‘Always on the go’: Gabby Perez supports Bronx youth mental health crisis team
A mental health crisis is especially frightening when it involves young children. In these situations, Bronxites may not know that they can call the VNS Health Children’s Mobile Crisis Team where their program assistant, Gabby Perez, will send out a quick response that lasts well after the initial crisis is over.
Perez, a 33-year-old Bronx native who lives in the Pelham Bay neighborhood, takes referrals and coordinates a group that ventures to any part of the Bronx to meet kids who need immediate help.
These types of mobile services are needed now more than ever. Mental health struggles are increasingly affecting even the very young, according to a report titled the State of Mental Health of New Yorkers recently released by the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Among the families surveyed, 15% of children ages 3 to 13 had received a mental health diagnosis, with Black, Latino and white children more likely to have a diagnosis than other racial groups such as Asians and Pacific Islanders.
The report also noted that among teens, defined as 13 to 17-year-olds, the number reporting persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness increased by 11% between 2011 and 2021. Not all of these youth will experience a crisis, but the trend points in the wrong direction.
Serving the entire borough, “My team is always on the go,” Perez told the Bronx Times.
Crisis means different things to different people, Perez said. People call to report youth experiencing anxiety, depression, aggressive behavior, substance abuse, self-harm and suicidal ideation — and sometimes it’s simply a kid who has poor hygiene or has stopped going to school.
Center for newly-arrived undocumented children seeks Bronx volunteers
If you’re one of many Bronx adults who speak multiple languages and enjoy working with kids, you might consider a volunteer opportunity with the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights, which helps young undocumented children get acclimated to their new life in the U.S.
The center, which operates 10 offices nationwide, is seeking volunteers, especially Bronx volunteers, because many resources for new immigrants are already located within the borough. Also, many Bronxites come from similar backgrounds and can be “cultural peers” to the new arrivals, said Ari Cannavino, volunteer coordinator.
The center often works with children who have no clear path to reunification with their parents or a relative in the U.S. These are “complex cases,” and engaging with them requires “both practical and emotional knowledge,” Cannavino told the Bronx Times.
Volunteers with the Young Center meet with the children once per week over about three to six months, they said. When children are released to caregivers, volunteers can continue to follow up via phone — but at that stage, the “angle is for [the children and caregivers] to be able to do everything on their own” and reduce their dependence on the volunteers, they said.
The vast majority of children come from Central and South America, speaking mostly Spanish and some indigenous languages. The group has also seen an “influx” of West African children who speak French, said Carravino.
Therapy dogs teach valuable lessons at WHEDco youth summer camp in the Bronx
Kids at WHEDco’s Summer Arts Day Camp in the Bronx have made some new friends, but Lucy, Penny and Buster aren’t fellow kids — they’re trained therapy dogs who visit twice a week for lessons in dog handling and social-emotional growth.
The camp, which is part of the Department of Education Summer Rising program, partners with the nonprofit A Fair Shake for Youth, founded by Audrey Hendler, to provide a unique form of learning that extends into academic success, increased confidence and better emotional awareness.
“Kids will take from the dogs whatever it is they need,” Hendler said, whether it is the confidence to speak up or the reminder to take a deep breath or change their tone of voice.
Hendler’s own dog, Lucy — a 13-year-old border collie/spaniel mix — is one of the regular dogs who visits the camp. During the Bronx Times’ visit, students also worked with Buster, a small white labradoodle mix with a fresh haircut, and Penny, a large yellow lab.
The session involved giving the dogs different puzzles with treats hidden inside. Students observed and took notes as the dogs used their noses and paws to uncover the treats.
Sometimes the students had to give the dogs some help. Penny got stuck on one puzzle that required her to pull out small drawers, and when she became frustrated, the students helped her by partially opening one drawer. When she saw how it worked, she located the rest.
VillageCareMAX Bronx location celebrates one-year anniversary
Last summer, the southeast corner of Longwood Avenue and Southern Boulevard had a severely broken sidewalk, and before 2023, Mount Sinai Health Systems had little to no presence in the South Bronx. VillageCareMAX changed that.
Since opening a community center at 798 Southern Blvd., the only one in the Bronx, the corner has been repaired, and Mount Sinai’s mammography van has been making the rounds through the southern part of the borough.
“A year ago, we opened this location, not knowing how the community would take it, and it’s great to be here a year later and see that we are accomplishing our mission,” said Vanessa Fernandez, senior vice president of operations for VillageCareMAX a subsidiary of VillageCare, a community health plan that offers care and resources to their more than 30,000 members. “We’re available not only to educate on health plan education and insurance, but to teach you English, to read your mail, to be someone in the community that you feel comfortable with.”
When VillageCareMAX cut the ribbon on its new location last July, it did so with the intention of integrating itself into the neighborhood through active outreach and frequent events done with a personal touch.
“We think it’s really important to give back to the community that we are working with,” said Emma DeVito, president and CEO of VillageCare.
Bronx Defenders avert strike with ‘historic’ contract deal
The union representing the Bronx Defenders reached a two-year contract deal, narrowly avoiding a strike that was authorized to begin July 22.
In announcing the deal, the union — which represents all 262 Bronx Defenders employees including attorneys, paralegals, social workers and other non-attorney staff — said the “historic” agreement was reached following a marathon bargaining session just days before the strike was set to begin. In the end, the deal was approved by 91% of the members who participated in the ratification vote.
Members are “really excited” about the new contract, according to Samantha Espada, a Bronx Defenders staff attorney in criminal defense. Espada told the Bronx Times the deal puts the agency “finally on par” with other public defense agencies in the city.
The Bronx Defenders serve approximately 20,000 Bronxites per year with free legal representation and holistic support services for those involved in the court system. Bronx Defenders staff work in all the borough’s courts — housing, civil and criminal — as well as federal immigration court.
The path to a new contract was contentious, as UAW Local 2325 (BxD Union) members voted overwhelmingly on July 3 to authorize the unlimited unfair labor practices strike, accusing management of retaliation, withholding information and bargaining in bad faith.
In early July, attorneys including Espada told the Bronx Times they were eager to avoid a strike but were deeply concerned about high turnover, which they attributed mainly to low pay compared to other attorney jobs — the lowest pay among public defenders in the city, they said.
Three Bronx-based orgs receive citywide restorative justice grants
A total of 16 restorative justice organizations throughout the city — including three based in the Bronx — were recently selected for grants totaling $16.5 million, with $6.5 million going toward community-based programming in the coming year.
In announcing the grant winners on July 22, the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (MOCJ) called it a “landmark investment” that reflects the mayor’s commitment to community-based conflict resolution as a means of increasing public safety.
In general, restorative justice practices encourage everyone on all sides of violence or conflict to understand the root causes and the harmful ripple effects. Restorative justice fosters empathy while encouraging those who have harmed the community to take responsibility for their actions, according to information from MOCJ.
The 16 winning organizations will each receive up to $300,000. The Bronx-based winners were Dare to Revitalize Education through Arts & Mediation (D.R.E.A.M.!), the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center and Faith in Harm Reduction, based in Harlem and the Bronx. The groups represent a wide variety of work under the umbrella of criminal justice.
“New York City’s historic investment in new restorative justice projects in schools, court-based programs, substance use support, training programs, and more is a testament to the real potential this work can have in a wide range of contexts,” said CUNY ISLG Executive Director Michael Jacobson.
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