The full story--
www.app.com/article/20090113/NEWS01/90113016/1285/LOCAL09FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP — The Freehold Community Counseling Center will close Friday after a rocky year that saw the loss of employees, funding struggles and a move out of the center's headquarters.
"We had really tried to make this work,'' said Dennis Makarowski, program director for the counseling center, which serves primarily residents of Freehold and Freehold Township.
Some 35 clients will be affected by the center's closure, Makarowski said. Clients
received a mix of services for alcohol and drug abuse as well as depression and anxiety. Patients will be referred to other area agencies, Makarowski said.
The counseling center has struggled for months, a victim of declining revenue and state aid that prompted township officials to lay off several employees and reduce department budgets.
The center lost two employees in the cuts … a part-time counselor and a full-time
drug and alcohol abuse-prevention specialist. The center also was moved out of its
headquarters on Jackson Mills Road to the Municipal Complex.
Makarowski has continued running the center with a part-time counselor and two
interns, he said.
But funding has been a problem, and township officials expected it likely would have remained a problem this year.
The county had planned to reduce funding for the program, and the borough of Freehold … facing its own revenue shortfalls … might have trouble contributing toward the program as well this year, Makarowski said.
Borough officials had considered reducing or stopping their town's $19,000
contribution, although nothing was set in stone, said Freehold Borough Administrator Joseph Bellina.
Bellina noted, too, that the township had not contributed to the center in 2008.
Township Administrator Thomas Antus said the township did in fact pay for any expenses not covered by outside sources, as it has traditionally done. The township may have paid less, however, because Antus said officials pushed for the center to be more
self-sustaining due to the township's own financial difficulties.
The counseling center and the township's municipal alliance … which provides
educational and advocacy programs in topics like substance abuse prevention and anger management … are funded through county grants, township and borough contributions, counseling fees and fundraisers, Antus said.
Makarowski has worked at the center since it opened 20 years ago. He took over
running the municipal alliance when the employee running it was laid off this summer.
Makarowski plans to retire, he said.
"I'm really very sad,'' Makarowski said. "It's hard to let something go. I've worked very hard to keep this afloat.''
What will happen to a secretary assisting Makarowski was unclear, Antus said last week. Also unclear is the future of the municipal alliance, said Antus.
Antus plans to discuss their fate with the Township Committee, which meets again on Jan. 20.
Kim Predham: (732) 308-7752 or kpredham@app.com
