By Amy Korb, Executive Director
The Community Fund of Bronxville, Eastchester, and Tuckahoe (BET), a local non-profit organization dedicated to providing critical health and wellness services to local community members, is proud to announce the approval of two new grants against its newly-formed Mental Health Discretionary Fund.
In 2022, The Community Fund partnered with Pace University to develop a community needs assessment. The data from this needs assessment showed that mental health services are the most significant need across all three communities. To meet this need, the Community Fund developed a discretionary fund dedicated to mental health services.
The Community Fund has awarded its first two discretionary grants to the Aisling Center in Yonkers and Iona University in Bronxville, NY. The Aisling grant will cover operational costs associated with the center’s robust walk-in counseling services, which are free to community members. The center serves over 1,000 people annually, equating to 1100 hours of counseling support. Counseling is available five days a week.
The funding for Iona University will cover phase one of a comprehensive series of workshops and training to support local community members with tangible tools and services for a variety of mental health issues, including stress management and mental, emotional, and relational well-being and health for local residents.
“The Community Fund does an amazing job of providing grant and administrative support to organizations/agencies who provide social services and community programming in Bronxville, Tuckahoe, and Eastchester, said. Dr. Kavita R. Dhanwada, Professor, Founding Dean, New York Presbyterian Iona School of Health Sciences, “We, at Iona University’s NYP Iona School of Health Sciences, are thrilled to be able to partner with the Community Fund on a new initiative that will provide workshops and training to community members in the areas of service needs identified in the Community Needs Assessment.”
“All of us here at the Aisling Center are so grateful to the Community Fund of Bronxville, Eastchester, and Tuckahoe for their support of mental health services in our community, “stated Aisling Irish Center’s social worker, Lauren McCormack: “With the additional funding, we will be able to provide much-needed and in-demand services to our clients. If people can’t get the care they need, it affects their lives and their ability to work, socialize, or even get out of bed. In response to the dramatic need, we are continuously working hard to find effective solutions to ensure when someone knocks on our door for help, we are in a position to do so”.
“The needs assessment conducted in partnership with Pace gave us the data we needed to understand what services were lacking in our community,” said Amy Korb, Executive Director of the Community Fund of BET. “Our staff, in partnership with our board, worked together to develop the mental health discretionary fund and find the robust programs that provide tangible help to our community members. This isn’t just about mental health awareness. It is about providing our community members with the services and tools to help them thrive.”
