BronxNet reports on our efforts to spread Thanksgiving cheer to the students and families at Haven Academy – while the school cannot celebrate together this year, the school provided turkeys, vegetables, and other food for families to cook at home.
“Unfortunately, we are not allowed to sit together as one. But we are still one in our hearts,” said one Haven parent.
Watch BronxNet’s report below:
In the New York Times’ recent feature – which explores the effects of pandemic-induced isolation on the mental health of teenagers – Nandini Ahuja, a therapist in our School Based Mental Heath program, shares some of the coping strategies she has shared in her work.
The Bronx Times highlighted two participants in our Developmental Disabilities program, and their experiences throughout the pandemic:
“The New York Foundling, one of the city’s oldest social services organizations, provides health care, social-emotional support, entertainment and friendship for hundreds of adults, most of whom live in their group homes full time.
Desiree and Nancy, 37, two residents of The Foundling’s Laconia residence in the Bronx, have been friends for 25 years. They leaned on each other to get through the newly enforced safety measures and had to learn to remain patient as both became unemployed.:
The New York Times recently profiled one of our teachers at Haven Academy:
“Jardy Santana, 34, teaches English at Mott Haven Academy Charter School, a school predominantly serving families involved in the child welfare system in the Bronx, which is run in partnership with the New York Foundling. She has been teaching for 12 years, including 10 at Mott Haven, and this year has been her hardest.
For her, the onset of remote learning last spring brought a weighty realization: Each student has very different needs in the virtual classroom.”
Read more at The New York Times
This article was also featured in three additional media outlets:
The most recent installment of The New York Times’ Neediest Cases profiles Denisha, a participant in our Supportive Housing program. She had a turbulent home life growing up, and spent much of her adolescence in the foster care system. Her love of school, however, was always a constant. With The Foundling’s support, Denisha has been able to continue her academic journey and now, as a teacher, is inspiring others.
Hypebae reports on the proliferation of accessible PPE that allows the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community to better communicate. “We jointly designed a clear face covering to ‘unmask’ masked communication with the deaf and hard of hearing community,” Goldstein said. Sprayground, another brand expanding into the clear face mask category, makes an entirely transparent version featuring two valves, one on each side of the face, that single-use filters can be inserted into. Founder David Ben David shared that the brand has partnered with The New York Foundling’s Family Services for Deaf Children program and will donate masks for distribution in the New York City area.
The Foundling’s President and CEO, Bill Baccaglini, spoke at City and State’s Virtual Healthy New York Summit. The virtual conference, which focused on COVID-19’s impact on New York healthcare policies, brought together decisionmakers and experts from all sectors to identify challenges posed by the pandemic and propose solutions to improve health outcomes for New Yorkers.
Appearing on the event’s “Addressing Health and New York’s Most Vulnerable Populations” panel, Bill Baccaglini addressed the impacts of COVID-19 on the communities we serve. “We can’t go back to business as usual… we learned that tech can be our friend here if we use it wisely. This is not an either or, this is an integration. The mental health issues emanating from this pandemic in disinvested communities will be with us for years to come.” He also advocated for the continued use of tele-health, which has seen positive results in the past few months. “I think if we stick to the traditional clinic-based approach, we’re going to miss something big,” he stated.
Watch the full video below (the panel featuring Bill Baccaglini starts at 1:58:45):
Learn more about the Virtual Healthy New York Summit at City & State here.
The New School’s Center for New York City Affairs reports on the lack of mental health resources available to New York City students this school year, including insight from our CEO, Bill Baccaglini.
“As kids finally resume classes – remotely this week and in classrooms next – they will find that many social workers and other mental health care providers have disappeared from school budgets.
“We’re turning off the spigot to kids with serious needs,” says Bill Baccaglini, the executive director of the nonprofit New York Foundling, which runs mental health programs in 22 public elementary, middle, and high schools, mostly in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx.”
Washington Examiner reports on how the COVID-19 pandemic has led to decreased reports of child maltreatment across the country, with insight from The New York Foundling:
“Bill Baccaglini, the president and CEO of the New York Foundling (the city’s oldest foster care agency), said he is “very concerned that once the clouds lift, that we will see a spike in reports.” He told me, “I have a bunch of friends in the domestic violence world. They are already seeing it now.” The Foundling also runs a school in the Bronx that serves children who have spent time in foster care and who are at risk in other ways. Baccaglini said the “stressors of the last four to five months will hit those kids’ families harder than your family or my family. And sometimes, the reaction is to strike out at the most vulnerable. Those tend to be kids.””
The Bronx Daily reports on National Kinship Care Month, providing quotes from NYC’s Administration for Children’s Services and kinship care organizations and providers – including The New York Foundling.
“This “National Kinship Month,” The New York Foundling honors and celebrates the countless extended family members who, every day, share and join our mission of providing children with familiar, stable, and caring homes,” said Bill Baccaglini, President and CEO of The New York Foundling. “While all of us strive to keep families together, when temporary removal of a child is required, The Foundling believes that the long-term outcome for a family is much more positive if the care is provided by kin. This work wouldn’t be possible without the tremendous commitment of kin caregivers across New York City, who support their family members and provide children with a safe and nurturing family setting as parents address the stressors that led to separation and disruption of the family unit.”
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