Imagine being American in every way except on paper and knowing that if you are the victim of violent crime you cannot report it out of fear of being deported. This is the sad reality for nearly 800,000 young immigrants who found hope in DACA.
If you’ve heard the acronym but are not familiar with DACA, it refers to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a federal program that began in 2012 permitting any person who was brought into the U.S. before the age of 16 the temporary right to live, study and work legally in America, providing they meet certain criteria including no criminal record and attending in high school or college, or serving in the military.
According to the Pew Research Center, two-thirds of current DACA recipients are 25 or younger, many of whom were brought to the U.S. as children so they might escape persecution, violence and poverty for the promise of a better life.
One young immigrant, Rodrigo Trejo, shared his story with United We Dream, the largest immigrant youth-led organization in the country: “When I was in the 11th grade my step dad was deported to Mexico, but he had a conversation with me before he was sent back. He told me that I was going to have to be the man of the house because he didn’t think he was ever coming back. I didn’t know what he was trying to say at the time, until he passed away crossing the U.S border. He couldn’t bear to be away from his family.”
Although Rodrigo became depressed and dropped out of school he bounced back. He reenrolled and graduated at the age of 20. Soon thereafter he applied for DACA in order to continue his education. “I plan to continue my studies and want to help others who have the potential of becoming someone great but because of similar life circumstances, don’t believe in themselves,” he said.
On September 5, 2017, U.S. Attorney General (AG) Jeff Sessions pronounced, “I am here today to announce that the program known as DACA that was effectuated under the Obama administration is being rescinded [effective March 5, 2018].”
On January 9, 2018, four months after AG Session’s announcement, a U.S. District Judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending DACA, thus allowing recipients to renew their protected status for two years, re-affirming their legal legitimacy to remain in the U.S. A subsequent appeal of the judge’s ruling to keep DACA going failed.
If DACA were to be permanently rescinded it would prevent young immigrants like Rodrigo from applying for deportation protections and work permits, exacerbating the isolation, uncertainty, hopelessness and terror that preceded DACA becoming law.
If you follow national news, there is a cat-and-mouse game being played with DACA recipients in our nation’s capital. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that what is at stake is the physical and emotional well-being of young people like Rodrigo who came to the U.S. as children by no fault of their own.
In addition to the shifting sentiments expressed by the president, there is an organized anti-immigrant movement underway in the U.S. led by groups such as the Federation for American Immigrant Reform (FAIR), Center for Immigration Studies and Numbers USA. These nativist groups advocate for white European power and political control, and paint undocumented immigrants with a broad criminalized brush.
The issue of immigration in the U.S. is much broader than DACA. Nevertheless, we need to stand up to protect these young people from being rounded up and sent away. If you believe in human rights, doing nothing is not an option.
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.
This article was first published in Long Island Weekly of the Anton Media Group, April 18-24, 2018
Left to Right: Andrew Malekoff, Sean Grover, Nicole Nagy, Kerry Lynn Eller, Nancy Manigat, and Reverend Gideon L.K. Pollach
On Friday April 13, North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center hosted a program featuring Long Island author Nicole Nagy.
Nagy’s book, “Creative Mind: A Diary of Teenage Mental Illness,” is a moving first-person account of her mental health challenges and also of the roadblocks she faced when trying to access timely and affordable treatment.
Nagy, a graduate social work student at Stony Brook, has also become a Project Access advocate, fighting alongside the Guidance Center for timely, affordable access to mental health and addictions care.
The April 13 program featured Nagy’s discussion of her journey to healing and also addressed the battle to overcome stigma.
“In her book, Nicole writes with an authentic, courageous voice as she talks about her experiences with depression and anxiety,” said Andrew Malekoff, executive director of the Guidance Center. “With this book, Nicole has helped lift the fear of stigma by so honestly sharing her story. In addition, her advocacy for people struggling with mental health issues is very powerful. The battle for access to care is a matter of civil rights for millions of people.”
Even with excellent health insurance, Nagy said that getting access to treatment was very difficult. “It took weeks to get an appointment after I was hospitalized for a suicide attempt,” she said. When she was finally able to get the help she needed, she “learned to own and manage my illness and love myself.” Her goal is to share her story with everyone she can and give them hope.
The April 13 event included insights from an outstanding panel: Nancy Manigat, chief program officer of CN Guidance & Counseling Services; author and psychotherapist Sean Grover; Kerry Lynn Eller, a social worker at North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center who has experienced the difficulty of accessing mental health care in her own family; and the Rev. Gideon L. K. Pollach, rector at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Cold Spring Harbor.
“Nicole’s story shows that having mental illness and being successful are not mutually exclusive,” said Eller. Grover talked about the need for adults to remember what it was like being a teenager and to “tap into our humanity,” while Pollach spoke of the need for communities of faith to fight for parity for mental health and addictions treatment.
Manigat, Chief Program Officer of CN Guidance & Counseling Services, applauded Nagy for being an advocate, and also spoke about the importance of the Project Access study, which surveyed 650 Long Islanders about their experience trying to find mental health care. “We are so grateful for the opportunity to work with North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center on this very important study with the goal of improving access to lifesaving services for individuals living with a mental health and/or substance use disorder,” said Manigat. “Through our participation with Project Access, we were able to provide significant data which helped identify obstacles to care. At CN Guidance and Counseling Services, we believe in every individual’s ability to recover – and access to care is a necessary component of treatment. We are enthusiastic about the potential for change to come through the results of this survey.”
For more information about Project Access, email Guidance Center CEO Andrew Malekoff at amalekoff@northshorechildguidance.org. You can order “Creative Mind” on Amazon.com.
The birth of a new baby is a joyous event, but for some mothers, the situation is far more complex.
While many women experience some mild mood changes during or after the birth of a child, 15% to 20% of women experience more significant symptoms of postpartum depression and other perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, according to Vanessa McMullan, LCSW, Supervisor at The Marks Family Right From The Start 0-3+ Center, one of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center’s three locations.
McMullan and the other therapists who are part of the Guidance Center’s Diane Goldberg Maternal Depression Program work with clients whose symptoms may include feelings of anger, sadness, irritability, guilt, lack of interest in the baby, changes in eating and sleeping habits, trouble concentrating, thoughts of hopelessness and sometimes even thoughts of harming the baby or herself. These symptoms can also begin during pregnancy, not just after they have the baby.
“A lot of times when a woman is experiencing postpartum depression or anxiety, their partners don’t always know how to help, which can create a lot of stress on the relationship,” says McMullan. If it’s their first baby, many women felt unprepared for the possibility of depression and feel devastated when they experience these symptoms. “Nobody talks about this until it happens, which makes it harder to come to terms with,” says McMullan. “They can feel that they weren’t meant to be a mother.”
Maternal depression also has a negative impact on infant and child development, with research citing the potential of speech and language delays, behavioral difficulties, lower performance in school, and an inability to form trusting relationships as part of the spectrum of outcomes.
But there’s good news. Through our Diane Goldberg Maternal Depression Program, the Guidance Center provides rapid response and diagnosis for mothers suffering from postpartum depression and other perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Our services include:
Screening and assessments
Individual, couple and family therapy
Crisis intervention consultation
Psychiatric evaluations and medication management, where needed
Support groups
Back-to-work family support
Help with self-care
“One of our most important roles is to validate that, while motherhood can be wonderful in many ways, it’s OK to admit it can be really hard, especially in the beginning,” says McMullan. “With our programs, mothers can meet others like them and get a lot of support and encouragement. And the babies can play together, too. It provides a lot of opportunities for mothers to get out of the house and not feel so isolated.”
If you are a new mom—or know someone who is—and are worried about how you or she is feeling, please give us a call at (516) 626-1971. We can help.
Dina De Giorgio (center) of the Town of North Hempstead honored Vivian Moy (left) of the Port Washington Crisis Relief Team and Nancy Lane of the North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center at the town’s 25th Annual May W. Newburger Women’s Roll of Honor.
Andrew Malekoff (right) of North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center was honored with a Folio Award from the Fair Media Council. (Also shown, from left) Jo-Ellen Hazan, Rita Castagna and Frank Castagna.
Includes Book Signing by author of Creative Mind: A Diary of Teenage Mental Illness
Roslyn Heights, NY, April 17, 2018 — On Friday April 13th, North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center hosted a program featuring Long Island author Nicole Nagy.
Nagy’s book, Creative Mind: A Diary of Teenage Mental Illness, is a moving first-person account of her mental health challenges and also of the roadblocks she faced when trying to access timely and affordable treatment.
Nagy, a graduate social work student at Stony Brook, has also become a Project Access advocate, fighting alongside the Guidance Center for timely, affordable access to mental health and addictions care. The April 13 program featured Nagy’s discussion of her journey to healing and also addressed the battle to overcome stigma.
Nicole Nagy signs her book for Guidance Center Associate Executive Director Regina Barros-Rivera.
“In her book, Nicole writes with an authentic, courageous voice as she talks about her experiences with depression and anxiety,” said Andrew Malekoff, Executive Director of the Guidance Center.“With this book, Nicole has helped lift the fear of stigma by so honestly sharing her story. In addition, her advocacy for people struggling with mental health issues is very powerful. The battle for access to care is a matter of civil rights for millions of people.”
Even with excellent health insurance, Nagy said that getting access to treatment was very difficult. “It took weeks to get an appointment after I was hospitalized for a suicide attempt,” she said. When she was finally able to get the help she needed, she “learned to own and manage my illness and love myself.” Her goal is to share her story with everyone she can and give them hope.
The April 13th event included insights from an outstanding panel: Nancy Manigat, Chief Program Officer of CN Guidance & Counseling Services; author and psychotherapist Sean Grover; Kerry Lynn Eller, a social worker at North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center who has experienced the difficulty of accessing mental health care in her own family; and the Reverend Gideon L. K. Pollach, rector at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Cold Spring Harbor, NY.
“Nicole’s story shows that having mental illness and being successful are not mutually exclusive,” said Eller. Grover talked about the need for adults to remember what it was like being a teenager and to “tap into our humanity,” while Pollach spoke of the need for communities of faith to fight for parity for mental health and addictions treatment.
Left to Right: Andrew Malekoff, Sean Grover, Nicole Nagy, Kerry Lynn Eller, Nancy Manigat, and Reverend Gideon L.K. Pollach.
Manigat, Chief Program Officer of CN Guidance & Counseling Services, applauded Nagy for being an advocate, and also spoke about the importance of the Project Access study, which surveyed 650 Long Islanders about their experience trying to find mental health care. “We are so grateful for the opportunity to work with North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center on this very important study with the goal of improving access to lifesaving services for individuals living with a mental health and/or substance use disorder,” said Manigat. “Through our participation with Project Access, we were able to provide significant data which helped identify obstacles to care. At CN Guidance and Counseling Services, we believe in every individual’s ability to recover – and access to care is a necessary component of treatment. We are enthusiastic about the potential for change to come through the results of this survey.”
As the preeminent not-for-profit children’s mental health agency on Long Island, North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center is dedicated to restoring and strengthening the emotional well-being of children (from birth – age 24) and their families. Our highly trained staff of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, vocational rehabilitation counselors and other mental health professionals lead the way in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, training, parent education, research and advocacy. The Guidance Center helps children and families address issues such as depression and anxiety; developmental delays; bullying; teen pregnancy; sexual abuse; teen drug and alcohol abuse; and family crises stemming from illness, death, trauma and divorce. For more than 60 years, the Guidance Center has been a place of hope and healing, providing innovative and compassionate treatment to all who enter our doors, regardless of their ability to pay. For more information about the Guidance Center, visit www.northshorechildguidance.org or call (516) 626-1971.
Imagine being American in every way except on paper and knowing that if you are the victim of violent crime you cannot report it out of fear of being deported. This is the sad reality for nearly 800,000 young immigrants who found hope in DACA.
