Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS) and the Youth Community Outreach Program (Y-COP) announced their partnership to provide mental health support, case and referral management, and programming for social-emotional development for children, from kindergarten through high school, in Y-COP’s after-school programs.
WJCS is the county’s largest provider of outpatient mental health services and Y-COP is a leading provider of youth-focused programs to the Mount Vernon community. Among the programs Y-COP administers are an after-school program, basketball and soccer programs, a girls’ empowerment group, and summer camp. Under the partnership, WJCS will provide staff onsite at Y-COP’s programs. The onsite staff will provide mental health counseling for young people in Y-COP’s programs who are identified as needing support, provide support for parents in dealing with their children’s needs, and train Y-COP’s staff to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental health struggles.
“By bringing our services to Y-COP’s programs we can make accessing support easier for young people and do it in environment where they feel comfortable. The pandemic, social media, and academic and peer pressure have all combined to create tremendous stress for families in Mount Vernon and throughout the country, and we look forward to working with Y-COP to better support the young people enrolled in their outstanding programs,’ said Seth Diamond CEO of Westchester Jewish Community Services.
“Our children experience a plethora of pressures in their lives on a daily basis, and they can be very vulnerable to those pressures if not recognized and addressed. It’s our responsibility as childcare and youth development providers to create an atmosphere that’s safe, nurturing, reassuring, and empowering and to meet them where they are. This partnership between WJCS and Y-COP will only strengthen that commitment to our youth and their families and their overall mental health well-being,” said Henry Wilson, Executive Director of Y-COP
