It is a great honor to be a part of The Annie E. Casey Foundation Children and Family Fellowship, a results-oriented executive leadership development program that asks—and expects—fellows to make a major contribution to the broader population within 16 months. This class of fellows is made up of 16 community leaders who hail from all over the country and from various sectors including housing, juvenile justice, legal advocacy, child welfare, youth development, and more—servin

We seem to talk about mental health only following a massive tragedy, like the community shootings we’ve all grown too accustomed to seeing—and even then, we only talk about it for a day or so. And doesn’t it seem like you never hear about any changes following the media frenzy about behavioral health needs? Yet for all this silence, around one in five Americans experiences a mental health problem in a given year. That’s a big number—more than 43 million people.

We are disappointed to learn that Mayor Bill de Blasio’s budget proposal does not contain summer program funding for 31,000 middle school students. We strongly advocate for the restoration of this funding as soon as possible.

My previous experiences have been in behavioral health, quality improvement, and services to children and families (including foster care and adoption). Most recently, I was at another organization overseeing outpatient clinics, mobile crisis, PROS [Personalized Recovery Oriented Services], and home visiting services, where I used data and metrics to help ensure that we were meeting financial and quality outcome expectations.

From Occupy Wall Street to the Black Lives Matter protests, it’s clear that today’s youth are demanding change. Less clear are the avenues young people can take to make a tangible difference on the issues they care so much about. That’s why The Child Center of NY is excited to partner with the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development and the Youth Development Institute on a new initiative called the Mayor’s Youth Leadership Council.

New York City’s public school students return to school today. While their parents have spent the weekend stocking their kids’ backpacks with new pencil cases and notebooks, let’s hope their teachers have stocked their classrooms with toothpicks, cork, coins, and other everyday materials. The reason is simple: These materials can be used in hands-on experiments that encourage trial and error and the application of complex concepts.

Jamaica, Queens has been a part of my life for over two decades. I’ve spent nearly 30 years both working and living in and around this community. As The Child Center of NY’s Associate Executive Director for Youth Development and Community Engagement, I’ve had the privilege of experiencing it not only from my own perspective, but also from that of the next generation.

I believe strongly in giving back to the communities I come from. The Child Center of NY allows me to do so on two levels. My work with The Child Center enables me to give back to the geographic community where I was raised and the cultural community with which I identify.

On June 30, nearly 2000 kids will lose the safe, welcoming place they go to every day after school. COMPASS, the after-school program started by Bloomberg, was never meant to be a permanent part of the city’s programming. But the city may have underestimated how important these programs would become to the kids they serve.

Because I had two great business experiences in New York, I decided I wanted to give something back to our community. When my wife asked, “What do you want to do?” I had no hesitation. I told her I wanted to help kids.

The economic downturn over the last five years has led to belt-tightening everywhere–and particularly by nonprofits. Since 2009, funding to human-services nonprofits has been slashed by a billion dollars. At the same time, the cost of living has continue to rise, making it even harder for those that were already struggling to get by.

Two teachers at a private tutoring academy in Queens are facing allegations that they assaulted students as punishment for getting bad grades or misbehaving in class. New York Assemblyman Ron Kim and Senator Toby Stavisky are advocating legislation that would provide closer oversight over these private academies, which often teach children whose parents send them to the United States to get an education.

After comedian Robin Williams died, we asked how someone with access to the best help in the world wasn’t able to find what he needed. Boston Globe columnist Kevin Cullen noted that for Williams, money was no barrier to the best possible care. So what’s the verdict for ordinary people who are trying to find the help they need?

When the media broke the news of Robin Williams’ death, it was shocking to realize that someone who gave people so much joy was experiencing such pain. He was loved and revered by people he’d never met—a man who had every success and a family who loved him but who still felt unable to reach for the help that he needed.

We are thrilled that this week our CEO and Executive Director Traci Donnelly was featured in Harvard Business Review  for her ideas on how nonprofits and businesses should work together to help kids build skills for 21st century jobs.

Each day at The Child Center of NY, we work with children and families who have the courage to make a new start, and we see the strength and the resourcefulness they summon to succeed. These families want what all families want: a healthy home life, opportunities for their children, safe community spaces, and the chance to work and provide for their loved ones.