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Supporting Families: Building Skills to Help Them Thrive

2024-04-03T10:47:46-04:00February 26th, 2024|Categories: General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |

Ten percent of children in Westchester county live below the poverty line. Boosting the educational, social, and emotional skills of the next generation has invaluable long-term impact. By supporting children, youth, and families, we are ensuring positive outcomes for them now and in the future. WJCS recognizes that every child deserves to have the skills, tools, resources, and affirmations they need to be prepared for and thrive in school. WJCS is devoted to decreasing the effects of socioeconomic disparities and promoting parent-child engagement, early literacy, and social-emotional building for families from under-resourced and marginalized communities. After-school programs promote positive ...

WJCS Early Childhood Programs Celebrates El Dia de los Ninos

2023-05-04T11:52:36-04:00March 17th, 2023|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |

Every April WJCS Early Childhood Programs celebrate the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Week of the Young Child. The NAEYC established this event in 1971 to recognize that early childhood years lay the foundation for children’s success in school and in life. We have now expanded the celebration to include El Dia de los Ninos, Children’s Day. Children in many Latin American countries go to school on April 30th and spend the day celebrating with pinatas, and other treats. WJCS will not offer candy at our celebrations, but we will have snacks, crowns, and books ...

Words Have Power: Stand Up, Speak Out, and Make Change

2022-11-15T16:31:11-05:00October 25th, 2022|Categories: Feature, Featured Homepage, Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , |

At our Margaret’s Place-Joe Torre Safe At Home program, WJCS created, with the help of our youth Peer Leaders, a special campaign in October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, to spread the messages that our words have the power to support survivors of domestic violence, ask important questions, and reach out for help. WJCS Margaret’s Place is situated in White Plains High School, Peekskill Middle School, and Cross Hill Academy in Yonkers. It encourages education and conversation about healthy relationships as well as trauma, Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), Domestic Violence (DV), and counseling for trauma and DV-exposed youth. Cross Hill Academy ...

WJCS 2022 Gala: A Huge Success!

2022-06-08T11:58:26-04:00January 3rd, 2022|Categories: Gala, General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

WJCS-Westchester Jewish Community Services hosted our annual Gala on April 5th, 2022 at Brae Burn Country Club in Purchase, New York. Attended by more than 200 philanthropic, community, and political leaders from throughout Westchester County, the evening marked a triumphant return to in-person events after two years of virtual galas. The money raised will provide much-needed funds for our agency's 80+ programs that serve 20,000 Westchester residents every year. "It was wonderful to have so many members of our community together to celebrate this year's honorees—New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and WJCS Board President ...

What We Stand For

2022-06-08T12:03:04-04:00January 3rd, 2022|Categories: Featured Internal, General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

Founded in 1943, Westchester Jewish Community Services has grown to be one of the largest nonprofit human service organizations in Westchester and the largest provider of licensed outpatient community mental health services in the county. Our values guide our work—the state-of-the-art programs and services we offer with compassion to more than 20,000 people of all ages and backgrounds throughout Westchester County. WJCS is driven by the spirit of “tikkun olam”–repairing the world. By providing care and support, we work to help Westchester residents of all ages and backgrounds who are struggling to heal, develop skills, build resilience, and lead ...

Teen Mental Health First Aid

2022-02-18T15:27:16-05:00December 6th, 2021|Categories: General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |

The statistics are staggering. One in five teens has had a serious mental health disorder at some point in their young lives. Fifty percent of all mental illnesses begin by age 14. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for 15-24year-olds. WJCS is proud to offer training in Teen Mental Health First Aid, a nationally certified course which teaches high school students how to identify, understand and respond to signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders among their friends and peers. It gives students the skills to have supportive conversations with their friends and get a responsible and ...

Preventing Summer Learning Loss

2021-07-19T16:57:02-04:00July 19th, 2021|Categories: Featured Homepage|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

The average student loses 17–34% of the prior year’s learning during the summer break, according to a study published in the American Educational Research Journal, We're several weeks into the summer, a perfect time to make sure that you are making the most of your children's free time. Fortunately, there is an abundance of entertaining and enriching library programs throughout Westchester which children and teens will enjoy and benefit from as well. Eastchester Public Library: Reading challenges, a coding club, trivia challenges, and a creative writing workshop are just a few of the children's and youth activities the Eastchester ...

WJCS Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics

2022-07-20T11:44:59-04:00June 15th, 2021|Categories: Featured Homepage|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

WJCS Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) in Peekskill and Mount Vernon Clinic provide integrative services to clients who are living with a variety of behavioral health conditions, including but not limited to serious mental illness, substance use disorders, and serious emotional disturbance. The CCBHC Services include the following: • Screening, assessment, and diagnosis, including risk assessment • Patient-centered treatment planning, including crisis planning • Comprehensive outpatient mental health and substance use services • Case management • Community-based recovery supports, including peer support, counselor services, and family supports • Crisis mental health services, including 24-hour mobile crisis team emergency ...

WJCS Addresses Disparities in Digital Access

2021-08-06T13:41:43-04:00June 2nd, 2021|Categories: General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , |

The inequity that individuals in financial need experience in regard to digital access became glaringly apparent once the Covid pandemic hit. Lack of access to the internet was clearly an obstacle that would have long-lasting ramifications for youth now required to log on the internet in order to learn remotely from home. WJCS could not ignore the problem. At WJCS, we are committed to ensuring that all children have the information technology needed for school participation and learning, an essential ingredient to their academic and future success.  Thanks to our partnership with the STEM Alliance and funding from the ...

WJCS Awarded College Wellness Grant from Westchester Community Foundation

2021-04-28T15:36:31-04:00April 28th, 2021|Categories: Featured Homepage|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

WJCS has received a grant from Westchester Community Foundation (WCF) for its College Wellness Initiative. This grant will allow WJCS to continue to deliver critical mental health services to Westchester County’s college students. WJCS and the Westchester County Department of Community of Mental Health (DCMH) created the College Wellness Initiative in 2020 to address the growing mental health needs of college students in Westchester County. The program was initially funded with Cares Act funding. The new funding from WCF will allow the program to continue to support college students beyond the initial pilot phase. The College Initiative supports Westchester County ...

Welcome to our new website!

2021-08-02T14:42:15-04:00April 19th, 2021|Categories: General|Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |

As one of the largest, state-of-the-art human service organizations in the New York metropolitan area, it is important to us to make information regarding our services, impact, thought leadership, community trainings, professional development classes, and other events easily accessible for current clients, potential clients, donors, volunteers, government officials, community and corporate partners, media, and staff. Our goal with this new website is to provide you with an easy, user-friendly way to learn about WJCS's programs and to browse information based on your own choice. Among the new features to explore are: Videos that share client stories about how WJCS has changed their ...

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