WOODHAVEN — Four years after the pandemic, COVID is still adversely affecting children’s mental health, according to experts at a newly dedicated walk-in counseling center that Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens (CCBQ) runs in Woodhaven, Queens.
CCBQ officials and local elected officials gathered on Thursday, July 18, for a ribbon-cutting marking the dedication of the Joseph F. Collins Catholic Charities Behavioral Health Center for Children and Families.
Health care providers expect to see children with mental health issues related to the pandemic, CCBQ Vice President Claudia Salazar said.
“COVID really has had a significant impact on our children and adolescents,” Salazar explained. “And we’re still yet to see how impactful it was.”
“We really felt we needed to create something for the community where we can address children and adolescents without the stigma,” she added.
The pandemic has wreaked havoc with minors’ mental well-being by interrupting childcare routines, and severely limiting socialization opportunities for kids, leading to increased feelings of stress and anxiety, according to a disturbing National Institutes of Health (NIH) survey.
Another 2023 study, by Nemours-Kids Health, found that 37% of children between the ages of nine and 13 reported being gripped by worry at least once a week. And 53% of kids don’t think adults understand what they are going through.
“For years, our children were prevented from really having normalcy,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. “They couldn’t go to school. So the impact on our children’s mental health has been severe, and it’s going to take at least a decade to build back.”
The CCBQ center, named after Joseph F. Collins, the treasurer of CCBQ’s board of trustees, serves children five years of age and older, as well as adolescents and adults.
The center offers immediate assistance, and its services include evaluation, treatment, and counseling for individuals, groups, and families. CCBQ filled the children’s waiting room with toys, including a doll house and picture books, to make it more inviting.
“Anybody coming in here may automatically get seen for the initial intake,” said Msgr. Alfred LoPinto, president and CEO of CCBQ. “And then, from that, decisions are made on the level of service,”
Msgr. LoPinto stressed that the Catholic Church is paying close attention to the issue of mental health. In 2023, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) launched a National Catholic Mental Health Campaign. The facility will play a vital role in both the clients’ mental and overall health, according to Collins, who the facility is named for.
“Once you suffer from that, you suffer from a lot of other things,” he said. “And that’s very difficult.”
Woodhaven residents expressed strong interest in the center, according to Salazar, even prior to its opening.
“The demand has been very high,” she explained. “From the time we put up ‘Coming Soon’ signs, people were knocking on our doors, asking questions, wanting to see when we would open.”