Experienced Leader Oversees Shelter Julie Keegan LMHC, formerly Unity House’s Domestic Violence Clinical Program Director, is now Assistant Director of Residential and Clinical Services. Julie will head up the 33-bed confidential domestic violence shelter. A licensed mental health counselor, Julie will also manage the counseling program, serving adults and youth across the program. Working closely… more
People Who Make Life Better Mandy Brown In the photo, Mandy Brown is the brunette in the back, barely visible behind the mountain of toys this trio of donors purchased for kids they ‘adopted’ for the holiday season. It’s all part of our Children’s Holiday Program, which serves approximately 1,100 children across Unity House programs…. more
An Experienced Leader Sarah McGaughnea, formerly head of Outreach & Youth Services at Unity House’s Domestic Violence Services Program is now head of Non-Residential Services in the program. In this role Sarah overseas all facets of service delivery for victims of domestic violence outside of our 33 bed shelter, called residential services. Whether a person seeking… more
People who make life better Darkel Gerard knows Unity House. He’s been involved with Unity House one way or another for almost 20 years. A native of Brooklyn, Darkel now calls Lansingburgh home. He describes Unity House as a great place. “I love the people I work with.” Hi colleagues would say the same about… more
People who help make life better In her 22 years at Unity House, Karen McKenzie didn’t always work on the front line at our community resource center. She started out in Supportive Housing & Case Management Services, becoming an assistant director of our community residence program. Karen worked in mental health, then homelessness prevention, and… more
People who help make life better Sue Butler seems to know everyone, both at work and in the community. That’s how it goes when you’ve worked at Unity House for over 40 years. Sue started in 1981, working in children’s services, then called Unity Sunshine. Today children’s services are called A Child’s Place at Unity… more
People who help make life better Totia Harris always knew she wanted to help people, she just wasn’t sure how that would take shape. It was as a student at Russel Sage that she first connected with Unity House and found where she could make an impact. As part of her research for a… more
People who help make life better Liz Dinardo is the Program Director at one of Unity House’s three community residences, in our Housing Support Services program. It’s a direct care role, where she interacts with people who use Unity House services, often referred to as consumers, as well as oversee staff who are available 24/7… more
People who help make life better Etta Benbow may be new to Unity House but she is not new to human services. Etta came to work at our Front Door community resource center in Troy after Unity House merged with Northeast Career Planning (NCP) in Menands. Etta worked for 30 years for NCP, originally called The Workshop, which started… more
People who help make life better When we asked Assistant Service Director of Housing and Support Services Margaret Arias for the name of a colleague for our Employee Spotlight feature, Margaret refused. Her team had just come out of what seemed like perpetual quarantine. They all deserve the spotlight! Social distance, quarantine, limited options, and… more