WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH: A FOCUS ON WOMEN’S HEALTH — SEE INSIDE
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March 11 - March 17, 2022
Commonpoint Queens celebrates the opening of new
mental health clinic providing services to adolescents
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Queens local elected officials
joined members of Commonpoint
Queens on Thursday,
March 3, to celebrate
the opening of a new mental
health center that will care
for the most vulnerable young
people in the borough and
region.
Commonpoint Queens is
dedicating The Harry and
Jeanette Weinberg Adolescent
Mental Health Wing in their
Sam Field facility, located at
58-20 Little Neck Pkwy., to
meet the urgent mental health
needs of more than 1,500 adolescents
and young adults.
Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards, Council
members Sandra Ung, Linda
Lee and Vickie Paladino, and
Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi
joined Commonpoint Queens
CEO Danielle Ellman for a
ribbon-cutting ceremony at
the facility.
As the two-year anniversary
of the COVID-19 pandemic
is approaching, Ellman
reflected on the public health
crisis that included a mental
health crisis impacting adolescents,
who had to cope with
school closings. The stress
and isolation caused by the
pandemic have made the need
for mental health care greater
than ever, Ellman said.
“We are committed to expanding
access to that care for
all our kids, without barriers.
As experts in working with
adolescents, we saw it as our
duty to provide the critical services
our youth so desperately
need,” Ellman said.
Standing outside of the
building before the ribbon-cutting
ceremony, Ellman shared
a story of a young man in their
program. According to Ellman,
the high school junior
Commonpoint Queens celebrated the opening of its new mental health wing with a ribbon-cutting
on Thursday, March 3, 2022. The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Adolescent Mental Health Wing is
expected to care for more than 1,500 adolescents and young adults annually. Photo by Paul Frangipane
had suicidal thoughts after his
father learned of his sexuality
and became emotionally abusive.
The abuse affected the teen,
causing his grades to slip in
school. When Commonpoint
Queens provided counseling
and support, the teen started
to show improvement and his
grades were shifting upwards,
Ellman said.
The teen shared with
them that after working with
a mental health counselor,
he is certain that the clinic
will be a great benefit to the
community.
“I think we know that our
young people are the future in
our world and they’re the ones
that we’re doing this for,” Ellman
said. “Young people need
to be assisted in becoming the
finest versions of themselves
and that’s exactly what we
hope to accomplish here in
this clinic.”
The new mental health center
is part of Commonpoint
Queens’ vision to create a mental
health and social service
hub.
Youth ages 13-24 are in a
period between childhood and
adulthood and often their specific
needs are misdiagnosed,
disregarded and minimized,
according to Commonpoint
Queens.
There can also be very little
coordination and collaboration
between the traditional
physical and mental health
systems leading to missed
and failed diagnoses of Adverse
Childhood Experiences
(ACEs) and very little detection
and action around tackling
social issues such as food
and housing insecurity that
drive up to 80% of poor health
outcomes.
The Harry and Jeanette
Weinberg Adolescent Mental
Health Wing’s integrated
health care model directly
addresses the unique issues
faced by high-needs
youth allowing young people
barrier-free access to medical,
mental health and social
services while fostering true
collaboration among a multidisciplinary
team of practitioners
and building a partnership
with families to develop
shared plans of care.
To maximize positive
health outcomes and referral
completion, Commonpoint
Queens is bringing family
navigators and integrated care
coordinators into their existing
range of social services
and using shared technology
platforms to allow secure, multidirectional
communication
among providers and track key
physical, behavioral, social
and economic outcomes.
The clinic will also offer
support and psychoeducational
groups teaching essential
life skills related to health
and overall wellness such as
healthy eating and body image,
sex, sexuality and gender.
Similar programs have
shown that over 60% of referrals
made by health care providers
to the behavioral health
program were completed, a
rate that far exceeds the 20%
rate nationally. Additionally,
engagement in on-site social
services for families facing
financial hardship leads to
successful receipt of public
benefits in a majority of cases.
Commonpoint Queens estimates
that in the clinic’s first
year, they will provide critical
mental health services to
1,500 adolescents primarily
from low-income households
and communities of color, and
immigrant families. Their
projected client base will come
from their existing programs
in 10 New York City public high
schools serving 7,000 students.
Their in-school programs
provide a wide range of services
including attendance
interventions, mental health
counseling, community service
opportunities, mentoring,
tutoring, college access support
— SAT/ACT prep, college
list development, college essay
and college tours — and more.
To learn more about the
mental health clinic and to
request an appointment, visit
commonpointqueens.org/program/
youth-mental-healthservices.
Additional reporting by
Paul Frangipane.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718) 260–
4526.
Vol. 88 No. 10 40 total pages
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