For Those on the Threshold of Adulthood: No Thresholds Beckon

Supported housing for young adults living with mental/emotional challenges, including chemical dependency, is a rare commodity in New York and is almost non-existent on Staten Island. Once they leave home or the foster care system, no government funding, no agency contracts, no appropriate...

SIMHS SafeTY.net Early Intervention Program Fills Gaps in Services for Staten Island Youth Battling Trauma-Related Substance Use/Abuse

For more than a decade, Staten Island has been harboring a shameful secret that is only recently coming to light. Our Island outranks each borough, as well as the whole of New York City and State, in the rate of adolescent drug and alcohol abuse, including binge drinking and use of prescription...

Super Storm Sandy is Over but the Problems Are Not: A Creative Community-Based Integrated Health Care Initiative

The Staten Island Mental Health Society, Inc. (SIMHS as lead agency) and Community Health Action of Staten Island (CHASI) partnered, in April 2014, to form a Mobile Integrated Health Team (MIHT) to provide in-home health and mental health services to Staten Island residents still suffering the...

Hurricane Sandy Kids Need Substance Abuse Services

The catastrophic destruction of property and psyche on Staten Island wrought by Hurricane Sandy last October devastated thousands of our residents. The monster waves and tidal surges that overwhelmed communities on the Island’s East and South Shores destroyed 500 homes, sweeping some completely...

Addressing Gun Violence to Combat PTSD in Children

Children exposed to violence, especially gun violence, are at great risk of developing symptoms associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In fact, nearly 100% of children who have witnessed the violent death of someone they know, especially a family member, develop these debilitating...

Are Bridges Suicide Magnets? They Don’t Have to Be!

Bridges are suicide magnets. But they don’t have to be. San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge has the unfortunate distinction of being the most popular suicide destination in the world. It has been the scene of 1,500 deaths by suicide, approximately 30 per year. Results from a comprehensive...

Providing Supportive Housing Options for Young Adults

Supported housing for young adults living with mental/emotional challenges, including chemical dependency, is a rare commodity in New York and is almost non-existent on Staten Island. No government funding, no agency contracts, no housing plans or programs for youth over 18 years old who have aged...

Evidence-Based Practices in a Community-Based Children’s Summer Therapeutic Program: 33 Days to a Better Level of Functioning

This article will describe the synergy derived from bringing an evidence-based curriculum into a summer therapeutic day-camp for children diagnosed as severely emotionally disturbed. What child doesn’t look forward to summer vacation from school? And what child doesn’t anticipate attending a...