PEP, April 2009: Stop cuts, save kids!

State Sen. Frank Padavan, the author of the law that created Substance Abuse Prevention and Intervention Specialists, joined 200 of the Local 372 members in Albany as they kicked off a day of lobbying to stop a $10 million budget cut that would eliminate up to 425 of the jobs.

“Given what families are facing today, I can’t think of another time when SAPIS were more necessary,” Padavan told the grassroots lobbyists. “SAPIS workers have proved how effective they are. I don’t want to see all these years of success eroded before our eyes.”

That may happen if Gov. David Paterson’s proposed budget is passed by the Legislature. The drug and alcohol counselors work with the 1.1 million children in the city public school system.

“Having a SAPIS in the school gives students someone to talk to,” said Zeneida Baez, who works at P.S. 269 in Brooklyn and came to the SAPIS Lobby Day with fellow union member Amalfi Martinez. “The kids will lose that connection.”

The governor’s plan would contract out the jobs to community-based organizations. “We’ve been at this since 1971,” said Veronica Montgomery-Costa, president of Local 372 and DC 37. “We know a little bit about this, and it would be a serious mistake.”

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, Senate Mental Health Committee Chair Shirley Huntley and State Sen. Pedro Espada Jr., among others, also addressed the members and gave their support to the union effort.

“You’re not just drug counselors,” said Sen. Espada, a former member of DC 37. “These kids go to you when they’re hungry or when they’re dealing with domestic violence.”

“There is no union that takes care of our city the way DC 37 does,” said Smith to a cheering roomful of SAPIS counselors. The members then proceeded to meet with individual legislators to get their support against the budget cuts.

Luz Vargas, who works in District 32 in Brooklyn, met with Sen. Martin Dilan. “It went very well,” she said. “He thinks that with President Obama’s stimulus package, the program could get more funding.”

— Alfredo Alvarado