A newly opened counseling center and crisis services facility in the South Bronx has expanded mental health services to meet a growing demand for mental health care in the borough.
In late April, community-based non-profit organization Astor Services announced the official opening of its new Counseling Center & Crisis Services location to help address the increasing need for mental health needs for local individuals and families.
The new facility, located at 1057 Southern Boulevard in Longwood, will provide expanded access to several mental health care services for children, youth and families throughout the borough.
The range of services, offered in both English and Spanish, vary from family, individual and group therapy to psychiatric care, medication management, behavioral health assessments and crisis intervention and support, among others.
Astor Services’ chief executive officer Yvette Bairan told the Bronx Times that the new location ensures children, young people and families in the Bronx have a trusted place to turn to for care, support and healing.
“Families in the South Bronx face enormous challenges —from economic hardship to community violence and trauma— but too often, they lack access to the mental health support they need,” Bairan said.
The launching of the newly established Astor Services location consists of an adolescent partial hospitalization program, which will provide intensive treatment on a daily basis for youth, ages 11 to 18, who experience serious mental health concerns.
This program, which according to Astor Services represents the first PHP program for youth in the Bronx, allows individuals to receive structured therapy and support while the patients are also able to remain home with their families.
The center’s new trauma recovery center offers evidence-based treatment for children and families who have experienced interpersonal or community violence. This particular program helps clients access mental health care, medical services and other critical resources needed to rebuild stability through therapy, case management and advocacy.
The juvenile justice program within the facility now supports Bronx residents between the ages of 12 and 26 with emotional and behavioral needs through therapy, assessments and strengths-based case management, the latter of which is a client-centered support approach which builds on one’s existing skills, talents and resources as opposed to focusing on an individual’s problems, diagnoses or deficits.
Additional services at the new facility include substance-use screening and treatment, family advocacy and case management as well as specialized treatment for youth who cause sexual harm.
Each of the facility’s services accepts insurance as well as Medicaid. Astor Services also ensures care will be provided, regardless of insurance status.
According to an Astor Services spokesperson, more than 400 clients have received services since the facility’s opening in April.
“Astor Services’ community and outpatient treatment programs are designed to support clients and their families where it matters most — in their homes and within their own communities,” said New York State licensed mental health counselor Samantha Kroener.
Kroener, who has nearly a decade of experience as a licensed therapist, serves as Astor Services’ program director of partial hospitalization programs.
According to Astor Services, which provides behavioral health, early childhood development and family support programs in the Bronx as well as throughout the Hudson Valley, present day challenges and barriers such as cost and stigma, as well as limited local resources, make it difficult for many South Bronx residents to access timely mental health care.
The new center aims to close that gap by providing accessible, community based services to “help families stabilize during crises and build long term resilience,” according to the non-profit.
Astor Services’ other Bronx location operates at 750 Tilden St. as the Williamsbridge Counseling Center and has been serving Bronx clients since 1982.
Mental health continues to be a growing concern in contemporary society throughout the city and the country, but there has been a particular cry out for help from the Bronx in recent years for more help and services to come to the borough.
In a Bronx Times opinion piece written in March by Raye Barbieri, chief executive officer of the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center as well a founding member of The Bronx First coalition, it was noted the Bronx has among the highest rates of depression and serious psychological distress in the city.
The Bronx was said to have the fewest mental health providers and the lowest rate of people getting mental health treatment in NYC, according to Barbieri’s opinion piece.
Astor Services also told the Bronx Times the borough currently has the highest borough psychiatric hospitalization rate in NYC – 697 per 100,000 adults, compared to less than 500 per 100,000 adults for each of the remaining four boroughs.
Additionally, a March 2024 mental health study released by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli’s office confirmed the borough of Manhattan had 150 psychiatrists per 100,000 residents, while the Bronx only had 18.7 per the same capita.
The year prior, in 2023, the Bronx was reported to have had the highest rate of psychiatric hospitalizations across all of NYC, according to mental health data released by nyc.gov and since reported by the Bronx Times.
If you or a loved one is in crisis, call the NYC/Bronx Services hotline 24/7 at (888) NYC-WELL or (888) 692-9355 or visit Astor Services online for more information.
