Violence — random, sudden, illogical, and lethal — has become a fact of life. Years of social and economic injustice have resulted in large numbers of people who are frustrated and without hope for the future, people to whom bravado is everything, and anything that seems the slightest bit threatening — a put-down, a disagreement, a dirty look — demands immediate retaliation. As I write these words, this kind of violence almost seems old school to me.
I’m not quite sure when my consciousness shifted about the kind of violence we now all face. I wonder if it was during the six-year period beginning in December 1993 when the Long Island Railroad massacre occurred, followed by the Oklahoma City bombing in April 1995 and then the Columbine school shooting in April 1999. The targets: public transportation, a federal building and a public school.
I think it was during that period of time when it started to sink in that something dramatically different was happening that was more than a fluke. I remember thinking, in one of my more morbid moments, that all Americans were secretly entered into a daily national lottery that wouldn’t result in fortunes gained from pooled funds, but instead in body counts delivered at the hands of deranged strangers.
And now, as two additional decades have unfolded, churches, synagogues, concert halls, nightclubs, workplaces and more have been added to the pantheons of mass murder.
This past Election Day, during our annual staff development day, I participated in an Active Shooter Preparedness Training at North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center. It was presented by police officer Ken Murray and paramedic Rich Husch from Nassau County Police Department Homeland Security division. The training was engaging and informative.
Before 1993, I don’t believe I could have imagined participating in such a workshop. Today it is essential for workplaces, schools and houses of worship.
In a staff development day just few years earlier, the theme was mindfulness. Mindfulness, originally a Buddhist concept founded centuries ago, refers to a practice of paying attention and staying in the present, moment-by-moment, to feelings, thoughts, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment without being judgmental. Mindfulness is often taught as a meditative approach to calming or soothing oneself.
After the active shooter preparedness training I thought about the commonalities and contrasts of the two, both of which emphasize paying attention to the environment, one to luxuriate in the richness of what might otherwise pass one by and the other to be hypervigilant to threats and escape routes.
Mindfulness is taught for the benefits of stress reduction, improved focus and reduced emotional reactivity. Active shooter preparedness is taught so that, In the midst of chaos, anyone can play an integral role in mitigating the impacts of a potentially deadly incident.
On reflection, I’m struck by the emotional flexibility required to absorb both into one’s consciousness, requiring fluidity and many-sidedness. Robert Lifton is an American psychiatrist and author, chiefly known for his studies of the psychological causes and effects of wars and political violence.
In a review of Lifton’s book, “The Protean Self: Human Resilience in an Age of Fragmentation,” the reviewer sums up the concept of the protean self by stating that “life is not a straight line. Instead, it is, and ought to be, experienced as a collage.”
The sad reality today is that the collage is becoming overcrowded by images of carnage that more sensible gun regulation can go a long way to changing.
Andrew Malekoff is the executive director of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, which provides comprehensive mental health services for children from birth through 24 and their families. To find out more, visit www.northshorechildguidance.org.
Photo courtesy of the North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center
On Nov. 7, North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center hosted a celebration honoring John and Janet Kornreich, founders of the John and Janet Kornreich Charitable Foundation, who fund the monthly outings that are a big part of the Latina Girls Project.
The Guidance Center’s Latina Girls Project is an innovative program that employs rapid response to emergency calls, individual, group and family therapy and monthly outings and other activities, all designed to tackle the epidemic of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and suicidal ideation in young Latinas.
“In addition to individual and family therapy, monthly outings to places such as museums, theater and other cultural sites are crucial to the Latina Girls Project’s ability to transform these girls’ lives,” said Guidance Center associate executive director Regina Barros-Rivera, who heads up the Latina Girls Project. “The trips serve to boost their confidence and sense of independence. They also discover that there’s a great big world of opportunity out there for them, which allows them to feel hopeful about their futures.”
The Nov. 7 event, which featured speeches from several of the girls who’ve participated in the program, was not only a celebration of the girls’ success but also an opportunity to honor John and Janet Kornreich.
“The therapy helped my mother and I communicate and become very close, and the monthly outings showed me a world I never would have seen,” one girl said. “I felt that I wanted to be a part of the larger world. The trips gave me the feeling that I could be truly happy in my life.”
Barros-Rivera said that the Kornreiches were “angels,” explaining that John walked into the Guidance Center one day and said “tell me how I can help.”
Toward the end of the celebration, both John and Janet Kornreich told the girls that they were proud of them and that they should be proud of themselves. The couple also pledged their continued support for the Latina Girls Project.
“We are deeply grateful to John and Janet for their dedication and contribution to this very important Guidance Center program,” said Malekoff. “They make these trips possible, and the trips make the girls see wonderful possibilities in their lives.”
On Oct. 26, North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center’s Executive Director Andrew Malekoff received a “Leaders of Mental Health Awareness Award” from the National Alliance on Mental Illness-New York State at its 2018 Education Conference in Albany.
“The lack of mental health parity is one of the biggest social justice issues of our time,” said Matthew Shapiro, associate director, Public Affairs, NAMI-NYS. “People living with mental illness and addiction are being discriminated against with separate and unequal treatment by insurance providers. New Yorkers are fortunate to have a strong advocate in Andrew Malekoff, who is bringing awareness to this issue and is fighting for access to recovery support services. NAMI-NYS is honored to recognize Andrew as a Parity@10 Champion.”
Parity@10 refers to a three-year campaign seeking compliance to the landmark 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, a federal law that mandates equal insurance coverage for mental health and substance use disorders as compared to other medical benefits covered by the plan. Unfortunately, insurers are not complying with the law and enforcement has been inadequate, leaving millions of Americans at risk.
In an attempt to draw attention to these discriminatory practices, in December 2017, North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center released Project Access, a year-long research study that asked 650 Long Islanders about the ease or difficulty of accessing mental health and addictions care. Some of the key findings:
Almost half of the participants said that it was more difficult finding help for mental health or substance use problems than finding help for physical illnesses, especially when they were in crisis.
Nearly 40 percent said that their insurance company did not have an adequate number of providers.
Two thirds told us that their insurance company was not helpful to them in finding a suitable provider for themselves or a loved one.
NAMI’s Shapiro called the Project Access study “eye-opening for many and a true catalyst for the reforms which are necessary to create a more mentally healthy New York State.”
Accepting the award on behalf of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, Malekoff told the audience, “The difficulty people have getting mental health and substance use care is not simply a matter of stigma —it’s a civil rights issue and often a matter of life and death.”
Malekoff also acknowledged the dedication of the NAMI members and other advocates who were present at the conference. “Every fight needs a voice, and it’s good to be in a room with so many people who are raising their voices in this most worthy battle.”
To find out more about the Guidance Center’s work, call (516) 626-1971 or visit www.northshorechildguidance.org. The website features a Project Access tab where readers can learn more about advocating for mental health parity and also share their own stories.
Roslyn Heights, NY, November 15, 2018—On October 26, 2018, North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center’s Executive Director, Andrew Malekoff, received a “Leaders of Mental Health Awareness Award” from NAMI-NYS (the National Alliance on Mental Illness-New York State) at its 2018 Education Conference in Albany, NY.
“The lack of mental health parity is one of the biggest social justice issues of our time,” said Matthew Shapiro, Associate Director, Public Affairs, NAMI-NYS. “People living with mental illness and addiction are being discriminated against with separate and unequal treatment by insurance providers. New Yorkers are fortunate to have a strong advocate in Andrew Malekoff, who is bringing awareness to this issue and is fighting for access to recovery support services. NAMI-NYS is honored to recognize Andrew as a Parity@10 Champion.”
Andrew Malekoff receiving the award from Ariel Coffman, Board Member of NAMI-NYS
Parity@10 refers to a three-year campaign seeking compliance to the landmark 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, a federal law that mandates equal insurance coverage for mental health and substance use disorders as compared to other medical benefits covered by the plan. Unfortunately, insurers are not complying with the law and enforcement has been inadequate, leaving millions of Americans at risk.
In an attempt to draw attention to these discriminatory practices, in December 2017, North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center released Project Access, a year-long research study that asked 650 Long Islanders about the ease or difficulty of accessing mental health and addictions care. Some of the key findings:
Almost half of the participants said that it was more difficult finding help for mental health or substance use problems than finding help for physical illnesses, especially when they were in crisis.
Nearly 40% said that their insurance company did not have an adequate number of providers.
Two thirds told us that their insurance company was not helpful to them in finding a suitable provider for themselves or a loved one.
NAMI’s Shapiro called the Project Access study “eye-opening for many and a true catalyst for the reforms which are necessary to create a more mentally healthy New York State.”
Accepting the award on behalf of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center, Malekoff told the audience, “The difficulty people have getting mental health and substance use care is not simply a matter of stigma —it’s a civil rights issue and often a matter of life and death.”
Malekoff also acknowledged the dedication of the NAMI members and other advocates who were present at the conference. “Every fight needs a voice, and it’s good to be in a room with so many people who are raising their voices in this most worthy battle.”
To find out more about the Guidance Center’s work, call (516) 626-1971 or visit www.northshorechildguidance.org. The website features a Project Access tab where readers can learn more about advocating for mental health parity and also share their own stories.
Generous donors support the organization’s Latina Girls Project
November 13, 2018
Roslyn Heights, NY, November 13, 2018—On Wednesday, November 7, North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center hosted a celebration honoring John and Janet Kornreich, founders of the John and JanetKornreichCharitable Foundation, who fund the monthly outings that are such a big part of the Latina Girls Project.
The Guidance Center’s Latina Girls Project is an innovative program that employs rapid response to emergency calls; individual, group and family therapy; and monthly outings and other activities, all designed to tackle the epidemic of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem and suicidal ideation in young Latinas.
Guidance Center Associate Executive Director Regina Barros-Rivera, who heads up the Latina Girls Project, describes how critical the trips are to the success of the program: “In addition to individual and family therapy, monthly outings to places such as museums, theater and other cultural sites are crucial to the Latina Girls Project’s ability to transform these girls’ lives. The trips serve to boost their confidence and sense of independence. They also discover that there’s a great big world of opportunity out there for them, which allows them to feel hopeful about their futures.”
The event Wednesday night, which featured moving speeches from several of the girls who’ve participated in the program, was not only a celebration of the girls’ success but also an opportunity to honor John and Janet Kornreich.
All of the attendees expressed their profound gratitude to the Kornreiches, who were very touched by the girls’ expressions of how profoundly the outings helped changed their lives.
As one girl put it, “The therapy helped my mother and I communicate and become very close, and the monthly outings showed me a world I never would have seen. I felt that I wanted to be a part of the larger world. The trips gave me the feeling that I could be truly happy in my life.”
Barros-Rivera said that the Kornreiches were “angels,” explaining that John walked into the Guidance Center one day and said “tell me how I can help.”
Toward the end of the celebration, both John and Janet Kornreich told the girls that they were so proud of them and that they should be proud of themselves.The couple also pledged their continued support for the Latina Girls Project.
“We are deeply grateful to John and Janet for their dedication and contribution to this very important Guidance Center program,” said Malekoff. “They make these trips possible, and the trips make the girls see wonderful possibilities in their lives.”
To find out more about the Guidance Center’s work and how you can help, please visit www.northshorechildguidance.org or call (516) 626-1971.
