Home | Tag:Westchester

September is Suicide Prevention Month

2023-09-20T14:30:27-04:00September 20th, 2023|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Recent data shows that in the United States suicide rates are the highest they have been since World War II. According to the National Institute of Health, there were more than 47,000 suicides in 2019, twice the number of deaths caused by homicide. Self-violence is a problem we cannot ignore. Suicide affects people of all genders, ages, and ethnicities. We all need to be prepared with information and resources to help someone who is exhibiting signs of despair, isolation, rage, pain, and suicidal thoughts. While there is no single cause for suicidal behavior, common risk factors include: Depression or ...

The DD Diagnoses and Community Mental Health 2023

2023-09-15T14:30:27-04:00September 15th, 2023|Categories: , |Tags: , , , , , , , |

The DD Diagnoses and Community Mental Health Dates:  10/31/23 & 11/7/23              Time: 9:00 – 10:30 Enrollment Limited to:  20                   Contact Hours:  3                    CEU’s:  3   Almost all clinicians who are in a general practice setting either in the community, or a school or hospital are finding they need skills in recognizing developmental disorders and adapting treatment strategies to meet the needs of individuals who are either on the spectrum or have cognitive challenges.  This course is designed to review the fundamental aspects of these diagnoses, including changes in the DSM 5-TR.  The course will address ...

Caring For Caregivers

2023-11-02T11:54:07-04:00September 5th, 2023|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Donna*, an only child in her late fifties, suspected that her mother’s Alzheimer’s was progressing. Her mom, a widow living alone in Bronxville, seemed increasingly confused when they spoke on the phone, plus Donna, who lived and worked in Las Vegas, was starting to receive phone calls from concerned neighbors. She decided to come east for a brief visit to get a handle on the situation. Once Donna saw her mom’s declining state, she felt increasingly anxious about leaving her. She decided to quit her job and move permanently back to New York to be her mother’s caregiver and advocate. ...

Domestic Violence: Myths vs. Realities

2023-10-19T13:36:28-04:00September 4th, 2023|Categories: Mental Health, Feature, General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. While most of us recognize how devastatingly dangerous domestic violence is, both physically and emotionally, few of us are as knowledgeable as we should be about this vitally important social problem. Here are some common misconceptions about domestic violence...and the reality: 1. Myth: Most people report instances of domestic violence to the police. Reality: Half of abused women do not tell the police, according to the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2. Myth: Acts of domestic violence are generally physical or sexual. Reality: Any pattern of coercive behavior—whether it's physical, ...

Boosting Your Child’s Emotional and Social Skills

2023-08-31T13:51:26-04:00August 31st, 2023|Categories: General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

New parents often bemoan that their newborns didn’t arrive in this world with a manual. They, rightfully, sense that the early years of a child’s life are an essential foundation for later success—in school, career, and in life. WJCS has numerous early childhood programs. We are committed to providing parents and young children with the tools they need to develop a healthy bond, early literacy and language skills, and social-emotional capabilities, including empathy, problem-solving, persistence, collaboration, confidence, communication, curiosity, creativity, cooperation, and self-control. Cultivating a child’s social and emotional skills takes thoughtfulness and patience on the part of parents. ...

WJCS Hosts 3rd Annual Holocaust Survivor Day Luncheon

2023-09-12T15:27:50-04:00July 13th, 2023|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Photo at left, from left: Gillian Rittmaster, Assistant Executive Director of WJCS Jewish Programs, New York State Senator Shelley Mayer, and Allison Danzig, Coordinator of WJCS Holocaust Support Services. Photo at right: Holocaust survivors and their relatives and caregivers joined hands in celebrating being together. WJCS celebrated the 3rd Annual Holocaust Survivor Day by hosting a festive luncheon on Wednesday July 12th at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale. Eighty people, which included 50 survivors and their support network of family and caregivers, attended the gathering. New York State Shelley B. Mayor choked up with emotion as she spoke to ...

WJCS Awarded Westchester Community Foundation Grant for Gender Affirmation Programming

2023-10-31T11:05:37-04:00June 29th, 2023|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , , , , |

Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) is pleased to announce that its Center Lane for LGBTQIA+ youth program has been awarded a two-year grant of $50,000 by the HVCS Legacy Fund in Westchester Community Foundation. These funds will enable the continued development of WJCS Center Lane’s Gender Euphoria programming, a series of community-building events and activities focused on helping our transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) youth affirm their identities while also having fun. Intended to reflect the joy, happiness, and enhanced quality of life a person experiences upon embracing their true gender identity, Center Lane’s Gender Euphoria aims to provide “gender ...

10 Tips for Mental Wellness and Self-Care

2023-11-21T15:52:03-05:00May 16th, 2023|Categories: Mental Health, Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

As an agency serving the mental health and wellness needs of individual across the lifespan, WJCS is focusing not just on the mental health of our clients, but also our team members. In order to guard against burnout and vicarious trauma while boosting connections, stress-reduction, self-care, and community spirit, WJCS is hosting Employee Mental Health & Wellness activities such as gardening, fun & games in the sun, and a workshop on stress reduction & relaxation techniques. We’re also reminding our employees of our Employee Assistance Program and sharing 10 tips for Self-Care and Mental Wellness. We’re sharing those tips with ...

WJCS Spring 2023 Highlights

2023-05-09T14:58:20-04:00May 9th, 2023|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

Volunteer Spotlight: Earle Marsh

2023-06-13T13:59:13-04:00April 21st, 2023|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , , |

Earle Marsh had a flourishing career, working at some of the biggest names in media, including the A.C Nielson Company, NBC, CBS and Showtime. He even wrote an award-winning book that received the American Book Award in 1980: The Complete Directory to Primetime Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-present. It was released in nine editions from 1979 to 2007. When he left Showtime in 1984 Earle bought his first computer and found a new field of fascination and interest. He learned enough, completely self-taught, to run the IT (Information Technology) operation for a law firm in Manhattan from 1991 ...

Thank You to our Journal Donors!

2023-04-03T15:00:59-04:00April 3rd, 2023|Categories: Gala, Feature, Featured Homepage, General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Contributing to the Gala Journal is vitally important to raising critical funds for WJCS programs. Thank you to all those who purchased ads in our 2023 Gala Journal, recognizing our remarkable honorees Michele Brettschneider and William Shirley and the work of WJCS. Watch our WJCS 2023 Gala! Please Give for Good

WJCS 80th Anniversary Gala: A Huge Success!

2023-04-20T10:25:58-04:00March 31st, 2023|Categories: Gala, Feature, Featured Homepage, General|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

WJCS Gala honorees Michele Brettschneider and William Shirley (right) with CEO Seth Diamond Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) welcomed 250+ guests to their 80th Anniversary Gala on March 28th. WJCS Board members Michele Brettschneider, a Scarsdale resident, and William Shirley, a longtime Larchmont resident, were honored at the Brae Burn Country Club event. The evening was especially celebratory as WJCS, now one of the largest human services organization in Westchester, is commemorating its 80th anniversary. "We were founded in 1943 as a small organization that served a few families who were struggling in Westchester. WJCS now has over 80 programs and ...

WJCS Early Childhood Programs Celebrates El Dia de los Ninos

2023-05-04T11:52:36-04:00March 17th, 2023|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Every April WJCS Early Childhood Programs celebrate the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Week of the Young Child. The NAEYC established this event in 1971 to recognize that early childhood years lay the foundation for children’s success in school and in life. We have now expanded the celebration to include El Dia de los Ninos, Children’s Day. Children in many Latin American countries go to school on April 30th and spend the day celebrating with pinatas, and other treats. WJCS will not offer candy at our celebrations, but we will have snacks, crowns, and books ...

Dean Howell Joins WJCS Board

2023-03-08T13:36:32-05:00February 12th, 2023|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , , , , |

Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS), one of the largest human service agencies in Westchester county, is proud to announce that Dean Howell, Managing Director at Deloitte, has joined its Board of Directors. Mr. Howell has worked at Deloitte since 2016 and focuses on helping Higher Education and Government clients transform in a digital, cloud-enabled world. Previously, Mr. Howell worked at IBM, AT&T, and Oracle in a variety of technical solution engineering roles. He has worked with Westchester and NYC high school students, mentoring and inspiring their interest in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) while promoting the importance of higher education ...

Please join us at our 2023 WJCS Gala!

2023-04-03T12:40:38-04:00January 13th, 2023|Categories: Gala, Featured Internal|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Our 2023 WJCS Gala will take place Tuesday, March 28th, from 6:30-9 pm at the Brae Burn Country Club in Purchase, NY. We are thrilled to honor WJCS Board Members Michele Brettschneider and William Shirley, two remarkable individuals whose commitment to improving the lives of people struggling in Westchester is exemplary. Our 2023 Gala will feature our renowned Give for Good Auction and celebrate WJCS’s 80th Anniversary! It is because of our generous donors, supportive government officials, and dedicated staff and volunteers that WJCS has grown from a tiny agency in 1943 to a human service organization that serves ...

Response to Club Q Shooting in Colorado Springs

2023-03-07T15:46:54-05:00November 22nd, 2022|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, General|Tags: , , , , , , |

Response to Club Q Shooting in Colorado Springs By Lisa Scott, Director of Programming, Innovation, and LGBTQ+ Services at WJCS   Our WJCS community stands in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community in our outrage over the senseless shooting at Club Q, an LGBTQ+ club in Colorado Springs, on November 20th. This is a horrific attack in what should be safe space. We are devastated by the loss of life and feel deeply for others whose lives are forever altered by the injuries they sustained in the attack.  Acts like these are meant to scare the LGBTQ+ community and LGBTQ+ allies but we ...

We’re Expanding Our Parent-Child Programs!

2022-11-16T13:20:46-05:00November 2nd, 2022|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal|Tags: , , , , |

“Play is the work of the child.”—Maria Montessori Westchester Jewish. Community Services (WJCS) is thrilled to announce the expansion of early childhood programming to Tarrytown and Yonkers. Both initiatives are mode possible through generous support for the Westchester Community Foundation. The WJCS Tarrytown Parent Child Center will be a free early learning program for parents and their young children (newborn–4 years old). The program serves families in need, many of them Spanish speaking recent immigrants, and is focused on giving parents the confidence and competence to support their children’s early learning and literacy through joyful play, singing, reading, as ...

Words Have Power: Stand Up, Speak Out, and Make Change

2022-11-15T16:31:11-05:00October 25th, 2022|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , |

At our Margaret’s Place-Joe Torre Safe At Home program, WJCS created, with the help of our youth Peer Leaders, a special campaign in October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, to spread the messages that our words have the power to support survivors of domestic violence, ask important questions, and reach out for help. WJCS Margaret’s Place is situated in White Plains High School, Peekskill Middle School, and Cross Hill Academy in Yonkers. It encourages education and conversation about healthy relationships as well as trauma, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), Domestic Violence (DV), and counseling for trauma and DV-exposed youth. Cross Hill Academy ...

WJCS Staff Recognition Awards

2023-03-07T15:42:27-05:00August 6th, 2022|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal|Tags: , , |

Congratulations to the recipients of our most recent WJCS Staff Recognition Awards! Allison Danzig, Coordinator of WJCS Holocaust Survivor Programs, is a tireless advocate and champion for all the participants in her program, which serves over 160 Holocaust Survivors in Westchester county. Emily Fink, Program Specialist for the WJCS POINT program, brings warmth, creativity and skill to her work, thereby enhancing the lives of members of our POINT community. Sarah Fisher, Clinical Coordinator/Director of the Mobile Crisis Response Team, has exercised superb leadership as she developed this new program, trained her team, and offers guidance and encouragement to support ...

WJCS 2022 Gala: A Huge Success!

2022-06-08T11:58:26-04:00January 3rd, 2022|Categories: Gala, General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

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 ...

Go to Top