Our mission is to empower children and adults with developmental disabilities to achieve their potential based on personal choices, abilities and interests...

For more information contact:
Mellissa Lang
Director of Marketing and Public Affairs
phone: 914.949.9300,
ext. 4618
fax: 914.997.2985
or 914.428.0322
mlang@westchesterarc.org

Westchester Arc
The Gleeson-Israel Gateway Center
265 Saw Mill River Road
Hawthorne, NY 10532
914.949.9300
info@westchesterarc.org

24-hour
Crisis Intervention:
914.949.8200

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Press Release

Westchester Arc Awarded Family Counseling Grant

 

WHITE PLAINS, NY – January 25, 2008 – The Westchester Community Foundation has awarded a $15,000 grant to Westchester Arc’s community services for outreach to mothers who have developmental disabilities. The funds will enable the agency to provide 25 families with monthly, in-home instruction on infant care, home safety, health and nutrition.

Westchester Arc is the largest agency in the county serving children and adults who have disabilities such as autistic spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, mental retardation, cerebral palsy and learning delays.

“Our main goal is to help families stay together,” comments explains Nancy Succoso, Westchester Arc assistant executive director. “Home visits provide a more effective means for assessing a family’s needs, building lasting relationships and encouraging successful parenting.”

In-home training sessions are part of Westchester Arc’s ongoing family outreach initiative. In 2004, the agency launched bi-monthly parenting skills workshops for moms with special needs. In addition to learning about basic childcare, participants receive counseling on stress management, safe sex and preventing domestic abuse. Individuals also have access to Westchester Arc’s 24-hour crisis line.

“With the proper support, parents with disabilities can do a great job caring for their children,” adds says Barbara Powell, senior social worker and program coordinator. “Community programs such as the ones offered through Westchester Arc are vital. We are very thankful to the Westchester Community Foundation for recognizing that.”

The Westchester Community Foundation (WCF) is a non-profit community endowment for the benefit of Westchester County. Its mission is to develop and manage philanthropic resources and to distribute them in a way that is responsive to donor interests and community needs. The Foundation actively promotes charitable giving on behalf of the area’s non-profit organizations. WCF is a division of the New York Community Trust, the largest community foundation in the country with assets of approximately $2 billion.

 

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