volunteer, or employee—you bring your heart and skills, they’ll teach you to apply them in the Family way.
