The Home of Integrated Behavioral Health will serve 200 families with children between the ages of five and 18 years old, according to a Jan. 14 press release. READ MORE
Con una inversión que supera los $200,000, el alcalde de Vega Alta, Oscar ‘Can’ Santiago Martínez inauguró recientemente un nuevo Head Start en el Barrio Sabana Hoyos, en conjunto con la institución educativa sin fines de lucro New York Foundling (NYF), que administrará el mismo. READ MORE
The New York Foundling welcomed staff and community stakeholders to the opening of its new state-of-the-art mental health clinic in East Harlem, officially called the Home of Integrated Behavioral Health, on January 14, 2019.
“Our clinic ushers in a new way to approach behavioral and mental health,” said Bill Baccaglini, CEO and President of The New York Foundling. “At The Foundling, we consider family and community context in our approach to care. Our approach also takes a different view than others. We believe treatment should be brief, intense, and should equip all members of the family with the skills and confidence they need to confront what challenges lie ahead.”
The clinic, previously located in Harlem on the west side, will serve as a hub for families in the surrounding community, as well as across New York City, to access high-quality, evidence-based social and emotional mental health support and treatment. Like all New York Foundling programs and services, the mental health clinic aims to give families research-backed tools that set them up for healthy independence and successful futures.
“We know firsthand that the research-backed treatment models we will be using at the Home of Integrated Behavioral Health give entire families the tools they need to work through their challenges and be healthy in the long-term,” said Dr. Sylvia Rowlands, Senior Vice President of Evidence-Based Programs, in a statement.
The clinic staff will be using several evidence-based models, including Brief Strategic Family Therapy, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, while also launching the Communities that Care model.
The Foundling’s East Harlem location will also mean greater access for families in the community. Lack of accessibility can often be a barrier for low-income families to receiving effective mental health services.
“We at The Foundling are extremely privileged to be a part of the neighborhood filled with a strong sense of community ties and involvement,” Fanny Tristan, director of the clinic, explains. “Together, we can all use our voices to advocate for the needs everyone. A community that has created more community gardens than I can count on one hand. We are so excited to be here and look forward to providing great community mental health services.”
The 5,689-square-foot space, located at 109 E. 115th Street, aims to serve more than 200 families each year. Families with children up to 18 years old and their parents are welcome, and the clinic will accept referrals from school counselors, court services, foster care providers, community agencies, as well as walk-ins.
To learn more, visit www.nyfoundling.org or call 917-485-7280.
ABOUT THE NEW YORK FOUNDLING
At The New York Foundling, we believe that all people, no matter their circumstance or zip code, have the right to reach their full potential. But for all of us, discovering what we are capable of and reaching our full potential requires support along the way. The New York Foundling is built on that 150 year-old promise to our neighbors, in which infants and children, teens and college students, people with differing abilities and families can access the trusted support they need to thrive, independent of us.
From the bold beginnings of the Sisters of Charity in 1869, The New York Foundling has grown into a results-driven and research-backed organization, whose community support services have empowered hundreds of thousands of people to move beyond their most challenging times, and to achieve their goals. Our five core program areas touch on the key building blocks of a strong and healthy life: education, wellbeing, family, community, opportunity. Together, our interconnected programs provide a whole person, whole family and whole community approach that unlocks solutions for a lifetime.
This article is part of a yearlong series examining higher education for youth in foster care, made possible in part by The New York Foundling. READ MORE
Amada, one of the lucky recipients, with Foundling board member Anthony Gallo, who works for Petro Home Services. Petro’s team delivered heating oil to the foster parent’s Yonkers home on Thursday, January 10.
Thanks to the generosity of Petro Home Services, two New York Foundling foster parents received a year’s worth of heating oil to get their families through this winter and into next. The donation of 500 gallons of heating oil comes at the perfect time, as temperatures continue to drop across the region.
Amada, a Yonkers resident, was one of the lucky recipients. She has been fostering children with The Foundling since 2006, taking in more than 20 children over the years and adopting one. She is currently fostering three teenagers.
Kimberly, an active and loving foster parent to twins in Brooklyn, received her special delivery on a chilly 30-degree day.
The Petro donation was the idea of Anthony Gallo, Foundling board member and Petro employee, who is devoted to giving back to Foundling foster parents who give so much of themselves to provide caring, supportive homes for youth in need.
NBC New York’s Melissa Russo reports on The Foundling’s Child Abuse Prevention Program and its funding troubles.
The New York Foundling’s one-of-a-kind Child Abuse Prevention Program (CAPP) has been forced to scale back the number of in-school Child Safety Workshops for the remainder of the school year due to a lack of funding — a move the organization regretfully informed principals of on January 9.
“As a private, nonprofit agency, The Foundling can simply no longer sustain covering the $530,000 annual cost of the program without support from the Department of Education. As a result, we must significantly reduce the number of workshops scheduled for this semester,” the letter from Foundling leadership to elementary school principals explained.
The Foundling turned to the NYC Department of Education asking for much-needed help funding this highly impactful, life-saving program, but has yet to know whether they’ll back the program that ensures thousands of children’s safety.
NBC New York’s Melissa Russo has been following the story, and spoke with Bill Baccaglini, CEO and President of The Foundling, about the cuts — and the potential consequences. Due to the cancellations, he told Russo, more than 4,000 children across New York City schools will be missing out on age-appropriate education that would enable them to put an end to physical and sexual abuse.
That translates to roughly 60 children who could continue to be abused due to lack of education, Baccaglini and program director Marion White estimate in their letter to schools.
The program, which uses life-sized puppets in its workshops, has been at the forefront of child abuse prevention education since it began in 1986. Its Child Safety Workshops educate approximately 20,000 3rd and 4th grade students per year on inappropriate touch and how to speak with adults about suspected abuse. Last year alone, these in-school presentations resulted in 165 calls to New York State’s child abuse hotline.
While the future of CAPP is still uncertain, The Foundling is hopeful that negotiations with the city’s Department of Education will result in support for this unique program that protects children and puts their safety first.
Learn more below:
A Q&A on The Foundling’s website tells how Trystan worked his way through adversity as a teen to earn a master’s degree from New York University, where he then interned with the same organization that helped him as a foster care youth. READ MORE
The New York Foundling had no choice but to cancel upcoming Child Abuse Prevention Program workshops across New York City schools due to lack of funding for this impactful program, which uses puppets to teach children how to recognize and stop child abuse. Last year alone, it resulted in 165 calls to New York State’s child abuse hotline. NBC’s Melissa Russo has the full story. WATCH HERE
The Foundling’s CEO and President Bill Baccaglini appears on NY1’s In Focus with Cheryl Wills, along with Stanley Richards of The Fortune Society, to discuss prison reform and how the organizations are playing a role. WATCH HERE
Bill Baccaglini, CEO and President of The New York Foundling, joins host Cheryl Wills, as well as Stanley Richards of The Fortune Society to discuss criminal justice reform and The Foundling’s work in juvenile justice. WATCH HERE
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