B U S I N E S S • R E A L E S T A T E • H O M E I M P R O V E M E N T business >BUSINESS IN THE NEWS >BUILDING AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED >helping the children Top (l-r) Lauri Crosley, LCSW - Program Director, Alexandra LaMantia – Program Coordinator, Dr. Virginia Barber-Rioja – Clinical Director, John Purcell – Forensic Case Manager. Janet Lujan – Senior Forensic Case Manager, Dr. Merrill Rotter – Medical Director, Tania Peterson Chandler, Esq. – NYC Regional Director A valuable service that helps more than just its clientele Turning people’s lives around (continued on page 42) BY JOHANN HAMILTON The Education and Assistance Corporation, which today goes by the moniker EAC Network, is a non-profit agency dedicated to five basic ideals: protecting children, building strong families, assisting people in recovery, providing opportunities for seniors, and delivering employment and education services. When it was founded in 1969, it was mainly concerned with assisting children with special needs. However, over the years, it has expanded into a network of 70 different programs throughout New York, helping more than 57,000 people each year. Tania Peterson Chandler, the Regional Director for New York City Services with EAC Network, is in charge of everything that happens in any of the city’s programs. In particular, she works closely with the criminal justice programs, which she believes are some of the most important functions of the EAC. “I primarily work with people in recovery,” she said. “I started 16 years ago as a case manager at EAC’s alternative to incarceration’ program.” This particular branch of the EAC is also part of Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities (TASC), a national model started in 1972 to combat the high rate of drug-related crime. Today, there are TASC programs all around the country, with the EAC Network operating the ones in New York City and Long Island. ”Basically we work with the courts, and they refer us people who they think are involved in criminal activity due to their mental health and or substance issues. After the person is referred to us, we do a screening and assessment, and divert them from jail or prison into various treatment programs, depending on what their needs are.” The services that Chandler and the EAC Network provide are important for several reasons. The most straightforward reason: if a drug addict or a mentally ill person commits a crime, there is reason to believe a few years in prison will not “fix” the person. It is also more ethical to get the person the help they need, rather than ignore his or her illness.
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