Join us at this free event which honors individuals and programs that are successfully addressing the issues of children’s mental health, including work on early identification, outreach, family education, providing mental health awareness in schools and successful intervention on behalf of children and their families.
There will also be a presentation of proclamation from Governor Andrew M. Cuomo declaring the week of May 3rd Children's Mental Health Awareness Week in New York State.
The Agenda for this free event includes:12-12:30pm Networking and exhibits in the Museum's Adirondack Section featuring artwork from children living with social, emotional and/or mental health challenges. Refreshments will be served.
12:30-1:45pm Formal event in the Museum's Huxley Auditorium.
- Children Speak Out on Mental Health
- 2015 Award Winners Detail Their Work
- Presentation of the Proclamation Declaring Children's Mental Health Awareness Week
Information on 2015 Honorees
Nassau County Babies Can’t Wait Project– Baby Court Teams
This initiative is designed to support children between ages of birth through five years old and their families as they go through Nassau County Family Court and Department of Social Services with the goal of establishing a more secure parent-child relationship and lasting permanency for children.
Elmhurst Hospital Center School Based Mental Health at IS 145
This school is located in northwest Queens and services a very diverse multi-ethnic community, many of whom are new immigrants. This is a very high need school serving students with many emotional and environmental challenges and the program’s success in serving this population is an exemplary example of how schools can provide mental health services and prevent negative outcomes.
Mobile Integration Teams (MIT)
There are 4 MIT across the state: Western NY; Sagamore; Southern Tier; North Country. The goal of MIT is to provide an intensive level of clinical care, community based support, and supervision in the home and community setting. MIT provides an array of services delivered by a multidisciplinary team of professionals and paraprofessionals. Services address the individualized emotional, behavioral and mental health needs of the recipients and their families. The team provides services designed to enhance the existing system of care, provide technical support, fill in service gaps, and/or related activities that are preventative of an individual requiring psychiatric hospitalization.
NAMI Syracuse
NAMI-Syracuse is dedicated to bringing the Breaking the Silence (BTS) program into schools; within a few years they have gone from having just a handful of schools using BTS to thirty-one. BTS is a three part curriculum that provides stigma-busting education about mental illness to children in upper elementary, middle school, and high school. With this program NAMI Syracuse has managed to teach 1,000-1,500 students about mental illness in CNY. NAMI-Syracuse also annually holds a children’s mental health conference.
Voices Of Youth Advisors (VOYA)
VOYA serves as the Youth Advisory Council to Rensselear County. Members are between the ages of 14 and 28 and have experienced multiple child serving systems, including mental health and are charged with bringing the perspective of young people who receive cross-systems services to the work of the Rensselaer County System of Care. The information they provide assist the county in addressing cross-systems issues, which affect youth and their families in Rensselaer. VOYA ensures meaningful two-way communication and collaboration between the county and the young people who receive services.
Children's Mental Health Resources:
NIMH’s The Brain’s Inner Workings: Activities for Grades 9 through 12
Families Together in New York State
Learn About Children's Mental Health Awareness Events in Your Community
Children's Mental Health Awareness Day in Tompkins County
NAMI Syracuse Chidren's Mental Health Conference
YMCA Buffalo's Healthy Kids Day
