Meet Jonah, our brave, smart, funny, and insightful client who shared their story with more than 200 Child Center of NY friends and supporters on May 7—National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day—at “Outside In.”

We can’t get enough of the engagement, connection, and plain old cuteness in this photo! Pictured here are Child Center Chief Executive Officer Traci Donnelly with 19-month-old Lula.

On March 1, participants of The Child Center’s WIOA Learn & Earn Program had a wonderful opportunity to visit Princeton University, thanks to the generosity of Child Center supporter Ken Jones. The WIOA program works with youth from low-income families to strengthen their academic skills, as well as their readiness for higher education and the workforce.

The Child Center Residential Treatment Facility is a place for youth who have had multiple psychiatric hospital stays and youth with both psychiatric disorders and juvenile justice involvement. It is also a place where young people who have had a rough start find their way to a bright path.

February 3 was National Women Physicians Day, which provides the perfect opportunity to spotlight Drs. Omolara Uwemedimo, Nicole Brown, and Suzette Brown, whose primary care practice Strong Children Wellness supports healthy families in our communities!

Martin Luther King, Jr., Day is an important day at The Child Center of NY. Programs across the organization mark the observance in unique ways that are meaningful to them.

Bishop, 5, just started his first year at Hammel Houses Cornerstone Community Center in Rockaway Beach, Queens. He was so excited to receive plushies as his gift through The Child Center of NY’s Holiday Toy Drive because “plushies are my favorite toy!”

On October 26, two of The Child Center of NY’s founding principles came together in a beautiful way at our Roosevelt Island Beacon at P.S./I.S. 217 in Manhattan. Staff and students celebrated Lights On Afterschool to shine a spotlight on afterschool programs while participating in the “Kinder, Braver Together” campaign, a partnership between The Child Center and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation to raise mental health awareness. This month’s Photo of the Month collage tell

September is Attendance Awareness Month, and there’s no better place to celebrate it than at Catherine and Count Basie Magnet School for Multimedia and Performing Arts M.S. 72.

It’s back-to-school season, and 15-year-old Ethan (far left in the above photo) feels ready and full of a sense of confidence he built slowly but surely this past summer.

The Elite Steppers dance team from the SONYC afterschool program at Queens United Middle School 289 began the last school year with hopes of entering and competing in the DYCD Step It Up NYC Competition. While the girls did enter and make it to the second round of the competition, what happened next was far more rewarding and valuable for the participants and their growth!

Sean, the smiling boy you see in this picture, is starting second grade this year at P.S. 56 in Richmond Hill, Queens. He’s also starting his third year at The Child Center of NY’s COMPASS afterschool program. Thanks to the generous supporters of our 2023 Backpack Drive, Sean is prepared and excited for the academic adventures to begin!

Earlier this summer, we shared with you sobering statistics regarding LGBTQ+ youth in America—and how critical it is that we support them, now more than ever. Clinical Coordinator Youngkwang (Young) Moon and the team at The Child Center Residential Treatment Facility (RTF) in Brooklyn are on the frontlines in this critical endeavor.

Meet the fearless, friendly, and (nearly) undefeated participants of our first-ever Parsons FC! This was the first year that our Parsons programs offered a soccer club, and we loved seeing the participants set their goals high (pun intended!). Throughout the school year, the team practiced after school three days a week,

Can you feel the love in this picture? We sure can! Jazlyn, a 3-year-old student at Corona Head Start, couldn’t wait to bring her dad to school with her for Father’s Day—and her dad couldn’t wait to be a part of the special day. Family engagement is a key part of all our early childhood education programs. At The Child Center, we know that parents and other primary caregivers are children’s first and most important teachers.

On Thursday, May 11, The Child Center of NY, BOSS, KABOOM!, NY Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, and Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Kim Council joined together at The Child Center Residential Treatment Facility (RTF) to build a 9,000-square-foot outdoor playspace designed by the youth themselves.

May is National Foster Care Month, an observance that has special meaning at The Child Center of NY. The Child Center operates four Prevention and Family Support programs for families with children at risk of abuse, neglect, or foster care placement, or who simply need help with parenting challenges.

Do you or a family member currently have health insurance through New York State Medicaid, Child Health Plus or the Essential Plan? Starting in Spring 2023, New York State will resume eligibility reviews and renewals for people enrolled in these programs. This means you may need to take action to renew your health insurance or the insurance of your family members.

We cut the ribbon at the state-of-the-art Cohen Family Wellness Center (CFWC) in Woodside, Queens, this month, and we couldn’t be happier, prouder, or more grateful! The Cohen Family Wellness Center is an innovative 10,000-square-foot facility that offers mental health care and other services for New Yorkers of all ages. It was made possible through the generous support of the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation. We are deeply honored that the Center bears their name.

If anyone ever had any doubt about the difference a social worker can make in a life, this testimony will erase it. This is a letter that 16-year-old school-based mental health client Kayla handwrote about her social worker, Anita Sanehi, LCSW. In her own words, Kayla describes how transformative and healing her experience has been.