Peninsula Counseling Center receives grant for mentoring program

Following a unanimous vote by the Town of Hempstead Board on Aug. 2, more than $44,000 in state and federal grants has been approved for local resident-oriented programs.

Gateway Youth Outreach, an after-school organization for at-risk youth in Elmont, will be receiving $25,000 in funding from the federal Community Development Block Grant, which was approved by the Hempstead Town Board last week. The Peninsula Counseling Center in Valley Stream will be receiving $19,678 for its youth services from a New York State Office of Children and Family Services grant.

“I am thrilled that we are able to support organizations that offer a positive option for the youth of the Elmont and Valley Stream communities,” Supervisor Kate Murray said. “I know the communities will benefit from these monies which will finance a host of important services.”

John Kastan, executive director of the Peninsula Counseling Center, said money will be used to continue the Friends program, which pairs high school students in Lynbrook and Hewlett with elementary and middle school students who have social and emotional needs. Kastan said the Peninsula Counseling Center has been running the program for more than 20 years.

“It’s a wonderful program,” he said. “The schools love it. We love it. We’re grateful for the funding.”

Kastan said although the funding is a 23 percent reduction from last year because of state cutbacks, the money will still go a long way. He said, in fact, that the Peninsula Counseling Center is looking to expand the Friends program to include more special needs children.

He said the high school students get to together with their younger buddies once a week and play games or help out with homework. He said it is like a Big Brother or Big Sister program. And unlike many of the programs offered at the counseling center’s Valley Stream headquarters, this is a non-clinical program. “It’s not a treatment program,” he said. “We don’t want to stigmatize the participants in any way.”

The grant funding is used to pay for the salary of the coordinator who works with the two school districts. Together the coordinator and school officials identify students who could benefit from the program, as well as possible high school mentors. The coordinator also monitors the program and provides training for the mentors.

Funding for the Gateway Youth Outreach grant comes from the town’s Department of Planning and Economic Development. Pat Boyle, Gateway’s executive director, said that although this is not the first year that the town has allocated funds for the program, he is glad the town has continued to renew funding.

For 35 years, Gateway Youth Outreach has offered after-school programs for first- to sixth-grade students in the Elmont Union Free School District. With nearly 800 students taking part in the program, GYO provides them not only a place to do their homework but unique learning opportunities, while offering their parents with peace of mind. The three-hour program uses classrooms at the Gotham Avenue, Clara H. Carlson, Covert Avenue, Dutch Broadway, Alden Terrace and Stewart Manor schools.

“The Town has always supported what GYO does, and keeps us in mind for all sorts of innovative programming,” Boyle said.

In last week’s announcement, Murray and Councilmen Jim Darcy and Ed Ambrosino applauded the Peninsula Counseling Center and Gateway Youth Outreach for the services provided to local youth. “While these organizations are getting the grants,” Murray said, “it’s really the community that benefits.”