CVS Health and Northside Center Expand Mental Health Services Across NYC Schools

CVS Health and Northside Center for Child Development recently entered into a four-year partnership with a $200,000 corporate grant from CVS Health to expand mental health clinics for NYC students in low-income neighborhoods.

Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, New York City Councilperson Corey Johnson, and Northside Center for Child Development, announced the partnership Oct. 25 at P.S. 161 in Harlem. The school is one of several where Northside Center operates satellite mental health clinics. The new partnership will utilize $50,000 of the $200,000 grant by CVS Health each year over the next four years to expand the impact of Northside Center's mental health clinics and serve more NYC children.

Northside Center has been operating mental health clinics in schools in Harlem and the Bronx since 2010 and currently serves over 300 students in 11 schools. Children with various mental and emotional health issues are able to receive help by Northside Center's satellite clinics right in their schools.

“We are incredibly grateful to partner with, and have the support of, an organization like CVS Health, who has made it their mission to provide individuals with the resources, access to treatment, and medicine they need,” said Dr. Thelma Dye, Hilde L. Mosse executive director and CEO of Northside Center, in a press release. “This partnership and funding allows us to continue to sustain and expand our mental health satellite clinics in New York City schools, giving us the opportunity to provide counseling and therapy for children from underserved communities, who may otherwise not get the treatment they need.”

Northside Center offers therapy sessions for students and since its inception has lowered "no-show" rates from 30 percent to less than 10 percent, according to the press release.