Rockville Centre's Confide Counseling says ‘thanks’

The venue for Confide Counseling’s 11th annual Criminal Justice Awards Luncheon may have been new this year, but its message was very much the same.

Hosted by the center’s staff and Executive Director Art Rosenthal at the Rockville Centre Recreation Center on Sept. 14, the event, which in the past has been held in the Maple Avenue firehouse, celebrates Confide’s unique collaboration with local law enforcement and judicial communities. It also highlights honorees’ partnership with the center to help people overcome addiction, battle drug-related crime and trafficking and further the cause of working for the well-being of local families and children.

After a buffet luncheon, an honor guard presented the colors, and an invocation included a moment of silence for Port Authority officers killed on Sept. 11, 2001, and for servicemen and women who have died protecting the nation. Rabbi Dr. Barry Dov Schwartz, who serves as a Nassau County Police Department chaplain, also spoke.

In their comments, State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice both noted the importance of Confide’s work in providing treatment alternatives, rather than incarceration, for people struggling with addiction, which enables them to become productive again, rejoin their families and communities and move on with their lives. Skelos mentioned I-Stop legislation in Albany, which addresses the state’s epidemic of prescription drug abuse.

Rice ended her remarks by complimenting agencies like Confide. “Whatever money is saved by not incarcerating people should go to help keep drug treatment programs afloat,” she said.

Mayor Francis Murray also mentioned Confide’s partnerships and its “no-nonsense” approach to combating substance abuse, incorporating awareness, education, treatment and enforcement. Confide’s vice president, James Prinzavalli, and Rosenthal praised the non-profit agency’s staff members and counselors.