Shrewsbury – Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services (SYFS) is appealing to the public for help. In a press release sent April 1, the nonprofit counseling and social services agency, which provides programs, services and trainings that help to strengthen and support youth and families, noted it was “in financial crisis.”
The agency offers counseling services through Telehealth, or performing wellness checks for those in distress.
But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, SYFS, like so many other nonprofits was forced to cancel its major fundraiser, an annual gala that it said normally yielded “$100,000 of critical funds – one third of our annual operating budget. With schools closed, we have also lost our wraparound counseling funding. “
But this money isn’t for “extras” and the needs haven’t “closed,” administrators said in the release. “This funding is essential to SYFS remaining open to serve.”
Some of the programs SYFS oversees include:
– Youth, Family & Senior Counseling
-Mental Health First Aid training
-Vaping Treatment Programs
-Fuel Assistance for Winter Warmth
-Depression and Isolation in Seniors
-School-Based Support for Students w/ Complex/Acute Needs
At a time of quarantine and pandemic, mental health and assistance needs drastically increase, not decrease. The agency noted that they are seeing an “increase in panic attacks, depression, anxiety and isolation fears — and every population is vulnerable.”
Visit https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/syfs to make a donation to help the organization continue its important work. For more information visit syfs.org.
