“Hannah has the dedication, empathy, and compassion for the individuals we serve and the work we do.”
Congratulations to Hannah Abare, the recipient of the June Staff on the Rise recognition, on her recent promotion to the Edgewood Treatment Apartments Program Supervisor.
Hannah started as a relief counselor at Edgewood House Community Residence in October 2020. She found that she enjoyed working with the residents, so in in December 2020 became a full time counselor.
When the Edgewood House closed this past spring, she along with most of the staff moved to the Edgewood Treatment Apartment program at Dominic Hollow where she was promoted to program supervisor.
Jackie Knowles, Edgewood Treatment Apartment Program Director says, “Since I began working with Hannah last February, I saw in her great potential and a desire to advance her career within the agency. She has the dedication, empathy, and compassion for the individuals we serve and the work we do. I am happy to have her on my team as the Edgewood Treatment Apartments Program Supervisor.”
“At the CR, I often felt like a ‘house mom’ when managing all their needs on a daily basis.”
“Working in an apartment program is different than working at a community residence (CR),” Hannah shares. “It took some adjustments to acclimate to my new duties in the apartment program. I miss the day-to-day interactions with clients I had in the CR. That constant communication and involvement with the residents every day was my favorite part about working in a CR. I often felt like a ‘house mom’ when managing all their needs on a daily basis. This was especially true when I was the only staff on duty and had to triage when multiple residents had crisis’ at once. I learned how to prioritize and how to assist individuals in working through whatever they were going through to manage their situations.
In the apartment program the residents are very independent and my interactions with them are limited to a few contacts per week. It definitely is a different dynamic. I check in with the clients to make sure they are following through with grocery shopping, caring for their apartments, taking their medications, etc. In the CR, staff did the deep cleaning, food shopping, and assisted the residents in doing meal prep and other tasks such as chores and keeping their rooms clean. In the apartment program, my focus is more on helping them develop structure and obtaining their goals and objectives. Some residents need more guidance than others, so I work on meeting them where they are at, to help them become more independent.”
“As I grow in this position, I am excited to take on more responsibilities”
As the program supervisor, Hannah has taken on a leadership role which includes making service plan corrections for the other counselors, meeting client/staff needs, modeling positive and appropriate behavior for clients, and filling in for Jackie when she is not there. “As I grow in this position, I am excited to take on more responsibilities in assisting Jacking in overseeing the program,” Hannah shares. “I love our team. We all work well together. I think that is my favorite part – our team. I am extremely grateful for Jackie. She is a great role model. I admire her management and teaching style. She has great energy and drive to make our program succeed. She has really opened my eyes as to my potential and the possibilities for me to grow in my career here at RISE.”
Hannah has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from SUNY Plattsburgh. “Someday I would like to get a master’s in counseling and possibly work with children. For now, I am happy with my current position, but I am open to the opportunities at RISE. Jackie has taught me so much since she became our program director. I could not be more grateful for her guidance.”
Hannah grew up in Glens Falls. As a young adult she desired to experience something more than small town life, so she moved to New York City. She had been living there for four years until the Coronavirus Pandemic hit and she returned home. While living in New York City where she used public transportation to get to her job in a high end retail boutique, Hannah became interested in working in the mental health field. “I saw so many untreated, unmedicated mentally ill people who lived on the trains, in the stations and in the tunnels. I witnessed so many scary, eye opening, gut wrenching incidents with these people. It created a desire in me to work a job where I can help them obtain treatment, build skills, and succeed.
“Helping people improve their mental health is the best part about my job.”
At RISE, helping people improve their mental health is the best part about my job. I love figuring out each residents personality and moods and gauging how to interact with them to help them be successful. And it is a two way street. I learn so much from residents as well. I feel so much pride when I receive compliments and appreciation for the work, I do with them. They help me be a better counselor and a better person in general.”
Hannah is close with her family. She is the oldest sibling; she has three brothers and two sisters. One of the closest people to her in her family is her grandmother. Having spent so much one-on-one time with her grandmother, she became a guidepost for Hannah.
“My fiancé and I have good relationships with our family members. We are very family orientated. We get together often – there is always a reason to sit down and have dinner together. Growing up as the oldest siblings, I did a lot of parenting which developed in me a lot of patience, empathy and compassion. There is mental illness within my family, which gives me more insight into working with residents.”
For relaxation Hannah likes to read thriller novels, dance, rollerblade, watch crime shows, and shop. “Shopping helps me restore my calmness,” she explains. “I love to dance the most though. I can let everything go on the dance floor, shed the day, and get lost in the movement. I’ve been dancing for 13 years – tap, jazz, lyrical, and hip hop. I am becoming Zumba Certified and I will soon be able to teach my own Zumba class.”
The RISE administration appreciates all that Hannah does for the individuals we serve. She empathetic, compassionate, and dedicated – all the qualities of a Staff on the RISE. Please join us in congratulating her as our June Staff on the Rise.
