Dr. Akeem Marsh, Medical Director of our Home for Integrated Behavioral Health and Vice President of the Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection, spoke to NBC News Daily on its Daily Heath segment to discuss how families can make the most of winter break.
Watch it below:
While the holidays are a joyous time for many, this season can be difficult for many of the young people in our community – particularly for those who are struggling with their mental health. Whether it’s a child in foster care overcoming past trauma and instability, young adults striving toward independence without a traditional support system, or families struggling to maintain cohesion, it can be difficult for our neighbors to know where to turn.
A recent report shows that 4 in 5 New York City children who need behavioral health services are not receiving adequate support. The Foundling’s programs seek to change this reality. Our services combine effective, evidence-based therapeutic models with a focus on community engagement and holistic integration – ultimately expanding access to care and meeting each person where they’re at.
For young people in our foster care programs, mental health support is embedded into each of our services. Evidence-based training is provided to our foster parents, children get regular mental health screenings, and many of the supports available to children and adolescents in care – from our Road to Success tutoring to our Supportive Housing program – are trauma-informed and provide connections to behavioral health care as needed.
Programs like our School Based Mental Health Services, which embeds Foundling therapists in schools across New York City, work to create a culture where help is available for those who need it. In the last academic year, this programming has reached over 7,000 students, families, and school staff, and has been shown to drastically reduce the number of mental health crises at the schools we serve.
At our Home of Integrated Behavioral Health, our behavioral health center in East Harlem, Foundling staff provide accessible pediatric care and work with our neighbors to create an atmosphere of support. “All of our services are provided to families free of charge,” says Shelly Burke, who oversees the center. “[This] allows us to work with families all over the community and provide really holistic and trauma informed services that they might not usually have access to.”
The center hosts a variety of free events throughout the year, typically leveraging community partnerships and providing giveaways and resources tied with occasions such as Mental Health Awareness Month, back-to-school season, and the holidays.
“These events really give us the chance to talk to community members and hear about their needs, and also introduce ourselves and what we do in a way that is less stigmatizing,” says Shelly. “And we’re able to talk about mental health in a way that’s really welcoming.”
Through these programs, we’re investing in the next generation and ensuring they have effective support at every stage of their mental health journey. Given the immense need, we’re poised to expand our footprint – we’re bringing community-based mental health services to Brooklyn, bolstering our school-based programming, and continually finessing our community-based approach to reach more children, adults, and families.
However, we can only do this with the help of our supporters. This holiday season, give to The Foundling and help us continue providing high-quality mental health services for the children and families in our community.
Nutritious foods and healthy habits are essential to good health, and our Nutrition Services team is committed to providing the support, guidance, and access for our community to live their healthiest lives.
Participants in our Developmental Disabilities programs learn vital cooking skills
While the team initially was developed to guide nutrition planning in our Developmental Disabilities residences and day programs, it recently expanded to serve the young people in our Foster Care and Mother Child programs.
Healthy eating and dietary management can be hindered by existing barriers to independence, so our dietitians do essential work to prepare the people we work with to manage their health independently.
Foods are often themed for added fun – such as these Halloween mini-pizzas for the children and adolescents in our Mother Child program!
“We started as a team of one over a decade ago – we’re now a team of five people. With that expanded team we can provide so many other supportive services other than just clinical nutrition and counseling,” shared Madeline Rizzuti, a director in the program. “It’s really a wonderful opportunity to meet somebody where they’re at and address multiple needs at once.”
“I know how to reach people with nutrition,” said Carlye Husserl, Assistance Vice President of Clinical Nutrition and Wellness. “I have a big passion for it – all the people I work with have a big passion for it.”
Our licensed dietitians provide dietary guidance, share recipes, and host hands-on cooking sessions to introduce our participants to new nutrition ideas. The children and adults in our programs enjoy these demonstrations, which cover an array of topics – teaching healthier ways to prepare favorite snacks and sweets, batch cooking for efficient meal prep, simple and quick cooking techniques, and more.
Members of our Nutrition Team provide healthy eating demonstrations throughout our community
It’s because of supporters like you that we can provide and expand health and wellness across New York City. Nutrition is a key aspect of long-term stability – and you can help us continue building this foundation for the young people in our community.
The Wall Street Journal reports on the psychological issues facing boys and young men today – and how parents can identify when their sons are struggling with loneliness, resentment, depression, and other mental health problems. The piece includes insights from Dr. Akeem Marsh, who serves as Vice President of our Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection and Medical Director of our Home of Integrated Behavioral Health.
“Try to empower him so he feels he’s in control of the situation,” he says, “There are so many things in their lives kids can’t control, and speaking to their parents is one thing they can.”
AM New York reports on the recent Legionnaire’s Disease outbreak in Harlem, and how public health crises such as this one could be more dangerous in the future given looming Medicaid cuts.
Kristy-Lee Jean-Pierre, Senior Vice President of our Mental Health Services, discusses how these cuts can impact families throughout the city – and may even affect their access to mental health care. “While folks are waiting, a very real tragedy can happen,” she says. “Even if the cuts don’t directly affect behavioral health access, they impact a family’s willingness to engage, because now their focus has to be on getting food.”
Youth advocates held a rally last week to protect mental health care access for children in New York in the wake of federal Medicaid cuts, gathering at our Home of Integrated Behavioral Health in East Harlem to denounce the changes.
The New York Foundling’s Senior Vice President, Dr. Kristy-Lee Jean-Pierre, warned that these cuts will reduce access to mental health services and preventive care for millions of children in New York. This means fewer resources to serve youth, families in crisis and children with developmental needs.
“Fifty percent of our kids are dependent on Medicaid to be able to access that care. So any cuts are going to result in real effects, real tragedy and real incidents,” Jean-Pierre said.
CBS News reports on our mental health services, and our May 15 community event at our Home of Integrated Behavioral Health.
Dr. Kristy-Lee Jean-Pierre, Senior Vice President of Mental Health Services, breaks down the importance of the day and the resources being offered, and the CBS team provided on-site coverage of the afternoon.
Watch the videos below:
During CBS New York’s Breaking The Stigma segment, lead anchor Cindy Hsu presented The New York Foundling with a generous $6,000 grant on behalf of Paramount, MTV and CBS New York in honor of Mental Health Action Day on May 15. Senior Vice President of Mental Health Services Dr. Kristy-Lee Jean-Pierre discussed some of the critical services and programs The Foundling provides and shared how meaningful this funding will be to relieve the burden of cost of treatment for our clients.
See the full interview here.
On the Tuesday, December 17 episode of BronxNet Community Television‘s OPEN, Senior Vice President of Mental Services Dr. Kristy-Lee Jean-Pierre, Ph.D, sat with host Kibin Alleyne to discuss the importance of mental health during the holiday season.
She discusses our array of programs targeting young people in foster care, attending NYC schools, as well as the general New York community, and how our mental health services focus on individualized care to create impactful and effective change.
Watch the full interview below, or read more on BronxNet:
On the Tuesday, June 25 episode of BronxNet Community Television‘s OPEN, our President & CEO Melanie Hartzog sat down with host Kibin Alleyne to chat about The Foundling’s transformative programs, the future of supportive housing, and on what nonprofit organizations can do to meet the needs of their community.
Watch the full video below, or read more on BronxNet