National Volunteer Month
National Volunteer Month
Building Trust in Community
To quote Mr. Rogers, “All of us, at some time or other need help. Whether we’re giving or receiving help, each one of us has something valuable to bring to this world.” WJCS helps people in our community of all ages and backgrounds who face difficult challenges in life and need additional support to build a strong foundation of well-being to strengthen their ability to weather life’s storms. Whether people are experiencing mental health, trauma, disability, aging, educational, or often systemic challenges, we all know that accessing support can be very difficult. Being a champion of WJCS means you ...
Response to the Hamas Terrorist Attacks: A Message from WJCS CEO Seth Diamond
I know we all have been devastated by the reports of the horrific terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel. As President Biden said, “there are moments in this life when pure, unadulterated evil is unleashed on this world.” That is what we witnessed over the weekend, pure evil. Words cannot adequately express our anger at the murderous acts and torture , our sorrow for the victims, and our worry about the fate of those taken hostage. Coming after the close of a joyous Jewish holiday, the scenes are particularly painful. Many who only a few days earlier ...
You Can Help Us Comfort the Westchester Community
The attacks in Israel on October 7th and the ensuing war have sparked shock, horror, and fear. Our community continues to experience stress and we are continuing to provide services for those who are suffering. Together we can ease the pain and create a healing space for our community. WJCS clinicians have led dozens of support groups for individuals struggling with emotional difficulties due to these horrible events and the rise in antisemitism worldwide. We've provided individual and group counseling to terrified teens, adults, and the elderly, including Holocaust survivors who are seeing their worst fears of "Never Again" ...
Response to Trauma in the Face of Attacks Against Israel
Trauma has been described as an overwhelming physiological response in which an individual experiences a loss of control, vulnerability, and immobilization. This week, 75 WJCS employees and board members came together online to share and process their sadness, grief, and anxiety about Hamas attacks against Israel, including the kidnapping of over 200 people. In gathering together as a community and in hope, members of our WJCS staff focused on what experts say about responses to trauma and opened up about their own reactions to recent horrific news reports. We are sharing these insights in the hope that they may help ...
WJCS 2022 Gala: A Huge Success!
WJCS-Westchester Jewish Community Services hosted our annual Gala on April 5th, 2022 at Brae Burn Country Club in Purchase, New York. Attended by more than 200 philanthropic, community, and political leaders from throughout Westchester County, the evening marked a triumphant return to in-person events after two years of virtual galas. The money raised will provide much-needed funds for our agency's 80+ programs that serve 20,000 Westchester residents every year. "It was wonderful to have so many members of our community together to celebrate this year's honorees—New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and WJCS Board President ...
What We Stand For
Founded in 1943, Westchester Jewish Community Services has grown to be one of the largest nonprofit human service organizations in Westchester and the largest provider of licensed outpatient community mental health services in the county. Our values guide our work—the state-of-the-art programs and services we offer with compassion to more than 20,000 people of all ages and backgrounds throughout Westchester County. WJCS is driven by the spirit of “tikkun olam”–repairing the world. By providing care and support, we work to help Westchester residents of all ages and backgrounds who are struggling to heal, develop skills, build resilience, and lead ...
Teen Mental Health First Aid
The statistics are staggering. One in five teens has had a serious mental health disorder at some point in their young lives. Fifty percent of all mental illnesses begin by age 14. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for 15-24year-olds. WJCS is proud to offer training in Teen Mental Health First Aid, a nationally certified course which teaches high school students how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders among their friends and peers. It gives students the skills to have supportive conversations with their friends and get a responsible and ...
Commemorating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. devoted his life to seeking equality and human rights for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged, and all victims of injustice through peaceful protest. He was the driving force behind watershed events, such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the 1963 March on Washington, which helped bring about such landmark legislation as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Dr. King's message is as vitally important now as it was when he lived. While we remember him on Martin Luther King Jr. Day—this year ...
Remarkable Summer Accomplishments
As we head into fall, we'd like to look back at some of WJCS's many achievements during the summer. Despite the stresses from the pandemic, we're proud of our clients’ resilience and the dedication of our staff, as they have continued to deliver programs and services for thousands of Westchester residents who have a critical need for our help. Here are just a few of our many accomplishments this summer. Thirty-five girls from Yonkers enjoyed fun, social, and enriching activities, including a visit from Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins at our Wiener Academy for Young Girls Summer Camp. WJCS ...
WJCS Appoints New Board Members
WJCS, one of the largest human service organizations in Westchester, is proud to announce the appointment of three new members to its Board of Directors: Joel Beckman, Steven Beckman, and Julian Gomez. Joel Beckman co-founded Greenbriar Equity Group, L.P. and, before that, was a Managing Director and Partner at Goldman Sachs. Now retired, he has been actively involved in numerous philanthropic causes, including UJA-Federation of New York, the University of Rochester, Yale Law School, the JCC of Budapest, Stepping Stone Day School for handicapped children, Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, and the Chordoma Foundation. He lives with his wife Shari in Scarsdale ...
Preventing Summer Learning Loss
The average student loses 17–34% of the prior year’s learning during the summer break, according to a study published in the American Educational Research Journal, We're several weeks into the summer, a perfect time to make sure that you are making the most of your children's free time. Fortunately, there is an abundance of entertaining and enriching library programs throughout Westchester which children and teens will enjoy and benefit from as well. Eastchester Public Library: Reading challenges, a coding club, trivia challenges, and a creative writing workshop are just a few of the children's and youth activities the Eastchester ...
WJCS Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics
WJCS Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) in Peekskill and Mount Vernon Clinic provide integrative services to clients who are living with a variety of behavioral health conditions, including but not limited to serious mental illness, substance use disorders, and serious emotional disturbance. The CCBHC Services include the following: • Screening, assessment, and diagnosis, including risk assessment • Patient-centered treatment planning, including crisis planning • Comprehensive outpatient mental health and substance use services • Case management • Community-based recovery supports, including peer support, counselor services, and family supports • Crisis mental health services, including 24-hour mobile crisis team emergency ...
A Note from Our CEO Seth Diamond for 9/11
Twenty years ago I was heading for my job at the city's social services headquarters in lower Manhattan. A typical morning. As I got closer to the office I started to hear sirens and listening to the radio heard about a small plane having hit the World Trade Center. At that point it sounded more strange than tragic. I got my usual spot on Pearl Street and got out of my car at 9:03. How can I be so sure of the precise time? Because at that instant I heard a huge explosion and even more memorably, felt a ...
WJCS Addresses Disparities in Digital Access
The inequity that individuals in financial need experience in regard to digital access became glaringly apparent once the Covid pandemic hit. Lack of access to the internet was clearly an obstacle that would have long-lasting ramifications for youth now required to log on the internet in order to learn remotely from home. WJCS could not ignore the problem. At WJCS, we are committed to ensuring that all children have the information technology needed for school participation and learning, an essential ingredient to their academic and future success. Thanks to our partnership with the STEM Alliance and funding from the ...
WJCS Awarded College Wellness Grant from Westchester Community Foundation
WJCS has received a grant from Westchester Community Foundation (WCF) for its College Wellness Initiative. This grant will allow WJCS to continue to deliver critical mental health services to Westchester County’s college students. WJCS and the Westchester County Department of Community of Mental Health (DCMH) created the College Wellness Initiative in 2020 to address the growing mental health needs of college students in Westchester County. The program was initially funded with Cares Act funding. The new funding from WCF will allow the program to continue to support college students beyond the initial pilot phase. The College Initiative supports Westchester County ...
Welcome to our new website!
As one of the largest, state-of-the-art human service organizations in the New York metropolitan area, it is important to us to make information regarding our services, impact, thought leadership, community trainings, professional development classes, and other events easily accessible for current clients, potential clients, donors, volunteers, government officials, community and corporate partners, media, and staff. Our goal with this new website is to provide you with an easy, user-friendly way to learn about WJCS's programs and to browse information based on your own choice. Among the new features to explore are: Videos that share client stories about how WJCS has changed their ...