The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation has increased its 2023 funding by 24% to The Clinical Mental Health Services in the Bronx (CCMH) project at Fordham University Graduate School of Education, from $250,000 in 2022 to $310,000.
The CCMH project takes a multi-pronged approach and provides free individual and group counseling and workshops to assist Black, Latino, and immigrant youth in the Bronx. Since 2021, it has provided short-term assistance with coping skills that help children and adolescents thrive in school, with peers, and with their families. All services and materials are available in English and Spanish. Participating students from 54 schools receive ten sessions each of telehealth counseling.
“I feel both humbled and honored by The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation’s generous support to have Fordham’s work through this project matter for our Bronx neighbors,” said Eric C. Chen, Ph.D., CCMH Project Director.
The CCMH’s graduate assistants – doctoral students in the counseling psychology and school psychology programs – also conduct workshops for parents and teachers to learn about specific mental health issues and challenges impacting children and students. These workshops address topics such as, among others, cyberbullying and executive function. The services are promoted through school counselors, social workers, and community partnerships.
“Workshops also serve as CCMH’s primary practice for building trust with parents and teachers to deconstruct the stigma and mystery surrounding mental health,” said Robert Garvey, M.S., CCMH Program Assistant and former NYC public school teacher. “Teachers and parents often scramble to find ways to support their students and children, but don’t have access to the resources or knowledge to do so.” By the end of the current funding period for 2022, the CCMH team will have served 95 youths through counseling services, 32 of whom come from monolingual Spanish-speaking households, and more than 800 parents and teachers through workshops.
“The third-year project will also support the expansion of parent support groups (T4 groups) offered through the clinical psychology doctoral program, that will help justice-involved adolescents through an evidence-based, culturally-responsive, trauma-informed intervention,” added Garvey. Along with in-person workshops and virtual counseling in Spanish for adults who may need mental health support services, there will also be expanded outreach services to support teachers who suffered burnout due to the teacher shortage resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Underserved communities in the city largely receive mental health care through schools, hospitals, and community clinics, all of which have been impacted by closures and diversion of resources due to the impact of the pandemic,” said Laura Guy, LCSW-R, Outreach/Program Coordinator. “This has created instability and inconsistency in services, further contributing to mental health inequity.”
“There is an overwhelming need for mental health services, especially culturally and linguistically sensitive services,” Guy continued. “The increase in money from The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation to fund the program is directly tied to outcomes evidence that the services provided are essential.”
