 Borough President Vito Fossella unveiled a ground-up, one-of-a-kind Behavioral Health Blueprint for Staten Island Children and Young Adults to support those at-risk or already suffering from mental health illnesses at a press conference at the College of Staten Island.
In response to the growing mental health crisis on Staten Island, Borough President Fossella and his health team partnered with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and some of the longstanding organizations that have been serving the borough for more than 50 years to develop a framework to provide the best services to children and young adults with mental and emotional needs. To create the blueprint, there was extensive community participation with educators, students, parents, treatment providers, and clergy. It was led by Dr. Ginny Mantello, the director of health and wellness at Borough Hall. The blueprint aims to address an alarming increase in mental health conditions, particularly depression and suicidal thoughts, among Staten Island youth and young adults from pre-K through the age of 24. “It’s a community-based, school-based, primary care-centered approach to ensure that every child on Staten Island who may show signs of behavioral problems or mental illness will get the help they need,” said Borough President Fossella. “And that will come between a collaboration with the Department of Education, the healthcare providers, so many of you in this room, to ensure that here on Staten Island, with this customized -- not a one size fits all -- but a customized approach that will work for the kids and the families of Staten Island.” The “north star” goal of zero suicides was selected to guide the work, which includes reducing suicidal ideation; reducing suicidal attempts; reducing emergency department visits and hospitalizations for suicidality; improving transition to care post-hospitalization; increasing self-management, connectedness, and resiliency; and decreasing anxiety, bullying, and depression, substance misuse and overdoses. Additionally, there will be a multi-pronged system in the schools this fall to track the data, which will include teen mental health and first aid tips for ninth-and-tenth grade students, increased training for school social workers and counselors, wellness training for school staff, and a mental health literacy pilot program for sixth-grade students. Comments are closed.
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