NCJW BERGEN COUNTY SECTION: MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN BERGEN COUNTY

To celebrate our 95th Anniversary, NCJW Bergen County Section invited our community service partners to submit proposals that address the needs of children, young adults, women, older adults and families living in Bergen County.  NCJW BCS is proud to announce the following funded services, listed in alphabetical order:

Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative (BVMI) will expand medical services and hire a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner for 15 hours/week to work with the working poor. In 2019 the Women’s Health Initiative Program will serve 90 new female patients, while serving at least 1,000 active female patients. The additional Nurse Practitioner will reduce the wait time for appointments from 5 weeks to 2 weeks.

Center for Hope and Safety (CHS) will hire a Career Counselor for 24 hours a week who will assist 60 women who have been affected by domestic violence. Since economic dependency is a main reason why many abused women stay or return to a violent home, the counselor will provide the women with in-house career counseling, job readiness skill development and link them to local resources. Some funds will be available for English as a Second Language and job training classes as well as clothing and transportation costs.

Youth Consultation Service (YCS) will hire a full-time trained Art Therapist who will serve 150 traumatized and abused children at Kilbarchan and the Holley Center group homes. Art therapy is a very effective tool for treating children with complex trauma. It gives children a voice and a modality for self-expression, communication and healing.

When Amanda Missey, CEO of BVMI, was notified of the grant, she wrote “Thank you!  We are THRILLED with this gift and so excited for what it means for our patients.” NCJW BCS members’ generous personal giving contributions throughout the years are making a difference in the lives of the children, women and families we help.

L-R: Julye Myner, Executive Director of Center for Hope and Safety; Ruth Seitelman, NCJW BCS Co President; Amanda Missey, CEO of Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative; Dr. Mary Askew, Medical Director at Youth Consultation Service; and Bari-Lynne Schwartz, NCJW BCS Grant Co-Chairwoman

L-R: Ruth Seitelman, NCJW BCS Co President; Ruthie Harper, Youth Consultation Service Vice-President of Development; Fran Spiegel, Youth Consultation Service Assistant Vice-President of Development; Peggy Kabakow, Board member of NCJW BCS and Youth Consultation Service Foundation; Sue Kanrich, NCJW BCS Vice President