Teen Mental Health Center Opening In Queens

QUEENS, NY — An adolescent mental health center that's expected to serve thousands of young people in the upcoming year is opening in Queens Thursday.

The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Adolescent Mental Health Wing, located at Commonpoint Queens' Little Neck site, will offer mental health and social services geared towards people ages 12 to 21 — similar to the programs that the Forest Hills-based non-profit already runs in 10 New York City public high schools.

"The stress and isolation caused by the pandemic have made the need for mental health care greater than ever," said Commonpoint Queens CEO, Danielle Ellman, alluding to the adolescent mental health crisis that experts say has been exacerbated by COVID-19.

"As experts in working with adolescents, we saw it as our duty to provide the critical services our youth so desperately need," she said, noting that the non-profit's in-school programs currently offer mental health counseling and college access support (among other services) to about 7,000 students annually.

Similarly, the new mental health center will offer services ranging from one-on-one counseling to psychoeducational groups about body image, sex, sexuality, and gender.

In its first year, Commonpoint Queens estimates that the clinic will serve about 1,500 young people, primarily from low-income households, communities of color, and immigrant families — the same client base that the non-profit sees in its in-school programs.

"This program will provide a proven model of accessible, professional mental healthcare to all of our young people who need it," said northeast Queens City Council Member, and Chair of the Committee on Mental Health, Addictions, and Disabilities, Linda Lee. "[Our kids' deserve dedicated, supportive services to help them rebound and thrive as they grow up."

Commonpoint Queens stresses that the services offered at the new mental health center will be "barrier-free," like most of its programs which are free of cost.

Similar dedicated, accessible services have had a high rate of success, with young people taking 60 percent of referrals made by on-site health care providers (much more than the 20 percent acceptance rate nationally), according to Commonpoint Queens.

Also, when the services are connected to a larger non-profit (as is the case for Commonpoint Queens), most families are able to receive additional public benefits, the non-profit said.

"The public health crisis brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has included a mental health crisis that has hard hit our adolescents, who have had to cope with school closings and numerous other disruptions to the normal rites of passage of youth," said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. "I commend Commonpoint Queens for launching this innovative clinic that will greatly enhance the quality and accessibility of mental health care for adolescents in ‘The World’s Borough."

Learn more about the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Adolescent Mental Health Wing and request an appointment here.