Thanks to a state grant, Peekskill students have been able to connect with social workers, clinicians, and a multitude of mental health services. The increase in mental health staff mitigates students’ isolation and decrease of socialization skills due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the advent of social media.
The New York state Office of Mental Health provided funding to the New York state Education Department for two “Recover from Covid School Program Grants.”
One of those, the Mental Health RECOVS Grant, was awarded to the Peekskill City School District (PCSD) in April 2024 after they applied in September 2023.
According to a statement from the school district, the main purpose of the grant is to “increase awareness about mental health and social emotional health and awareness, to increase and expand access to mental health services, to provide social emotional learning opportunities to students and staff.”
Some highlights of services provided by the grant include a districtwide Social Emotional Learning Specialist, a districtwide Clinical Case Manager, a Peekskill Middle School girls empowerment program, an Oakside Student Assistance Prevention Specialist Counselor, and three district social work positions at Uriah Hill, Woodside, and Peekskill High School.
According to the state education department no single or consortium applicant within New York State outside of New York City is awarded more than $5 million ($2.5 million per year) in either grant program.
It appears the PCSD received at most $5 million, with a 100 percent match requirement, bringing the total amount for the program to $10 million over two years.
A spokesperson for the Peekskill City School District declined to let a social worker at the school speak about the grant and programs. Several requests to speak to the Director of Grants about the actual dollar amount the district received were not responded to by the school district’s spokesperson.
Danni Lapin Zou, Senior Director of Community-based Mental Health Services for the Andrus Health and Wellness Centers, told the Herald on Dec. 18 that the grant allowed them to enhance the services they provide in the school.
“The [school district] came to us and with the funds that they were able to provide, we were able to expand our offering,” she said. “We added a second clinician at Peekskill High School. We used to just have one there five days a week. Now we have [another] who is at Peekskill [High] three days and also two at Hillcrest.”
According to the school district, the new hire from Andrus is a full time therapist. The grant also allowed Andrus to expand the offering of Encompass, an intervention program employed across Westchester County for adolescents who are identified as having substance use issues in addition to mental health issues.
Lapin Zou said it is too early to describe the specific outcomes of the grant, but the immediate impact they’ve seen has been the expansion of the number of clients who can be served.
“What is really difficult, especially when you’re in the school, is to turn away a client because you don’t have room on your caseload,” she said. “It’s exceptionally difficult because… these are adolescents and kids you’re seeing walk by all the time. Sometimes they come in and ask when they can be seen and the last thing we ever want to do is turn someone away in need.”
Andrus, an organization providing mental health treatment in 33 schools across Westchester County, has two brick and mortar clinics including one in downtown Yonkers and another in Peekskill at the Beach Shopping Center. They provide individual and family therapy with a goal of breaking down barriers to treatment children may have.
“Without having a place and an outlet to be able to really talk through the stressors in your life, to talk through really strong feelings and emotions, it will lead to maladaptive behaviors for everyone, and it impacts future goals,” Lapin Zou said. “Being able to increase the number of mental health services we can provide just means that we’re going to have a stronger community and be focused on long term outcomes.”
An information booth about mental health resources provided by the grant will be coming to the Saturday Academy from February to May 2025, according to the district.
Asked how the district would replace the services when the grant ends, the district indicated the school district’s Social Emotional Learning Committee will develop a strategic sustainability plan to continue necessary services and programs.
