The Family Foundation School

In my life before The Family School I was extremely self-centered. I hurt everyone around me to get what I wanted and got a lot of negative attention by acting like a psycho. I had no interest in God because he probably didn't want me to steal, lie, cheat, or use substances.

My life became unmanageable early on. I was kicked out of 8th grade for drinking and drugging, and a year later was thrown out of 9th grade for the same reasons. I also owed thousands of dollars in gambling debt and spent my life running from those I owed money to.

Before FFS, my life was unmanageable and out of control. I was shooting heroin, selling drugs, stealing, and lying to my parents. I did anything to blind me from reality because I hated who I had become.

At home I was an overeater and extremely overweight. Going to school was the last thing on my mind. I stayed home and slept all day, then got up and stayed out all night. I was rude and disrespectful and had fits of temper.

At home I perfected the art of quitting. My attempts at sports, school, and relationships amounted to nothing but pathetic stories because I never followed through. I did not like myself and wanted to escape the judgment of others.

My life at home was full of lies and deceit. I became part of the tough crowd in middle school, and in high school I was in and out of detention, got into bad relationships, ran away and was sent to a psych ward.

To put it bluntly, I was a drunk. I didn't care about my family, or God, just drinking and smoking. I was drug-tested for the first time at 12, at 13 I was in outpatient rehab, and at 15 I was sent to wilderness and then to The Family School.

I was 15 and my mother was driving me to the hospital. She was crying, but all I could think of was what a good job I had done not eating. I felt no remorse, only the desire to leave and continue killing myself.

I am an alcoholic and a drug addict who couldn't live life on life's terms, so I drank. When my dad was diagnosed with cancer, I was introduced to heavier drugs and started stealing and selling his pain medication.

I was empty, angry, miserable, and lonely at home, and used any means possible to numb my feelings. I dropped out of school. Nothing really mattered, and I was quickly using up my friends and family.

Driving Directions

Address:

The Family Foundation School
431 Chapel Hill Road
Hancock, New York 13783

(845) 887-5213

Airport Information:

Greater Binghamton Airport - An hour away.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Airport - An hour and a half away.

Stewart Airport (Newburgh, NY) - An hour and three quarters away. Follow I-84 West, then pick up Rte. 17 West and follow the rest of the "From NYC" directions below.

Syracuse Hancock Airport (in Syracuse, no relation to Hancock, NY) - Two and a quarter hours away. Follow I-81 South and then the "From Binghamton" directions below.

Albany Airport - Two and a half hours away.

Newark Liberty Airport - Three hours away.

LaGuardia Airport - Three hours away.

Driving to the School:

From NYC - From New Jersey side of George Washington Bridge take Palisades Parkway North to Exit 9W. Take NY State Thruway north to Exit 16 (Harriman). Take Rte. 17 West to Exit 87A (Hancock/Cadosia). Follow signs in Hancock to Rte. 97. Take Rte. 97 South 6.7 miles. Turn right at the blue Family School road sign and follow the signs to the school. Pull around in front of the main school building and park in the marked visitor spots.

Alternate route exiting Rte. 17 at Monticello and approaching school from opposite direction: Take Rte. 17 West to Exit 104 (Monticello) onto Route 17B. Start tracking odometer/mileage. At mile 15, which is the fifth traffic light (first three traffic lights are immediately off the exit), 17B turns right. This may be the last time you have reliable cellular service. In another 1/2 mile, 17B bears left. At the bottom of the hill, you will reach a T intersection. Make a left, staying on Route 17B. Follow for several miles (landmarks are a generic gas station and small Ford car dealership). Continue on, watching for a Gulf gas station on the left (about the 22nd mile mark). Pass the Gulf gas station and make a right, up a small hill to a traffic light. Make a right at this light onto Rte. 97 North. The street entrance for the school is approximately 16 miles on the left, a short distance past the sign on the left for French Woods Country Club. Make a left at the blue Family School road sign, bear right and the school is about 1 mile on the right. Pull around in front of the main school building and park in the marked visitor spots.

From Albany - From I-90 West, merge onto I-88 West via Exit 25A toward Binghamton. At Exit 9, take Rte. 8 South toward Masonville. Rte. 8 ends at Rte. 17. Take Rte. 17 East toward New York City to Exit 87 (Hancock/Cadosia). Follow signs to Rte. 97 South. After crossing East Branch Delaware River, continue on Rte. 97 South 6.7 miles and turn right at the blue Family School road sign. Follow signs to the school. Pull around in front of the main school building and park in the marked visitor spots.

From Binghamton - Follow Rte. 17 East toward New York City to Exit 87 (Hancock/Cadosia). Follow signs to Rte. 97 South. After crossing East Branch Delaware River, continue on Rte. 97 South 6.7 miles and turn right at the blue Family School road sign. Follow signs to the school. Pull around in front of the main school building and park in the marked visitor spots.

From Scranton, PA - Follow Rte. 6 East through Carbondale to Honesdale. Take PA Rte. 191 North approximately 15 miles to Lookout, PA. Look for sign "To Callicoon" on right. From Callicoon take Rte. 97 North 17 miles (seven miles past Long Eddy); make a left at the blue Family School road sign, bear right and the school is about 1 mile on the right. Pull around in front of the main school building and park in the marked visitor spots.

Like most college prep high schools, we offer a challenging curriculum and a wide range of extracurricular activities. But as a therapeutic boarding school, we offer much, much more . . .