On a sunny July 17^th, the Bronx office of New York Psychotherapy and Counseling Center (NYPCC) hosted its 6^th annual Anti-Bullying Resource Fair on 137th Street and Alexander Avenue in Mott Haven. NYPCC is a non-profit, community-oriented, mental health organization operating across New York State, offering several services to the community, mostly centered on therapy and counseling for those of all ages. This year marks its 50th annivesary.

 

The Bronx fair brought together all members of the Bronx Anti-Bullying Coalition, founded by NYPCC’s Bronx office in 2018. The fair offered a myriad of resources that parents, children, and other Bronx community members could easily access, in many cases for free.

 

The Bronx coalition was created to bring awareness to the signs of bullying, help children and parents learn strategies to deal with the problem, and connect families with support resources.

 

Selina LeBron, senior community engagement specialist at NYPCC, detailed various programs for youth that include music, art, and other extracurricular programs to keep them engaged. NYPCC also works with schools to provide resources and workshops on anti-bullying. LeBron also mentioned their work with adult centers around workplace bullying and the mistreatment of elders.

 

“We visit local nursing homes and adult home daycare centers,” LeBron said. “We do free workshops for them. We just engage with them and let them know that we’re here. We can help, be of assistance to you, and whatever you need. If you need therapy, if you need legal services, if you need anything. If you need to know where the nearest food pantry is, we’ll let you know where that is,” she added.

 

Meanwhile, Scott Bloom, director of special projects for NYPCC, said their work with adults stems from childhood bullying. “Statistics show that 20% of adults who were bullied during middle school and high school, in adulthood have, [or] continue to have low self-esteem, anxiety issues, depression, and suicidal ideation. It usually gets uncovered in the sessions and the assessments that are done.”

NYPCC’s CEO of 41 years, Elliott Klein said NYPCC is open seven days a week, including evenings. “There were other agencies, but they weren’t open in the evenings,” he said. “They weren’t open on the weekends. They didn’t have psychiatrists. They didn’t have Spanish speaking staff. We came, and we met the needs. We now have the largest clinic in New York State on 579 Cortland Avenue [in Mott Haven, The Bronx].”

 

In the future, NYPCC is also focused on tackling gang prevention, which they say will be addressed at an upcoming symposium at Hostos Community College. Other target topics include social media use by children (cyberbullying), and anxiety in children. Plenty of their workshops, particularly those for elementary and middle school-aged children, center around similar topics. The group also engages with school guidance counselors at school events.

 

LeBron said a dream for the future included having more mobility around NYPCC’s services and “an NYPCC anti-bullying truck” in order to be available at any outdoor event.

 

According to Bloom, NYPCC “is the largest outpatient, community mental health agency in New York State.” He said they see over 25,000 clients per year, and regularly train mental health care professionals like therapists and school counselors. Meanwhile, Klein said most of the counselors (85%) are bicultural and bilingual to address the needs of the wider community more thoroughly.

 

The Youth Advocacy Corps (YAC), an organization which launched in 2015 and is also part of the Bronx Anti-Bullying Coalition, also partners with NYPCC with its work. YAC promotes youth-led workshops on anti-bullying, according to Jenny de la Cruz, the YAC’s program director.

 

“Our youth are the ones that are leading the workshops, so when we reach out to the schools, we let them know that it’s all youth led,” she said. “It makes a bigger impact because young people are more likely to talk to other young people about the things that are going on, so we’re able to recognize different trends.”

 

YAC also offers mental health and wellness programs for those who are unable to access this care due to financial burdens, but their main mission is centered around the younger generation.

“We are a youth led organization where we try to empower our young people by giving them advocacy and public speaking skills, and to be able to go into the communities and make change,” said de la Cruz. “We’re a part of the coalition because we also are big advocates of mental health. We provide mental health workshops in schools, and bullying is a topic that is in high demand for school teachers and staff.”

 

She said the workshops teach others how to recognize signs of bullying and encourage students to speak up, while also providing resources for those who want to talk. YAC is also a multilingual service, offering resources in both Spanish and English, as well as aiding migrants in all five boroughs.

 

To celebrate NYPCC’s 50^th anniversary, NYC Council and Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson presented the organization and Klein with certificates, thanking them for their work, dedication, and outreach in The Bronx.

 

After a recent expansion, which saw other similar events being held in Brooklyn, NYPCC officials said they also hope to expand into Queens, where they said they recently opened a clinic, and where they hope one day to also hold annual fairs, like the ones held in The Bronx.

 

Bloom said, “I think one of the things we want to do is cultivate our Queens presence and let people know [about NYPCC services]. For instance, I went to some of the school districts in that area, near Jackson Heights, and they were ecstatic because there’s not many places that they can refer to with our reputation of quality and evidence-based treatments.”

The event continued with music, a rock-climbing attraction run by the NYPD, a raffle for free goodie bags, and games. At the end of the event, LeBron encouraged children, who were able, to participate in a relay race that promoted both teamwork and offering a helping hand.

 

For more information on NYPCC’s work, click here.