Cambray Terrace Accepting Applications as Project Nears Completion

GOUVERNEUER – The completion of Cambray Terrace in Gouverneur will bring 71 brand new low-income housing units to a community, which according to its mayor, very much needed them.

“It’s very much needed. There’s no question about that,” Mayor Ronald McDougal, who also serves as president on the Cambray Housing Corporation Board of Directors, said. “Looking at other communities around us, it was obvious we needed public housing upgrades.”

While the Cambray Housing Corporation isn’t the sole owner of Cambray Terrace, they are together with Beacon Communities Development and several other entities partners in the $13.954 million project.

Each of the one-bedroom apartments will be made available to low-income individuals 55 and older, or people with disabilities regardless of their age, with priority given to current residents of Cambray Courts or those temporarily displaced by the construction project.

“Anyone who was a resident at Cambray Courts was given the opportunity to move into the new building,” said United Helpers Housing Assistant Carol Basford. According to Ms. Basford, roughly 45 of Cambray Court’s 63 current and temporarily displaced residents elected to accept a new apartment, leaving several vacancies in the new complex.

Anyone interested in applying for a spot at Cambray Terrace can apply in person at Cambray Courts or online at www.unitedhelpers.org.

Beacon Communities Development Director Paul Kruger said the project was funded through the sale of low-income housing tax credits provided by New York State Homes & Community Renewal, as well as soft loans from the New York State Housing Trust Fund Corporation and the Development Authority of the North Country.

Up next, he said is renovations at Cambray Courts, which remains opened with 28 units. “We’re (Beacon Communities Development) going to help the Cambray Housing Corporation with an application to secure funding for renovations to the remaining units,” he said.

Assuming work at the site is completed on schedule, Ms. Basford said tenants are slated to begin moving into their new apartments on Jan. 16.

Mr. Kruger said those apartments range in size from 620 to 630 square feet, making them slightly larger than the apartments at Cambray Courts.

Robert “Bob” Porter, of Bette & Cring, a Watertown-based construction firm, is serving as project manager. He said he’s proud of the work his firm has done on the project.

“They will go quick once people see them,” he said.

Mr. Porter also noted each of the apartments will be Energy Star Certified. “The building is pretty much air tight,” he said.

Mr. McDougal said the completion of the project will be the culmination of many years of work. “This is something the board has worked very hard on for long time,” he said, noting Judy Peck, Ron Tuttle, Dave Blevins, Scott Gillan, Ken Snyder, Dwayne Winters and Kathy Bigarel also serve on the board.

“We’re all thankful for our legislators, who wrote letters of support, and for the Cuomo administration for authorizing the work.

Cambray Terrace, 24 Mill St., sits adjacent to Cambray Courts just off of Main Street along the shores of the Oswegatchie River.

Welcome New Hires

Please welcome the following new employees to the United Helpers family.

RiverLedge

Bobbie Hitsman - RN

Maplewood

Lauren Burton - Task Aide
Haven Labar - Task Aide
Samantha Michaud - Food Service Attendant
Linda Reece - Certified Occupational Therapist

United Helpers Management Company

Michael Thomas - Maintenance II (Housing)
Scott Thomas - Maintenance II (Housing)
Gary Whitmarsh - Maintenance II (Housing)

Lisbon IRA

Jordan Russell - DSP

Flackville Road IRA

Gary Hanna - DSP

Health Home (Supportive Case Management)

Chad Kowalski - Care Manager

Canton Woman Celebrates Rehab Success

   Sue Bullock, of Canton does a range of motion exercise with Brittany
Wieszczyk, a physical therapist at Maplewood Health Care &
Rehabilitation Center in Canton. 

CANTON – Referring to herself as a “graduate,” Sue Bullock, of Canton looks back on her physical therapy experience at Maplewood Health Care & Rehabilitation Center as a positive one, noting she can do things now that she couldn’t even do prior to her injury.

Ms. Bullock, who broke her shoulder in three places this past spring following a fall while going out to eat with some friends, said she didn’t even realize her shoulder was broken until the day after her fall. “I woke up in the middle of the night in so much pain, I called my daughter and had her bring me to the hospital,” she said.

X-Rays were taken and surgery was discussed, but ultimately Ms. Bullock elected to treat the injury through rest and therapy. “The doctors told me that even if I had surgery, I could still have a limited range of motion, so I opted not to do that,” she said, adding she began attending physical therapy three times per week this past May.

“The first time I came here my arm was in a sling so I couldn’t move it, but it’s not any more, and in fact, I can do things now I wasn’t able to before,” she said. “It was slow for a little while, but for the last five or six weeks of my treatment I could feel improvement every time.”

While Ms. Bullock was seeing Physical Therapist Brittany Wieszczyk three times per week, therapy wasn’t just limited to her time at Maplewood. “They gave me some great exercises that I could do at home,” she said, adding that she still continues doing the exercises at home even though her therapy concluded in October.

The need to do exercises at home is something that Ms. Wieszczyk said some people may not realize until they end up in a situation similar to Ms. Bullock’s. “Almost every patient who participates in physical therapy receives exercises customized to their diagnosis to help them succeed with rehabilitation,” she said. “I always tell my patients that a large component of how much they improve is based on what they do at home when they are not in physical therapy.”

In July Ms. Bullock’s therapy was reduced to two times per week, making the exercises at home even more important. “People only attend therapy a few times per week for an hour at most, so what they do at home is up to them,” Ms. Wieszczyk said. “Sue did an excellent job with her home exercises and we reviewed them at each session. She has made a great recovery.”

When asked to describe her therapy experience Ms. Bullock said, “It was fabulous. Everyone is so kind. After coming in just a few times, it becomes like a family,” she said. “I’ve told my doctors they should send people here.”

For further information on therapy services at our Maplewood Campus in Canton call (315) 386-4541. To reach our RiverLedge Campus in Ogdensburg, where therapy services are also offered, call (315) 393-0730. You may also visit us online at www.unitedhelpers.org or like us on Facebook.

4-Way Tie for 1st!

The Organizational Sustainability reports a 4-way tie for first place in the 2016 Organizational Electricity Reduction Contest. Tied for first are: RiverLedge Residence, High Street IRA, McIntyre IRA and Riverwood IRA all with a total of 21 points each. Currently tied for second place are: Basta's Greenhouse and the Mosaic Complex, each with 18 points. Tied for third are: Flackville IRA and Bernard Ave IRA, each with 16 points.

There are still two months left to post in the contest, so things could change between now and December 31st! For complete contest results posted to date, visit the United Helpers Intranet, click Teams & Committees and select the Sustainability Committee. Good luck to our finalists!