Prioritizing Mental Wellness in our Communities
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.