What's New

Updated January 11, 2010

LTCOP volunteer, Joe Brady, was selected as a “local hero” by The Journal News. Read about Joe’s work as an Advocate here.

MHA congratulates Cindy Peterson-Dana, LMHC, for receiving the Mental Health Association in New York State 2009 Family Advocate of the Year Award. Ms. Peterson received the award at the MHANYS' 2009 Annual Awards Dinner & Conference in Albany on October 27, 2009.

Ms. Peterson-Dana, a Family Specialist in MHA’s children’s mental health programs, including clinic and community based services, provides dedicated support to families who have a child with serious emotional and behavioral problems. The goal of MHA’s family support is to help families to improve the quality of the lives of their children by obtaining and maintaining appropriate support.

Dr. Amy Kohn, MHA Executive Director/CEO said: “Cindy responds to families’ needs in so many ways, demonstrating a unique understanding of their problems. She researches programs, makes referrals, meets parents for coffee and conversation, and gives families hands-on help in any way needed.”

Congratulations to the winners of of our Annual Run/Walk! View overall times here. Congratulations to Joe Gahtan, MHA’s top fundraiser and winner of JetBlue tickets.

The Westchester County Child Care Scholarship is for working families who exceed income for public subsidies but have difficulty paying for child care. Families must reside in Westchester; have their child enrolled full time in a program that is regulated by the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) and fall within the income guidelines. Parents residing in the household must be employed full time. Scholarship amounts vary.

The Continuity of Child Care Assistance Program was established in 2009 to ensure that children could remain in their child care program for up to 8 weeks while their parent was seeking employment. The goal of the program is to allow for continuity of care and quality education for the children during a stressful period and to assist parents in rejoining the work force. Please visit the Child Care Council web site for details and application information.

In collaboration with the YWCA of White Plains and Central Westchester MHA is excited to begin the Fall 2009 cycle of Strengthening Families Program. The Strengthening Families Program (SFP) is a family skills training program designed to help families with children between 12 and 16 years of age to improve family life and communication and reduce the impact of negative influences on youth. SFP focuses on helping youth identify their goals and dreams and ways to achieve them, while also learning to resist negative peer influences. Youth are taught better stress management, communication, and social skills. Parents are taught to encourage and support their children’s dreams, while also strengthening their ability to establish appropriate limits and provide effective discipline, and improve their own communication. For further information please contact Kelly Darrow darrowk@mhawestchester.org

Suicide Survivor Support Group- The loss of a loved one to suicide is devastating to families and close friends. These individuals, ‘survivors of suicide’, face unique questions and issues in grieving. The group will provide support with the grieving process – the aspects that are unique to grief following a death by suicide and well as grief that is common among all who are bereaved. Often-experienced feelings of bewilderment, guilt, anger, shame, and isolation; will be addressed. Click here for more information.

Live Your Life Well highlights 10 specific tools we can all use to build our ability to cope with the stress of our daily lives. These tools are based on research that teaches how to develop resilience, protect our health, and improve well-being. Explore the web site of Live Your Life Well.

Concerns about flu can cause both children and adults to worry. The National Association of School Psychologists and the National Association of School Nurses offer tips for Talking with Children About Flu.

Difficult economic times pose a challenge to all of us. For information about coping, consult the new "Guide to Getting through Tough Economic Times" developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

MHA has adopted an innovative approach to care coordination. Read about it in this article (.pdf) which appears in the current issue of Mental Health News.

Playing With Our Children. Playtime is essential for young children’s development, exploration of the world, even to work through scary experiences. The Action Guide: Toys, Play and Young Children offers excellent tips about choosing toys, playing with children, and even helping children work through scary or confusing events. Read more (.pdf).

Raising children is rewarding, yet often difficult and frustrating. Parents tend to rely on discipline that they experienced as children. However, those methods may not be the best for our children. Years of study now confirm that physical punishment makes it more, not less, likely that children will be defiant and aggressive in the future, that it puts children at risk for many types of negative outcomes, including increased mental health problems, and that it places children at greater risk of serious injury and physical abuse. There is little research that shows that physical punishment improves children's behavior in the long term. Read more here. Read MHA’s tips for Positive Parenting and local activities with children.

Employment opportunities at MHA: MHA continues to initiate new programs and expand existing ones. Descriptions of our current job openings are updated on an ongoing basis. Check frequently for information about job opportunities for yourself or someone you know.

Explore our Community Events Calendar. Do you have an event to list? Contact Kevin Kennedy at kennedyk@mhawestchester.org with your information. The listing is FREE!

For information about films in Our Film Library, go to our Films Database.

We Can Help

Contact us by e-mail at help@mhawestchester.org or call our Information and Referral Service at 914-345-5900, extension 240. We're available there Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM; our voice mail is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

	We Can Help. 914-345-5900 • help@mhawestchester.org