tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437688200491675121.post2405147540990579175..comments2024-03-28T15:50:57.328-07:00Comments on Up Close, with Peter Sage: CASE STUDY, OnTrack: What do you do when pummeled by the media?Up Close: Road to the White Househttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03590477200706751934noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437688200491675121.post-8398509085623917342017-06-27T16:15:21.040-07:002017-06-27T16:15:21.040-07:00I know almost none of the specifics of this organi...I know almost none of the specifics of this organization or its turmoil, but after 35 or so years doing media relations professionally for a variety of organizations, Peter's analysis of the situation seems to me very astute. The standard counsel in this sort of fracas is for the board to identify a reliable spokesperson, typically a board member with strong communications skills, apologize quickly for the presenting misdeed and if individual critics begin to swarm, meet with media editorial boards to mitigate the fallout. It appears that in this case the board 'went into the bunker' with the lawyers and left Dr. Sullivan a muted and dangling target for critics and reporters. Mistrust between the ED and the board seems clear -- or were they really deer in the headlights?<br /><br />Could all this destruction have been prevented? It certainly could have been mitigated by quick and forthright communication, or so it seems from an outsider's POV. Unfortunately, legal advice and good PR counsel are often at odds, and sometimes the public response is a fear-based equivalent of 'no comment.'Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16504262268064940694noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437688200491675121.post-38016681128904142252017-06-22T12:26:16.165-07:002017-06-22T12:26:16.165-07:00I have a very long case history with on track! I l...I have a very long case history with on track! I love the service they provide and it is sad to see how it has gone down hill! Due to the state not working with ontrack anymore my baby that was born on April 9 of 2017 was removed from my care 2 days after she was born she was being breadt feed as well as d was placed into community foster care! For those of us who need this establishment in crisis and no longer have it our entire family has to suffer. State did nothing to try to keep my daughter with me and refuse to work with on track because of what's going on. And now my baby girl doesn't get to have the bond with me that she should have had. Right now doors are closed on me and state still will not help me with a place for me and my children to be able to be re United. with that being said stop the non sence with on track and come too an agreement families are ripped apart because of this and its not right! I was 6 months clean and sober when my baby was born thanks to them! I would like to thank on track for all their help and support threw my struggle of addiction and for helping me be a better person today!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00128069726805837690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437688200491675121.post-73960230018043562042017-06-19T06:00:22.365-07:002017-06-19T06:00:22.365-07:00OnTrack will have critics, including people who ha...OnTrack will have critics, including people who had difficult and unhappy experiences as employees. The non-profit addiction recovery environment is one of low pay, high turnover, high burnout, difficult, frustrating work. I have fully expected there to be stories like the one Diane told, credible descriptions of way less than ideal situations. The truth is that our culture/government/taxpayers simply will do what it has to to try to help people with addictions but it will do it on the cheap, at best, No taxpayer wants to pay for top quality, high paid staff and facilities for the OnTrack clients. (When Hollywood stars get into treatment they go to the Betty Ford place, not OnTrack.) Diane describes a sub-par situation, and I expect that taxpayers generally resent paying even for that.<br /><br />This is why I have hoped OnTrack would, in effect, change the subject. The real story is NOT "are there problems?" The answer is yes, of course, and we should not be surprised. Instead, the real story is the one Thad Guyer above described poetically: Look at the aspiration in such a difficult arena, and look at the achievement. <br /><br />The media--and some of the critics of OnTrack and Rita Sullivan--focus on the problems. And they are real. But the story of the landing on D-Day was not that Eisenhower carelessly and wantonly killed American soldiers; the story is the effort and successful beachhead back into France. The story with OnTrack is not that someone found moisture under a carpet and the tenant had to move while a leak was fixed. Instead, the story is that a mother and child previously living in a car had a place to live while the mom was in treatment and the child in day care. This does not deny the problems, but it puts them into the context of the real story, which is the bold effort to do something very good and very difficult.<br /><br />I have decided to allow--even encourage--critics of Rita Sullivan personally and OnTrack generally. The casualties at D-Day are part of the story and the people with unhappy experiences at OnTrack are part of the story. In fact, oddly enough, they actually help make my point: that running this agency is very, very hard work, doomed to take place in an environment of clients and employees who think things could be better. Of course they could be better, always and inevitably.Up Close: Road to the White Househttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03590477200706751934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437688200491675121.post-66508342667804452002017-06-19T02:15:40.689-07:002017-06-19T02:15:40.689-07:00Years ago (1980's) I was hired to be the night...Years ago (1980's) I was hired to be the night supervisor at Ontrack because I had extensive experience with Adult Children of Alcoholics, with Helpline as a phone and Help squad volunteer for 3 years, and other such experience. Up front I will say I was let go for sleeping on the night shift one night (I had just nodded off once. I was living in a house where a man started loud machinery at 7am, so I could not sleep). I was given the good weeknight job over some weekend staff who were in line for it, and they sabotaged me on several occasions with misinformation.I was entrusted with the care of a baby, among all of the other children, who had severe breathing and other problems, who should never have been there without medical supervision. I was told I could not use my background to talk to the clients, even tho that is why they hired me, because of proprietary counselor rights to do this. It was a mess, to me, even then, and I was glad to go. I never met Rita (tho I knew and was not fond of her ex-husband John.) Diane Newell Meyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08648685827786375047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437688200491675121.post-3073342323137608622017-06-18T23:58:36.183-07:002017-06-18T23:58:36.183-07:00What to do when there is a bad story being told ab...What to do when there is a bad story being told about you? I'm inspired by what Rita Sullivan did-- stay true to herself. Her values are helping the least among us, and cultivating personal integrity. OnTrack service to others has been her life, a brilliant PhD who could have and still can go to any institution where her intellect and dedication would be celebrated. Rita's personal and professional integrity drives her to continue trying to rescue OnTrack despite continuing adversity, like a wounded battle medic giving it her all to drag a victim to safety. <br /><br />The lyrics for Dr. Rita Sullivan are these: "But I would not advise those critics present to derive, any satisfaction from her fading star. She's the one who's kept us where we are". Jonathan Pryce, "She Is a Diamond", Evita.Thad Guyerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12145098704410773166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1437688200491675121.post-15283591351618266712017-06-18T23:56:11.825-07:002017-06-18T23:56:11.825-07:00Excellent summary from what I know of the situatio...Excellent summary from what I know of the situation. Very sad story. Huge loss for the region.Scott Perrynoreply@blogger.com