Following the December 2012 tragedy inNewtown, where a 20-year-old went ona shooting rampage killing 26 young

children and staff at Sandy Hook ElementarySchool, his mother, and himself, a report wasdeveloped on mental health needs. The report,“Connecticut Children’s Behavioral Health” by the Connecticut Department of Childrenand Families (DCF), calls for the creation of a“comprehensive implementation plan, acrossagency and policy areas, for meeting the mental, emotional and behavioral healthneeds of all children in the state, and preventingor reducing the long-term negative impact ofmental, emotional and behavioral health issues on children.”According to the National Institute of

Mental Health, the average onset age of mental illness in the United States is 14 yearsold. Fairfield County’s Community Foundation(FCCF) Spring 2014 Healthy Minds HealthyCommunities report revealed that in Connecticut in the past year, 8.3% of 12 to 17year olds had a major depressive episode,14.6% of high school students seriously considered suicide, and 6.7% made at leastone suicide attempt. Hospital emergencyrooms, schools, and agencies that providemental health services to children and teensthroughout the State have reported tremendousincreases in demand in recent years. About 160,000 children and adolescents

in Connecticut currently experience adiagnosable and treatable emotional-behavioral problem, according to the

insightI S SUE 58

WINTER 2015

Connecticut Health Development Institute’s(CHDI) Improving Outcomes for Childrenin Schools: Report on Expanded School MentalHealth. Of those children,the 2013 report states,“only about 20% areable to access the carethey need and deserve, leaving approx-imately 125,000 Connecticut youthstruggling with untreated mental healthconcerns.” The DCF report acknowledgesthat there exist “a number of barriers to treat-ment including a highly fragmented system inwhich access varies according to such factorsas involvement in child welfare or juvenile justice, insurance status, race and ethnicity,language, and geographic location.“

The CHDI report states, “Schools can provide a safe, secure, and accessiblebase for improving mental health outcomes…” Mental health services inschools may be delivered by school-employed

www.kidsincrisis.org

Continued on Page 2

A newsletter for friends and supporters of Kids in Crisis

2 Mary and Kim Jeffery on the Importance of Community Support3 An Eventful Season4 A Summer to Remember5 Warm Welcomes and Fond Farewells6 New School for TeenTalk in the New School Year

INS IDE

“Schools can provide a safe, secure, and accessible base for

improving mental health outcomesby serving as a hub for school-based and school-linked services

in the community.” — CHDI, August 2013

Mental Health Services and Connecticut Schools

“The TeenTalk program is a unique mental

health service. It addresses community and

school needs by providing mental health

services to children who need it without

overburdening the schools. . . (TeenTalk) brings

both clinical knowledge and services to the

child and family, and consultation, training

and intervention support to educators.”

— Peter Tesei, First Selectman, and Dr. Alan Barry,

Commissioner of Social Services for the Town of Greenwich,

Opinion piece in the Greenwich Time Op-Ed, April 8, 2014

TeenTalk Now at Central Middle School

This past spring, the Town of Greenwich approved funding to expand the TeenTalk CrisisPrevention Program to Central Middle School

for the 2014-15 school year. The TeenTalk Crisis Outreach Counselor is employed by Kids in Crisis andis available to the students, every day, in a private office in the school for confidential counseling aboutpersonal, family, or school issues. The Counselor may also work with the students’ families, make referrals, and connect students to the wider resourcesof Kids in Crisis, including the 24/7 Crisis Helpline forout-of-school care. The TeenTalk program is also continuing this year at Western Middle School inGreenwich, the Academy of Information Technologyand Engineering in Stamford, Brien McMahon HighSchool in Norwalk, New Canaan High School, andRidgefield High School. n

Kim and Mary Jeffery are longtime supportersof Kids in Crisis. Mary took a moment tospeak with Insight about Kids in Crisis’ rolein the community, and what the Agencymeans to them.

How did you get involved in Kids in Crisis?What drew you to the mission? About 20 years ago, Kim was asked to

work on the corporate campaign for UnitedWay. He wanted to see where the money wasgoing before he agreed to be involved andthey took him to several of the communityprograms, including Kids in Crisis. Kids in Crisis made a huge impression when theytook me to the nursery shelter. Kim connectedwith the mission and was moved by the passion with which Shari led the organization.He saw the vulnerability of the children Kidsin Crisis served and it struck a nerve in him.We got married a few years later, and I wasquickly on board with him. Together wechaired the capital campaign to build the new shelter, we both served on the Boardwith a lot of really talented and committed individuals, and I was honored to chair Hoedown with my great partner Kate Osmanand our amazing auction chairs Kim Augustineand Mimi Santry.

What is your most memorable momentor story at Kids in Crisis?We always remember the story of Alex*

(name changed for confidentiality), the littleboy whose father killed his mother in front ofhim. In one night, he lost both parents as hisfather was sent off to jail. Alex was broughtto Kids in Crisis and the counselors cared forhim through all the trauma. They worked longterm with all the relevant agencies to ensurethat Alex could be placed with loving family

in another part of the country. In all the chaosof that year for Alex, Kids in Crisis staff pro-vided love and stability for him and allowedhim to move on from his tremendous loss.

I think too of the mother who was scaredof the abusive father of her two children andher unborn baby. She brought her children toKids in Crisis so they could be somewheresafe until she delivered her new baby andcould make accommodations for her youngfamily to be safe and secure. Where elsewould she have been able to turn? Unfortunately, there have been hundreds ofstories of heartache, but Kids in Crisis hasbeen there for all those kids and families.

How important is Kids in Crisis to thecommunity? How do you see Kids inCrisis in the fabric of the community?Kids in Crisis sits in the heart of our

community and it serves kids from all walksof life there. Any parent or child who is facinga family crisis can turn to Kids in Crisis forguidance or support no matter the nature ofthe crisis. When tragedy struck in Newtown ora young girl was tragically accidentally killedthis summer, Kids in Crisis was there to support the individuals and the communitywith its trained counselors and infrastructure.

If you had a dream or wish for Kidsin Crisis, what would it be?Gosh, we wish there didn’t have to be a

Kids in Crisis of course! But there is the needfor it and there always will be. Our dream isthat the Agency would have the funds to operate to its full capacity and do more outreach programs into the community. But funding cuts have made Kids in Crisis’ operations more challenging and more relianton the generosity of the community.

Is there anything more you’d like toadd?Each kid who comes into Kids in Crisis

deserves a chance for a better outcome. Shariand Denise and the staff work so hard forthese kids...they fight so hard to save themfrom going back into dangerous or unhealthysituations. We are so grateful for the workthey do...and in turn feel good supportingthem. And there are so many ways to get involved: deliver a meal for the kids and staff, work on the fundraisers, play golf in theKids Challenge Golf Tournament, compete inthe Navigators Stamford KIC IT Triathlon or volunteer at the shelter. They put every dollarto work saving kids. We like to know it is there if ever one of our kids needs support likethey can provide. n

Mary and Kim Jeffery on the Importance of Community Support

2 INS IGHT K IDS IN CR I S I S

PROF ILES IN G IV ING Mental Health Services and Connecticut Schools

Continued from Cover

School-based mental health services remove the stigma. A long-standing obstacle inseeking mental health treatment is that society oftendisparages mental illness as not being true “illness.”Young people experiencing symptoms are often loathto seek help, afraid they will be ridiculed or shunned.Some, especially poor, undocumented, or homelessteens, are so used to hiding their circumstances fromthe world that for them, symptoms of poor mentalhealth may be just one more thing to hide. A child orteen who has a school clinic available to them thatprovides comprehensive services does not have toworry about anyone identifying or demeaning thembecause of their mental health status.

counselors, social workers, and psychologists, and bycommunity clinicians co-located in schools or easilyaccessible through school referrals. “Research hasshown positive impacts…including academic performance, through school mental health programs…Teachers often feel ill- equipped to manage emotionaldysregulation and disruptive behavior…which cannegatively impact the general learning environmentfor all students. School personnel (e.g., administrators,school resource officers, teachers) who are unpreparedto manage the emotional and behavioral challengesof students may rely excessively on exclusionary discipline practices such as suspension, expulsion, andarrest, contributing to poor student outcomes and thewidening of our state’s achievement gap.”The DCF report reveals that parents and providers

in public information-gathering meetings reportedthat most schools did not have sufficient resources tomeet students’ mental health needs. They said thatschool-employed clinicians’ “extensive” responsibilitiesfor developing and reviewing Individualized EducationPrograms/Plans made them less available to provideprevention and intervention services. They notedschools’ difficulties in meeting the mental healthneeds of youth with autism, responding to mentalhealth crises, and facilitating transitions from inpatienthospitalization back to the school. Communicationand coordination between schools and mental healthproviders in the community were identified as “significant challenges.” One of the DCF report’s stated goals is to strengthen

the role of schools in addressing the mental healthneeds of students. Its strategies include, “a significantexpansion of school-based mental health services…built on an expanded school mental health frame-work.” These comprise a plan to expand and financeschool-based mental health services; developing andimplementing a mental health professional developmentcurriculum for school personnel; and requiring formalcollaborations between schools and the community. n

INS IGHT 5

Michael Case joins the Board of Directors afterserving on the Navigators Stamford KIC ITTriathlon committee since 2012. Michael is an officer with the New York City office of the LeClairRyan law firm. He resides in Darien with his wifeand three children.

Richard Fedeli Jr. has been actively involved in Kids in Crisis fundraising events, most recentlyserving as co-chair of the 2014 Kids ChallengeGolf Tournament. Richard is Managing Partner atMidstate Printing Group in Stamford and Partnerof Oxygen Fitness in New Canaan. He lives in NewCanaan with his wife and two children.

Eric Jordan served as Co-Chair of last spring’sCards for Kids Poker Tournament. Eric is ManagingDirector at Goldman Sachs in New York City andresides in Westport with his wife and four children.

Amy Lewis is currently co-chairing this year’s annual Kids in Crisis Spring Event fundraiser. Amy lives in Greenwich with her husband andthree children.

Bill Pierz has served on the Navigators StamfordKIC IT Triathlon committee for the past three years.He is President at Shoff Darby Companies, Inc. andresides in Norwalk.

Lisa Schneider has served on the NavigatorsStamford KIC IT Triathlon as a volunteer socialmedia consultant since 2011. She is Owner of LikeMarketing and resides in Wilton with her husbandand two children.

Jami Sherwood has worked with the NavigatorsStamford KIC IT Triathlon over the last severalyears. She is owner of Simply Signs in Stamford.She resides in Stamford and has two children.

Kids in Crisis is fortunate to have a Board of Directors that is robust in leadership, enthusiasm and support of the Agency’s

mission and initiatives. This fall, Kids in Crisis welcomes one of its largest classes:

Kids in Crisis thanks the following beloved Board members for their outstandingservice to the Agency:

Harry Day, past Chairman of the Board

Denis LaPolice, longtime Kids Challenge Chairman and advocate of TeenTalk

Alice Ruf, past Co-Chair of the Hoedown Committee and community volunteer

Thank you!

Thanks again to all our retiring Board members, and welcome to our new members! n

WARMWELCOMESandFond Farewells

INS IGHT 3

Kids in Crisis has had a jam-packed springand fall, with a variety of fun and exciting fundraising events. Card enthu-

siasts and Kids in Crisis supporters alike enjoyed an exciting evening at the third annualCards for Kids Poker Championship onMay 15, 2014, chaired by Evan Brown, JeremyHellinger, Eric Jordan and Matt Quinn. Held atThe Yale Club in New York City, proceeds fromthe event benefited the programs and servicesof Kids in Crisis. It was a fantastic night of networking and games, all for a good cause!For the athletes among us, the seventh

annual Navigators Stamford KIC ITTriathlon took place June 22, to much fanfare; a new sprint distance was added,much to the delight of competitors and spectators alike. A different venue — MillRiver Park — served as the new finish linearea and site of the always terrific post-raceFamily Festival. The third annual NavigatorsStamford KIC IT Kids Triathlon took placethe day before on June 21, with children ages6 to 13 competing in age-specific races. Mayorof Stamford David Martin, Chief of Stamford Police Jonathan Fontneau, and Superintendentof Stamford Public Schools Dr. Winifred Hamiltonserved as Honorary Co-Chairs. This year’s raceweekend was the first of five years under a newtitle sponsor, The Navigators Group, Inc., an international specialty insurance holding company, based in downtown Stamford.More than 300 volunteers and dozens ofsponsors supported more than 600 athletes as they raced to raise money forKids in Crisis.The 18th annual Kids Challenge Golf

Tournament was held under sunny skiesat Wee Burn Country Club in Darien onSeptember 8. This year’s event honored Kidsin Crisis Board member and longtime chairman of the event, Denis LaPolice, andwas co-chaired by Richard Fedeli Jr. andBriggs Forelli. Guests celebrated Denis’ dedication and commitment to Kids Challenge and the Agency amid a spiritedgame of golf, dinner and silent auction, culminating in the establishment of the new“Denis Fund,” which will provide support forTeenTalk, a program close to Denis’ heart.The busy 2014 events season wrapped up

with the boot-stompin’ good time of the Havea Heart Barnyard Promenade. Held at theDouble H Farm in Ridgefield, Have a Heartraised critical funds for Agency programs, including TeenTalk at Ridgefield High School.

Guests enjoyed cocktails, dinner and dancing,and live and silent auctions, all emceed by thewitty Christine O’Leary. Have a Heart was co-chaired by Libby Julo and Leona Trozzi.Thanks to all who attended our events and

showed great spirit and support of the Kids inCrisis mission! n

An Eventful Season

Have a Heart Barnyard Promenade Left to right:Co-Chairs Leona Trozzi and Libby Julo

Kids at Heart is an exciting andunique group of young professionalsthat provides leadership opportu-

nities through volunteering, networking,and advocating for Kids in Crisis. The groupfeatures over 50 enthusiastic professionalsrepresenting diverse fields. Kids at Heartmembers gain leadership and board experience, and an array of networking opportunities. Most recently, Kids at Heart membersvolunteered to make breakfast with Kids in Crisis residents. There is no defined time or participationcommitment required. Kids at Heart members leadbusy professional lives, and participate as much or aslittle as their schedules permit. Along with volunteering, the group provides Kids

in Crisis with energetic young advocates, who serveas ambassadors for the Agency, spreading the missionof Kids in Crisis to their community peers. The group was inaugurated when Kids at Heart’s

Co-Chairs, Alex Terwilliger and Jessica Rice, bothstarted volunteering weekly in Kids in Crisis’ shelterprogram shortly after graduating from college. Theysoon became devoted to the organization. Alex saysshe often hears people her age say they want to giveback to their community, but they do not know what

opportunities are out there, other than galas.“Kids at Heart presents an opportunity tohelp support a great cause while also getting to meet other young professionalsand participate in fun events,” she says.Jessica adds, “I know there are plenty of

others like myself and Alex who would bepassionate about and would love to join acommunity of young professionals in support of such a great organization. Kidsat Heart is really our arena for finding that.With Kids at Heart, we work to keep ouryounger professional community aware ofissues those around us could be facing,and spread the word of this amazing organization that is available to help. Besides being part of a community of other

young professionals working towards a commoncause and making a difference, we have a lot of funby networking, volunteering and sharing other events.If anyone is thinking about being involved with Kidsat Heart, I say try it!” For more information about this dynamic group,

please contact Natasha Hafez, Director of IndividualGiving, at nhafez@kidsincrisis.org or 203-622-6556. n

A Win-Win: Kids at Heart/Kids in Crisis

Navigators Stamford KIC IT Triathlon Left to right:Honorary Co-Chairs Superintendent of Stamford PublicSchools Dr. Winifred Hamilton, Stamford Mayor DavidMartin and Police Chief Jonathan Fontneau present awards to Navigators Stamford KIC IT Triathlon winners

K IDS IN CR I S I S INS IGHT 4

For more than 35 years, the Kids in Crisis

mission has been steadfast: to protect infants,

children, and teens from abuse, neglect, and family

crisis. To fulfill this mission, Kids in Crisis provides

free, round-the-clock crisis intervention counseling,

comprehensive, temporary emergency shelter, a wide

array of prevention programs in local communities,

and advocacy throughout Connecticut.

OUR M ISS ION

It’s hard to believe, but the holidays are almosthere! Help Kids in Crisis give shelter residents andchildren and families in our community a happier

holiday season by donating food, gifts, and other essential items. Here are some ways you can help:

Family time around the dinner table: Provide aholiday dinner for one of our community families. Youcan help by purchasing the fixings yourself or donating a supermarket gift card.

Bring a smile to the face of a child: Purchase aspecial gift from a child’s wish list.

Make wishes come true: Sponsor a child’s holidaywish list or that of an entire family

It takes a community: Organize a corporate orcommunity gift drive

Quick, easy and appreciated: Donate a gift card— a quick and easy way to spread some holidaycheer!

If you would like to help brighten the holidays forthe residents and families Kids in Crisis serves, pleasecontact Kristen Tomasiewicz, Director of CommunityServices, at ktomasiewicz@kidsincrisis.org or (203)622-6556 for more information. n

Summer 2014 at the Kids in Crisis shelterprogram was full of hands-on experiential learning and fun. Every

activity was planned with the goal of expanding residents’ minds, bodies, andspirits, and doing it in such a way that thekids felt the connections between all threeand the importance of staying healthy. Children who have lived with trauma,

abuse, and poverty are often reluctant totry new things. With constant exposure todifferent activities — from kayaking andpaddle boarding, to yoga and meditation, tothe practices and beliefs of different cultures, or even a new fruit every week — theyexpand their experiences and gain greaterawareness about the world around them.One formative event for the residents was

volunteering at the local Neighbor to NeighborFood Bank, every week this summer. Being ableto help other people was an empowering experience for them. For one boy, who hadused a food pantry with his family, it was particularly powerful. The memories this community service experience triggered for himwere at first overwhelming. Staff helped himwork through it, and he continued volunteer-ing. By summer’s end, he proved himself enormously resilient. He expressed his gratitudeto Kids in Crisis staff and to the food bank stafffor giving him the opportunity. Then, there were the chickens. First, the eggs

arrived from a local farm. The kids learned theyhad to be turned twice a day, and they eagerlytook over the responsibility. One boy came upwith the idea of marking each side of the eggwith an X or an O, one for morning and one fornight, to keep accurate track of the turning. Thekids made sure to remind staff whenever itcame close to turning times. The result was abatch of adorable healthy chicks that the kidsand staff watched emerge from their shells. Thekids got to hold, feed and nurture them for acouple of weeks, before bidding them adieu asthey left for life on a farm.

Music appreciation was oneof the many summer programs the kids partic-ipated in. After weeks of exposure to musicstyles of the 50s, 60s, 70s and jazz, the kids requested hip hop. The counselor in charge located a free local concert that the kids attended.Residents received a keepsake binder of all

the activities they had participated in over thesummer. Each staff member in charge of a curriculum area included the goals of each activity, and the steps involved. The “foodie”Counselor, for example, included all recipes thestaff and kids had prepared with their nutri-tional values; the Physical Education folks included “boot camp” exercises; yoga postures;and meditation techniques; the Life Skills staffincluded instructions on activities they had en-gaged in, like changing a flat tire; the “culture”Counselor included the research findings she and the kids had found on the places theyhad studied, and instructions for things theyhad made, such as Chinese lanterns; and a volunteer professional photographer who ledweekly workshops printed and included thephotos the kids had taken. These keepsakes and the many memories —

helping others at the food pantry; conqueringrock climbing at DCF Wilderness Camp; and the calm felt after meditating — will propeleach child to apply their new knowledge, skills,self-esteem, and confidence and seek out new opportunities wherever they go. n

Dante BuzzeoBarbara CaseyMitzi ChambersKyle CruzDeirdre L. DuffyHallie Dym

Doug FischerNatasha B. FordMichael J. GreenbergErnest HeckrothBlossom HillCarolyn Kennedy

IN MEMORIAMCarmen LorentiArline NelsonEdna Tarantino

Gifts made from February 26, 2014 throughOctober 27, 2014

A Summer to Remember

Help During the Holidays

NON-PROFIT ORGUS POSTAGEPAIDSTAMFORD CTPERMIT NO. 3139

One Salem Street Cos Cob, CT 06807203.327.KIDS www.kidsincrisis.org

A United Way Agency

Licensed by the State Department of Children and Families

Board of Directors ChairmanChristine Hikawa

Stuart Aronson Michael CaseHarry Day, ex-officioDavid EldersRichard Fedeli Jr.Rich GranoffEric JordanAmy LewisChristina Magliocco von OisteBrian MillerJoanne MortimerCraig PackerJeffrey PalmaBill PierzLisa SchneiderJami SherwoodTom ShilenTanya SmithAngela SwiftEileen WalkerJames WenningMichael WiederlightMichele WolframRalph WymanJan Zide

Honorary BoardBill Forrest and Nancie JulianRick and Marjorie FusconeKim and Mary JefferyJim and Ann MartinBob and Nancy RosenScott and Heidi SmithBarry and Mimi SternlichtJoan M. Warburg

Executive DirectorShari L. Shapiro

EditorMadeleine MareckiJudy Zendell

DesignCarrie Ralston, Simple Girl Design

Photographs and quotes are usedwith permission and protect the confidentiality of the children.

INS IGHT 6

Based in Cos Cob, Kids in Crisisprovides services to children of all socio-economic conditions in Fairfield County, including those inDarien, Greenwich, New Canaan,Norwalk, Ridgefield, Stamford,Weston, Westport and Wilton.

For help, call

203.327.KIDS

CHEFA ChoosesKids in Crisis

Last year, the Connecticut Housing Educational andFacilities Authority (CHEFA) became a new significantfunder of Kids in Crisis’ core shelter program. Kids

in Crisis is very pleased to report that CHEFA has, for asecond year, recognized the critical need for and qualityof our comprehensive temporary shelter program for newborn to 17-year-old children who are not safe in theirhomes, by again awarding Kids in Crisis this highly competitive grant. Kids in Crisis was one of 123 nonprofitsto submit a letter of inquiry to CHEFA’s 2014 grant program for Connecticut nonprofits, and one of only 56 recipients. A great thanks to CHEFA for being a partnerof Kids in Crisis and helping children in need. n

Check out

www.kidsincrisis.org for news, events and information!