WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH: A FOCUS ON WOMEN’S HEALTH — SEE INSIDE
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Commonpoint Queens celebrates the opening of new
mental health clinic providing services to adolescents
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
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 barrierfree
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.
Additional reporting by Paul
Frangipane.
March 11 - March 17, 2022
Vol. 31 No. 10 40 total pages
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 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