Caption: Co-chairs John M. Zenir, Allison Cacace and Robert C. Mangi at the Children’s Center benefit.
On Thursday evening Sept.19, North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center hosted a fundraiser for its Children’s Center at Nassau County Family Court. The event, which was held at Tesoro’s Ristorante Cucini Italiana in Westbury, featured wonderful entertainment by the High Note band, along with cocktails and a buffet dinner.
The event raised over $20,000 for the Children’s Center, which provides care and early learning to more than 1,400 children annually, ages 6 weeks – 12 years, while their parents or guardians are conducting court business.
Andrew Malekoff, executive director of the Guidance Center, thanked Joan Antonik and Corinthian Sistrunk, the Children’s Center two full-time staff members, along with the valued volunteers who make the Children’s Center a place of learning, fun and warmth.
He also acknowledged Laurie Joseph-Yehuda and Rene Joseph, the daughter and widow of the late Burton S. Joseph, founder of the Children’s Center. Laurie is a member of the Children’s Center Advisory Council and Rene painted the beautiful murals on the wall of the Children’s Center many years ago.
Dr. Nellie Taylor-Walthrust, Director of The Leeds Place (under which the Children’s Center operates), thanked co-chairs Allison Cacace, Robert C. Mangi and John Zenir for their dedication to the fourth annual event.
“This fundraiser is critical for the Children’s Center, as funds for it have been drastically cut over the years,” she said. “With the help of all of our supporters, we are able to keep the Center open full time.”
“I am proud to have participated in this fourth annual fundraiser for the Children’s Center,” said co-chair Mangi. “One source of that pride is the number of family law attorneys who supported the children in this endeavor.”
Co-chair Zenir expressed his gratitude to all of the Children’s Center supporters “for helping to provide a safe place for the children while their parents are appearing in court regarding such emotionally tragic cases as domestic violence, neglect and abuse, custody, foster care and child support. For many of these kids their time at the Center helps to assure them that many people care about them and want to help them just be kids.”
The fundraiser was sponsored by an array of local law firms, individuals and other businesses, including Anita & Robert Nigro, Esq.; Aiello, DiFalco & Gianakos, LLP; Barnes, Catterson, LoFrumento, Barnes, LLP; Casino One Limousines; Dimascio & Associates LLP; Ezdrin & Woods, PC; Family of Hon. Burton S. Joseph; Gassman Baiamonte Gruner, PC; Gold Coast Funding, Inc.; Mangi & Graham, LLP; Mark A. Green, PC; Patricia Manzo, Esq.; Mejias, Milgrim & Alvarado, PC; Pessala Family; Sahn Ward Coschignano, PLLC; Spano Abstract Service Corp.; and John M. Zenir, Esq., PC.
Co-chairs John M. Zenir, Allison Cacace and Robert C. Mangi at the Children’s Center benefit.
Roslyn Heights, NY, September 25, 2019 — On Thursday evening September 19th, North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center hosted a fundraiser for its Children’s Center at Nassau County Family Court. The event, which was held at Tesoro’s Ristorante Cucini Italiana in Westbury, featured wonderful entertainment by the High Note band, along with cocktails and a buffet dinner.
The event raised over $20,000 for the Children’s Center, which provides care and early learning to more than 1,400 children annually, ages 6 weeks – 12 years, while their parents or guardians are conducting court business.
Andrew Malekoff, Executive Director of the Guidance Center, thanked Joan Antonik and Corinthian Sistrunk, the Children’s Center two full-time staff members, along with the valued volunteers who make the Children’s Center a place of learning, fun and warmth. He also acknowledged Laurie Joseph-Yehuda and Rene Joseph, the daughter and widow of the late Honorable Burton S. Joseph, founder of the Children’s Center. Laurie is a member of the Children’s Center Advisory Council and Rene painted the beautiful murals on the wall of the Children’s Center many years ago.
Dr. Nellie Taylor-Walthrust, Director of The Leeds Place (under which the Children’s Center operates), thanked co-chairs Allison Cacace, Robert C. Mangi, Esq. and John Zenir, Esq., PC, for their dedication to the fourth annual event. “This fundraiser is critical for the Children’s Center, as funds for it have been drastically cut over the years,” she said. “With the help of all of our supporters, we are able to keep the Center open full time.”
“I am proud to have participated in this fourth annual fundraiser for the Children’s Center,” said co-chair Mangi. “One source of that pride is the number of family law attorneys who supported the children in this endeavor.”
Co-chair Zenir expressed his gratitude to all of the Children’s Center supporters “for helping to provide a safe place for the children while their parents are appearing in court regarding such emotionally tragic cases as domestic violence, neglect and abuse, custody, foster care and child support. For many of these kids their time at the Center helps to assure them that many people care about them and want to help them just be kids.”
The fundraiser was sponsored by an array of local law firms, individuals and other businesses, including Anita & Robert Nigro, Esq.; Aiello, DiFalco & Gianakos, LLP; Barnes, Catterson, LoFrumento, Barnes, LLP; Casino One Limousines; Dimascio & Associates LLP; Ezdrin & Woods, PC; Family of Hon. Burton S. Joseph; Gassman Baiamonte Gruner, PC; Gold Coast Funding, Inc.; Mangi & Graham, LLP; Mark A. Green, PC; Patricia Manzo, Esq.; Mejias, Milgrim & Alvarado, PC; Pessala Family; Sahn Ward Coschignano, PLLC; Spano Abstract Service Corp.; and John M. Zenir, Esq., PC.
About Us:
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; trauma; and family crises stemming from illness, death and divorce. For more than 65 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.
When I get change from a purchase at a store that has a tip jar on the counter I sometimes leave all or part of it.
When I check out electronically at the grocery, there is a prompt that asks me if I want to contribute some or all of my change to a worthy cause. Sometimes I do that too. I’ve heard more than a few people questioning the tip jar and electronic charity button at various stores. Also the practice of tipping in general.
At restaurants, I’m a fairly generous tipper. People question tipping as well, which reminds of a classic scene from the movie Reservoir Dogs. A group of men, all of whom have been given aliases by the kingpin, are plotting a crime. They have just finished their meal at what appears to be a diner. Here is a part of that dialogue:
Nice Guy Eddie: C’mon, throw in a buck! Mr. Pink: Uh-uh, I don’t tip. Nice Guy Eddie: You don’t tip? Mr. Pink: I don’t believe in it. Nice Guy Eddie: You don’t believe in tipping? Mr. Blue: You know what these chicks make? They make [squat]. Mr. Pink: Don’t give me that. She don’t make enough money, she can quit. I don’t tip because society says I have to. Alright, I mean I’ll tip if somebody really deserves a tip. If they really put forth the effort, I’ll give them something extra. But I mean, this tipping automatically, it’s for the birds. I mean, as far as I’m concerned, they’re just doing their job.
When I see homeless people or street performers with cups or open instrument cases on the sidewalk or in the train station, I typically drop something in — pocket change or a bill. This is not the extent of my philanthropy, but it makes me wonder if I am a soft touch. I don’t think so because when it comes to phone solicitations I’m not so nice. I almost always think they’re charlatans.
I never had a job where I solicited or received tips. Although, maybe when I was a kid and signed up for “youth employment services,” and I’d help someone move out of their apartment or wash their windows or do whatever they needed. One of those probably threw me a few extra bucks. When I shoveled snow I don’t remember ever getting a tip, just a straight transaction with the homeowner.
Maybe that’s why I’m always delighted to find loose change on the street or sidewalk. I like to go for walks very early in the morning when it is dark out and most everyone else is inside. The street lights make the pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters shine. They’re easy to find. It’s like my tips are being mystically refunded.
Sunrise makes it easier to see the bills. I’ve found ones, fives, tens and twenties. Jackpot! Sometimes I buy lottery tickets with the bigger bills I find. And then I lose what I found. I like the coins best.
Whenever I pick up coins from the ground it reminds me of my childhood in the 1950s when you could actually buy something of value with loose change, even for a penny: a piece of bubblegum, a candy bar, a comic book — and you could even buy a hot dog, hamburger or bag of French fries with a handful of coins. It was always exciting to buy something with pocket change.
For today’s kids, it takes a $5 bill and change to buy a hamburger.
I don’t look to my cell phone when I walk in the early morning hours. I look to the ground and find memories.
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.
Finding yourself yawning constantly because your babies, toddlers or preschoolers don’t sleep through the night? You may want to attend a free pediatric sleep workshop at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 3 at the North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center’s Right From the Start location in Manhasset.
Certified pediatric sleep consultant Corey Wilbur of Port Washington, founder of her own consulting business called Let There Be Sleep, will talk to parents about how to help their children get the right amount of rest so that the whole family isn’t tired.
“I’m just working with families to help them get their little ones to sleep through the night,” Wilbur says. She’ll be talking about making sure the sleep environment is safe and conducive to sleep, napping schedules, and four basic methods of sleep training.
The session is for anyone from expectant parents to parents of 4-year-olds, Wilbur says; she has two boys herself, ages 2 and 4. Advance registration isn’t required; children may attend, but there is no baby-sitting available. The center is at 80 N. Service Rd. of the Long Island Expressway, Manhasset. For more information, call 516-626-1971 or visit northshorechildguidance.org.
Like many people, I struggle with anxiety and depression, which started when I was a teenager. Somehow I had the will power to document my journey from hospitalizations, suicide attempts, brain surgery and just navigating life. The rest is history inside a book I wrote called Creative Mind: Diary of Teenage Mental Illness.
One of the issues I chronicle in my book is the challenge of finding a psychiatrist that has openings, or is on your insurance, or is available to see you within a reasonable amount of time. This is a national problem, as well as a personal one. (Editor’s note: click here to read more about the issue of timely and affordable access to treatment for mental illness.)
Not long ago, I found myself once again without a doctor to treat my depression—or in this case a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner (PNP), whom I had last seen in June. When I went to refill my prescription, the pharmacy informed me that they could not reach anyone from the PNP’s office. When I tried to call her, I expected to at least speak with the secretary, but I couldn’t reach anyone. The next day I called again. Still no answer. I left a message stating I needed my medication refilled but my call wasn’t returned.
Luckily my neurologist had the prescription refilled for me and I was able to pick up my medication, but for so many people, this can be a truly devastating situation.
With my medication taken care of for the time being, I was good for a while. I had some wonderful changes in my life: I got married, returned from my honeymoon and enjoyed the summer. I had nothing to worry about—or so I thought. With the summer coming to an end, work became busier and I returned to school. It was stressful, but I was able to handle the stress.
I didn’t see the dip that was coming.
A “dip” is what my mom and I call it when I go into a deep depression, and unfortunately, I started to dip. Could this have been due to an extra work load and anxiety from the anticipation of school? Whatever the reasons, I decided that I needed to make an appointment with my PNP. It was the end of July; I was making calls to her office every day. One day I even took a drive to her office. The office was shared by other practitioners, but my PNP and her secretary were nowhere in sight.
I heard another worker in the office; I rattled my car keys to get somebody’s attention, but got no acknowledgment. I resorted to loud, obnoxious coughing, which finally did the trick. A counselor came out of her office and asked me what I needed. I explained my situation and to my surprise the PNP’s absence was due to a hospital stay. Additionally, her secretary just returned from vacation and I had just missed her.
With all of these complications and uncertainties, I decided to search for an alternative to my PNP, so I researched various doctors and made some phone calls.
Finding a specialist shouldn’t be this difficult. It should require making a phone call, making sure they accept your insurance, and booking an appointment. Simple, right? Not the case. I quit after four phone calls.
The offices I called did not accept insurance, which is common. There are so many people listed on Psychology Today’s website, but almost none of them take insurance. My mom and I accepted that, for now, insurance did not matter—until I found out that an evaluation was $500!
The good news is that I am doing well right now, and I can get my medication through my neurologist, but not everyone has that option. Although the journey is rough sometimes, I urge people not to quit seeking help. It’s important to remember that every day is another opportunity for a great day.
I will continue to write my story and help others along the way.
Bio: Guest blogger Nicole Nagy is a social worker and author of Creative Mind: Diary of Teenage Mental Illness, available at amazon.com.
Finding Help
If your child or teen needs help with anxiety, depression or any other mental health issue, contact North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center at (516) 626-1971. We take most insurance plans, and we never turn anyone away for inability to pay.
Finding Help
If your child or teen needs help with anxiety, depression or any other mental health issue, contact North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center at (516) 626-1971. We take most insurance plans, and we never turn anyone away for inability to pay.
