Health and Behavioral Health Archives - The New York Foundling

NYN Media: Opinion: Our Mental Health System Fails Too Many Kids

In a new op-ed for NYN Media, our President & CEO Melanie Hartzog writes about how our mental health system is broken – and how it can be fixed.

“There are devoted, compassionate people at every level of the system who are ready for change, and concrete things we can do together starting in 2024 to help our most vulnerable,” Hartzog writes.

Using the example of Alex, a child in care with The Foundling who has cycled through systems and facilities after experiencing severe mental health needs, she stresses that the system is broken. There are too many barriers to reaching appropriate mental health care before it escalates into crisis. She shares solutions, such as increasing communication among government and nonprofit agencies, reducing barriers caused by health insurance, investing in additional community services, and more.

Read more on NYN Media

December 21, 2023/by Elefant Design

NY Times: Does Social Media Perpetuate Inequality?

In this opinion piece in the New York Times, opinion columnist Pamela Paul writes about the impact of social media on the mental health of young people. Citing a recent study showing that Black and Hispanic teenagers spend more time on social media phone apps, she discusses the implications of these findings. Dr. Akeem Marsh, of our Home for Integrated Heath, provided an expert quote.

Read more at NY Times

December 21, 2023/by Elefant Design

Health and Behavioral Health, Media Coverage

CBS New York: Over $5 Million Awarded to School-Based Mental Health Clinics across New York State, Gov. Kathy Hochul Says

“More help is on the way to New York state schools to support students’ mental health,” reports CBS New York. “On Thursday, Gov. Kathy Hochul presented a check to the nonprofit the New York Foundling in Tribeca, where a mental health clinic will be set up.”

Watch the video at CBS New York

November 30, 2023/by Elefant Design

Blog, Health and Behavioral Health

At The Foundling, Art Promotes Healing

For participants at The Foundling, art can be a lifeline – it provides tools for self-expression, an accessible way to work through trauma, and a means of contextualizing one’s experiences. Many of the people we serve at The Foundling come to us feeling voiceless – from children in foster care struggling to cope with complex situations, to adults with developmental disabilities that face innate barriers to sharing their viewpoints – but through art, they find and showcase their strength.

Art is used to heal minds and souls across our programs – here are just a few of the ways:

The Fontana Center’s Artist Collective provides a safe space for children in our foster care programs to grow and create.
Our Developmental Disabilities programs encourage our day habilitation and residential participants to explore artistic mediums – which culminates in an annual art show.
Haven Kids Rock, our after-school performing arts program, allows young people to channel their experiences into music, dance, and theater.
Our Home of Integrated Behavioral Health partners with our Strong Families and Communities Training Center to provide seasonal art-centered community events across New York City that engage children and families alike.

Learn more about our Fontana Center’s Artist Collective

Watch Haven Kids Rock perform ‘Here Today, Gone Tomorrow’

We can’t do this vital work without your help. Your gift this holiday season brings art and other essential programs to more children, adults, and families across our community.

December 29, 2022/by Elefant Design

Health and Behavioral Health, Media Coverage

Center for Health Care Strategies: Engaging Communities of Color to Promote Health Equity: Five Lessons from New York-Based Health Care Organizations

In a new brief focusing on 5 exemplary NY-based organizations, Center for Health Care Strategies profiled our Home of Integrated Behavioral Health and its efforts promoting health equity and culturally competent care.

December 22, 2022/by Elefant Design

Health and Behavioral Health, Media Coverage

Pix 11: The Impact of Diet Culture on the Holiday Season

Pix 11 recently reported on diet culture, and how the holiday season often brings out mixed messages regarding food – which can be harmful to children and teenagers. Dr. Ruth Gerson, our Senior Vice President of Mental Health Services, made an appearance to provide insight on the impact this could have on developing minds – and what parents should do to promote a healthy relationship with food during this time of year.

Watch the video:

Read more on Pix 11

December 6, 2022/by Elefant Design

Health and Behavioral Health, Media Coverage

Gothamist: Depression was on the rise among young people before COVID-19 pandemic

Dr. Ruth Gerson, our Senior Vice President for Mental Health Services, was recently featured in an article focusing on the heightened need for mental health support for young people. A new Columbia University study reports that in 2020, nearly one in five Americans between the ages of 12 and 25 were affected by depression.

“What we saw for a long time leading up to the pandemic and subsequently since is an increase in kids ending up in emergency rooms for mental health concerns because they don’t have anywhere else to go,” she says.

Read more at Gothamist

September 19, 2022/by Elefant Design

Health and Behavioral Health, Media Coverage

Social Work Today: Connected Care

In an article in the latest edition of Social Work Today, Shannon Ghramm-Smith, our Senior Vice President of our Child Welfare & Behavioral Health Division, draws on her experience at The Foundling to discuss the benefits and challenges of integrated care. This is where medical and behavioral health providers collaborate to provide holistic, wrap-around services. “Having interrelated services easily accessible in one location or being able to do warm handoffs to a care team member from the same agency allows the client to focus more on what they need—and on building a relationship with the provider—instead of focusing on finding the services they need, referral forms, eligibility, and scheduling,” she says.

Read more at Social Work Today

August 9, 2022/by Elefant Design

Health and Behavioral Health, Media Coverage

MedPage Today: Are Parents Contributing to the Youth Mental Health Crisis?

In this op-ed published in MedPage Today, Mel Schneiderman, PhD and Amy Baker, PhD – both of The Foundling’s Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection – discuss the mental health care crisis that is impacting young people nationwide, and how family stress (intensified by the pressures of COVID-19) is a major contributing factor. They argue that psychological maltreatment can be decreased by educating families and providing parenting support.

Read more on MedPage Today

July 20, 2022/by Elefant Design

Health and Behavioral Health, Media Coverage

American Psychiatric Association: Press Release – APA Foundation Announces Winners of Awards for Advancing Minority Mental Health

The American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF) announced the winners of its 2022 Awards for Advancing Minority Mental Health at its annual benefit held in conjunction with APA’s 2022 Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

The Foundling was one of the recipients of this award, given our commitment to providing mental health treatment and social services targeted to the needs, strengths, and cultures of its diverse community. The award honored our goal of removing disparities, particularly in the following communities – LGBTQIA+ youth and their families; the Deaf community; and Latinx and African American families in Harlem.

May 23, 2022/by Elefant Design

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