The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation has awarded the Healthy Com-munity Alliance's Rural Youth Counseling Program a $91,768 grant to be paid over the next three years to provide counseling services and parent education on site at three southern Erie County school districts. Schools to be served under the grant are Lake Shore, North Collins and Spring-ville Griffith Institute.
Studies have shown that early intervention for children with psycho-social or mental health disorders is necessary, but there are financial and transportation barriers, as well as the lack of trained mental health professionals that contribute to the lack of services for these very children. The Parent Empowerment Program supports the counseling program by providing education and support to parents using a strength based approach.
Bringing free counseling and parenting services directly to children and families in the school setting will eliminate serious barriers to getting help," stated HCA executive director Sharon Mathe.
"During a time when many programs are experiencing cuts in funding, the Tower Foundation grant will help the Alliance provide services where they are needed most," she concluded.
The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation seeks to support community programming that will result in children, adolescents, and young adults affected by substance abuse, learning disabilities, mental illness, and intellectual disabilities achieving their full potential. The Foundation funds organizations in four eastern Massachusetts counties and in Erie and Niagara counties in New York state.
