North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center Hosts Winter Wind-Up

On February 25, the Business Advisory Council of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center hosted Winter Wind-Up, an after-hours networking event at the Revel Restaurant and Bar in Garden City. The evening of winetasting and networking attracted over 60 attendees and raised $1,700 for the Guidance Center’s Children’s Center at Nassau County Family Court. Blank Slate Media, Driven Local and Farrell Fritz, P.C. sponsored the event.

The mission of the Business Advisory Council is to increase awareness of the Guidance Center across corporate Long Island. The Council is chaired by Janice Ashley of Signature Bank and Jacqueline Bushwack of Rivkin Radler LLP.

The Children’s Center, a Guidance Center program, provides a safe and enriching environment for children ages 6 months to 12 years on-site at the Nassau County Family Court while parents are involved in court business.

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center is the pre-eminent not-for-profit children’s mental health agency on Long Island, leading the way in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, training, parent education, research and advocacy.

The Guidance Center is dedicated to restoring and strengthening the emotional well-being of children (from birth – age 24) who are troubled, in trouble or causing trouble. Our highly qualified team of caring psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, drug and alcohol counselors, mental health counselors, vocational rehabilitation counselors and family advocates work with children and their families to address issues such as depression and anxiety; developmental delays; school refusal; bullying; sexual abuse; teen pregnancy; and family crises stemming from illness, death, trauma and divorce. We offer outpatient mental health counseling and teen drug abuse and prevention services.

For more than 60 years, the Guidance Center has been a place of hope and healing, providing innovative and compassionate treatment to all who enter our doors, regardless of their ability to pay.

To learn more about the Guidance Center, please visit www.northshorechildguidance.org or call 516 626 1971 ext. 310.

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center Receives Donation from Fortunoff Backyard Store

The Fortunoff Backyard Store has made a campaign contribution of $7,500 to North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center to support its mission of restoring and strengthening the emotional well-being of children and families. The donation was made as part of a new campaign initiative to succeed the Campaign for the Next Generation that raised $2.5 million.

According to Guidance Center Executive Director Andrew Malekoff, “This contribution from the Fortunoff Backyard Store will be used to strengthen our capacity to provide universal access to mental health care to children and families of all socio-economic backgrounds. As government support wanes we are depending, more and more, on the community to take ownership in the Guidance Center. Our campaign is aimed as sustaining our services well into the future. We thank the Fortunoff Backyard Store for their generous support.”

Fortunoff Backyard Store CEO Bernard Sensale commented that “the Fortunoff Backyard Store is proud to make this contribution that helps our community as it helps the North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center expand its important mission. The Fortunoff family has long supported their good work, and we’re happy to help continue that effort”.

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center is the pre-eminent children’s mental health agency on Long Island. The Guidance Center leads the way in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, training, parent education, and advocacy.

The Guidance Center helps families to raise healthy children and works with kids (ages 0-24) who are troubled, in trouble, or causing trouble and parents who need help in these stressful times. Difficulties range from depression and anxiety, developmental delays and school failure, from substance abuse to family crises stemming from illness, death, trauma, and divorce. We offer outpatient mental health counseling and teen drug abuse and prevention services.

Our highly-qualified staff consists of teams of caring psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, drug & alcohol counselors, mental health counselors, and family advocates, with expertise in working with children.

For more information about the Guidance Center, please visit www.northshorechildguidance.org, or email: development@northshorechildguidance.org.

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center Receives Donation from the Charles and Mildred Schnurmacher Foundation

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center has received a campaign contribution of $10,000 from the Charles and Mildred Schnurmacher Foundation to support the Guidance Center’s outpatient mental health program, including the Schnurmacher Bereavement and Trauma Program. The donation was made as part of a new campaign initiative to succeed the Campaign for the Next Generation that raised $2.5 million.

According to Guidance Center Executive Director Andrew Malekoff, “The next campaign phase will focus on sustaining our services into the future. This is especially critical during a time when New York State is moving away from supporting universal access to community-based mental health care for children and families. We are grateful to the Charles and Mildred Schnurmacher Foundation for their decades of support to children’s mental health.”

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center is the pre-eminent children’s mental health agency on Long Island. The Guidance Center is dedicated to strengthening the emotional well-being of children and families, and leads the way in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, training, parent education, and advocacy.

The Guidance Center helps families to raise healthy children and works with kids (ages 0-24) who are troubled, in trouble, or causing trouble and parents who need help in these stressful times. Difficulties range from depression and anxiety, developmental delays and school failure, from substance abuse to family crises stemming from illness, death, trauma, and divorce. We offer outpatient mental health counseling and teen drug abuse and prevention services.

Our highly-qualified staff consists of teams of caring psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, drug & alcohol counselors, mental health counselors, and family advocates, with expertise in working with children.

For more information about the Guidance Center, please visit www.northshorechildguidance.org, or email: development@northshorechildguidance.org.

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center Receives Donation from the Port Washington Yacht Club

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center was the beneficiary of the Port Washington Yacht Club’s Bi-Annual Ladies Luncheon and Dinner held on December 4, resulting in a donation of more than $15,000 to the Guidance Center.

Jackie Weigand, the ladies event committee and the members and guests of Port Washington Yacht Club, selected the Guidance Center as this year’s charity in appreciation of the outstanding programs and services that the Center provides to the children and families of our local communities.

The Port Washington Yacht Club was founded in the spring of 1905 as “The Port Washington Club.” The purpose of the club was stated as being to encourage social and athletic activities for people of the Port Washington peninsula. Through the years the Port Washington Yacht Club has prospered and broadened its membership and activities to a point that would have amazed its founders. The total membership now totals over 390, with significant participation in all traditional yacht club activities.

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center is the pre-eminent children’s mental health agency on Long Island. The Guidance Center is dedicated to strengthening the emotional well-being of children and families, and leads the way in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, training, parent education, and advocacy.

The Guidance Center helps families to raise healthy children and works with kids (ages 0-24) who are troubled, in trouble, or causing trouble and parents who need help in these stressful times. Difficulties range from depression and anxiety, developmental delays and school failure, from substance abuse to family crises stemming from illness, death, trauma, and divorce. We offer outpatient mental health counseling and teen drug abuse and prevention services.

Our highly-qualified staff consists of teams of caring psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, drug & alcohol counselors, mental health counselors, and family advocates, with expertise in working with children.

For more information about the Guidance Center, please email: development@northshorechildguidance.org or visit: www.northshorechildguidance.org.

Funding and Books for North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center’s Children’s Center at Nassau County Family Court

The Children’s Center at Nassau County Family Court, operated by North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, is a safe haven for children and a respite for parents who must appear in court. The Children’s Center offers short-term childcare in a safe, supervised, secure and nurturing environment for children from infancy to 12 years of age. Approximately 1,800 children participate yearly.

The Guidance Center is pleased to announce that the WE CARE Fund of the Nassau Bar Association, Inc. has made a grant of $2,500 to support the Children’s Center.

Additionally, Guidance Center’s Community Action Committee and Business Advisory Council just completed a book drive and more than 1,000 children’s books have been collected for the Children’s Center. Reading is an integral part of the day’s activities at the Children’s Center and every child is sent home with a book every day. More than 27,000 books have been distributed.

The WE CARE Fund is the nationally-recognized charitable arm of the Nassau County Bar Association. Founded in 1988, WE CARE funds are raised by the legal profession and the community at large. The money is distributed through charitable grants to improve the quality of life for children, the elderly and others in need throughout Nassau County.

Nurtured by the tireless efforts of lawyers and judges, the WE CARE program has matured into a nationally recognized model for similar programs instituted by other bar groups. With the financial support and personal effort of so many, WE CARE has been able to serve the community in myriad ways.

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center is the pre-eminent children’s mental health agency on Long Island. The Guidance Center is dedicated to strengthening the emotional well-being of children and families, and leads the way in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, training, parent education, and advocacy.

The Guidance Center helps families to raise healthy children and works with kids (ages 0-24) who are troubled, in trouble, or causing trouble and parents who need help in these stressful times. Difficulties range from depression and anxiety, developmental delays and school failure, from substance abuse to family crises stemming from illness, death, trauma, and divorce. We offer outpatient mental health counseling and teen drug abuse and prevention services.

Our highly-qualified staff consists of teams of caring psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, drug & alcohol counselors, mental health counselors, and family advocates, with expertise in working with children.

For more information about the Guidance Center, please visit www.northshorechildguidance.org, or email: development@northshorechildguidance.org.

Guidance Center Receives $10,000 Grant From The Dammann Fund For Pregnant And Parenting Teen Services

The Dammann Fund, Inc. has awarded North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center with a grant of $10,000 to support its Good Beginnings for Babies (GBB) program, a service that operates out of the Guidance Center’s Leeds Place in Westbury and offers support for pregnant and parenting teens.

According to Guidance Center CEO Andrew Malekoff, “GBB promotes the healthy development of children by ensuring access to prenatal care and promoting preventive care for parents and their children. We aim to help the moms reach full-term pregnancies, deliver healthy birth weight babies and build strong attachments with their newborns. Good attachments are the cornerstone of healthy emotional development.”

GBB Program Director, Dr. Nellie Taylor-Walthrust added, “In GBB we work with families to develop and promote a community of support. The goal is to reduce isolation of young parents in the early years of their child’s development and increase the community’s sense of responsibility for young families, by building a community of young parents who support one other.” Dr. Taylor-Walthrust added, “We also carefully screen for maternal depression and other perinatal mood disorders and provide treatment or referrals for mental health care, as indicated.”

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center is the pre-eminent children’s mental health agency on Long Island. The Guidance Center is dedicated to strengthening the emotional well-being of children and families, and leads the way in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, training, parent education, and advocacy.

The Guidance Center helps families to raise healthy children and works with kids (ages 0-24) who are troubled, in trouble, or causing trouble and parents who need help in these stressful times. Difficulties range from depression and anxiety, developmental delays and school failure, from substance abuse to family crises stemming from illness, death, trauma, and divorce. We offer outpatient mental health counseling and teen drug abuse and prevention services.

Our highly-qualified multi-cultural and bi-lingual staff consists of teams of caring psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, drug & alcohol counselors, mental health counselors, and family advocates, with expertise in working with children.

To learn more about the Guidance Center, visit our website: www.northshorechildguidance.org or call 516 626 1971.

Andrew Malekoff Honored As Outstanding Behavioral Health Provider Of The Year

The Nassau County Department of Human Services, Office of Mental Health, Chemical Dependency and Developmental Disabilities Services, has selected Andrew Malekoff, North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center CEO, as their 2014 Outstanding Provider of the Year in Delivering Integrated Care to Families. He will receive the award at the 5th Annual Conference on Co-Occurring Disorders on December 12, 2014 at Hofstra University, Uniondale, NY during the opening remarks beginning at 9:00 A.M.

Regarding the honor Malekoff stated, “I am grateful to the Nassau County Department of Human Services for honoring me. It is particularly meaningful to be recognized just days before the second anniversary of the December 14th tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. After the Newtown shootings there was not one parent in the United States who was able to escape the tyranny of imagining their child being murdered in their neighborhood school. Being honored reminds me about how much more needs to be done. How many more children will be taken from us before lawmakers devote the same energy and resources it takes to launch their re-election campaigns, to safeguarding our children, by taking steps to prevent gun violence andprovide adequate funding for community-based mental health centers to support the emotional well-being of all of our children?”

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center is the pre-eminent children’s mental health agency on Long Island. The Guidance Center is dedicated to strengthening the emotional well-being of children and families, and leads the way in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, training, parent education, and advocacy.

The Guidance Center helps families to raise healthy children and works with kids (ages 0-24) who are troubled, in trouble, or causing trouble and parents who need help in these stressful times. Difficulties range from depression and anxiety, developmental delays and school failure, from substance abuse to family crises stemming from illness, death, trauma, and divorce. We offer outpatient mental health counseling and teen drug abuse and prevention services.

Our highly-qualified multi-cultural and bi-lingual staff consists of teams of caring psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, drug & alcohol counselors, mental health counselors, and family advocates, with expertise in working with children.

To learn more about the Guidance Center, visit our website: www.northshorechildguidance.org or call 516 626 1971.

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center awarded $170,000 grant by the van Ameringen Foundation

North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center has received a two-year grant award of $170,000 from the van Ameringen Foundation to support the organization’s outpatient mental health program. According to Andrew Malekoff, CEO of North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center, “We are gratified to receive this generous grant at such a critical time when increasing numbers of community-based mental health clinics are restricting access to care. This grant will enable us to continue our policy of offering universal access to care and turning no one away for inability to pay.” Malekoff added that the “van Ameringen Foundation has been staunch supporters of children’s mental health and was instrumental in helping the Guidance Center to launch and sustain our successful school-based mental health program and triage and emergency service.”

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center is the pre-eminent children’s mental health agency on Long Island. The Guidance Center is dedicated to strengthening the emotional well-being of children and families, and leads the way in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, training, parent education, and advocacy.

The Guidance Center helps families to raise healthy children and works with kids (ages 0-24) who are troubled, in trouble, or causing trouble and parents who need help in these stressful times. Difficulties range from depression and anxiety, developmental delays and school failure, from substance abuse to family crises stemming from illness, death, trauma, and divorce. We offer outpatient mental health counseling and teen drug abuse and prevention services.

Our highly-qualified multi-cultural and bi-lingual staff consists of teams of caring psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, drug & alcohol counselors, mental health counselors, and family advocates, with expertise in working with children.

To learn more about the Guidance Center, visit our website: www.northshorechildguidance.org or call 516 626 1971.

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center Hosts 2014 Gala honoring Executive Director/CEO Andrew Malekoff

On November 1, the Guidance Center hosted its annual gala, Dancing With Our Stars 2014, at the Garden City Hotel. With 240 in attendance, the event raised more than $320,000.

The honoree for the night was Andy Malekoff, Executive Director/CEO, who began working at the Guidance Center in 1977. Guests were entertained by five “dancing stars” and their professional partners from the dance studio, Ballroom Legacy. The Dancing Stars were:

Ernesto Altamirano, Fitness Trainer/Founder, pickyourowntrainer.com; Kim Kaiman, Executive Director, North Hempstead Business & Tourism Development Corp.; Steve Malito, Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP; Dr. Steven Schoenbart, Schoenbart Vision Care; Daphne Zhou-Chan, Harvest International.

Len Berman, well-known Sportscaster/Author was the evening’s emcee and the live auctioneer was Greg Buttle, former All Pro Linebacker, NJ Jets/Color Analyst, Jets Radio Network. The event co-chairs are Josephine and Floyd Ewing, Jr. and Nancy and Lew Lane.

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center is the pre-eminent children’s mental health agency on Long Island. The Guidance Center is dedicated to strengthening the emotional well-being of children and families, and leads the way in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, training, parent education, and advocacy.

The Guidance Center helps families to raise healthy children and works with kids (ages 0-24) who are troubled, in trouble, or causing trouble and parents who need help in these stressful times. Difficulties range from depression and anxiety, developmental delays and school failure, from substance abuse to family crises stemming from illness, death, trauma, and divorce. We offer outpatient mental health counseling and teen drug abuse and prevention services.

Our highly-qualified staff consists of teams of caring psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, drug & alcohol counselors, mental health counselors, and family advocates, with expertise in working with children.

For more information about the Gala or the Guidance Center, please visit www.northshorechildguidance.org, call our development office at 516 626-1971, ext. 320 or email: development@northshorechildguidance.org.

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Hosts Forum on Newly Arrived Central American Children

On October 28, 2014, The Leeds Place of North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center hosted a dynamic forum entitled: “Newly-Arrived Central American Children: A Presentation on the Role of U.S. Policy on Immigration.” Guest speaker Érika Patricia Guerra Escalante who is on tour from El Progresso, Honduras, spoke to an audience of social workers, psychiatrists, educators, advocates, attorneys and business people about the hardship and challenges faced by children who migrate from Honduras. For example, she testified that gang involvement is not a choice for youths in Honduras, rather it is a demand that is met by either their acquiescence or death.

Andrew Malekoff, CEO of North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center opened the forum by saying, “What an honor it is to have this delegation join us this morning to raise consciousness about the plight of these children; and, to motivate joint action to ensure that the newly-arriving children, many of whom have histories of trauma and loss, receive our full support to help them to lead fulfilling lives in the United States.”

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center is the pre-eminent children’s mental health agency on Long Island. The Guidance Center is dedicated to strengthening the emotional well-being of children and families, and leads the way in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, training, parent education, and advocacy.

The Guidance Center helps families to raise healthy children and works with kids (ages 0-24) who are troubled, in trouble, or causing trouble and parents who need help in these stressful times. Difficulties range from depression and anxiety, developmental delays and school failure, from substance abuse to family crises stemming from illness, death, trauma, and divorce. We offer outpatient mental health counseling and teen drug abuse and prevention services.

Our highly-qualified multi-cultural and bi-lingual staff consists of teams of caring psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, drug & alcohol counselors, mental health counselors, and family advocates, with expertise in working with children.

To learn more about the Guidance Center, visit our website: www.northshorechildguidance.org or call 516 626 1971.

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center – Past Presidents Unite

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center hosted a reception on October 8 to celebrate the Campaign for the Next Generation and the rededication of the Lucille S. and Martin E. Kantor Bereavement & Trauma Center.

The Guidance Center completed the first stage of the Campaign by reaching the goal of $2.5 million. A second stage of the Campaign will begin immediately. The Campaign was led by board members, Jo-Ellen Hazan and Andrea Leeds.

Seven of the Past Presidents of the organization were on hand to celebrate the rededication of the Bereavement & Trauma Center named in honor of Lucille S. and Martin E. Kantor:

Joan Saltzman (president in 1965), Dorothy Greene (president in 1973), Jane Schwartz (president in 1979), Lucille Kantor (president in 1983), Sandy Garfunkel (president in 1997), and Jo-Ellen Hazan (president in 2005).

The occasion was celebrated with several local government leaders: Nassau County Legislator Judith Jacobs, New York State Assemblymen Chuck Lavine and Michael Montesano, and Town of North Hempstead Council Members Anna Kaplan and Peter Zuckerman.

North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center is the pre-eminent children’s mental health agency on Long Island. The Guidance Center is dedicated to strengthening the emotional well-being of children and families, and leads the way in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, training, parent education, and advocacy.

The Guidance Center helps families to raise healthy children and works with kids (ages 0-24) who are troubled, in trouble, or causing trouble and parents who need help in these stressful times. Difficulties range from depression and anxiety, developmental delays and school failure, from substance abuse to family crises stemming from illness, death, trauma, and divorce. We offer outpatient mental health counseling and teen drug abuse and prevention services.

Our highly-qualified staff consists of teams of caring psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, drug & alcohol counselors, mental health counselors, and family advocates, with expertise in working with children.

To learn more about the Guidance Center, visit our website: www.northshorechildguidance.org.