Wayside Youth & Family Support Network Receives $3,000 Grant from the Aubert J. Fay Charitable Fund
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
February 17, 2020
Contact: Michelle Hillman
508-270-1254 (work)
508-380-5486 (cell)
Michelle_Hillman@waysideyouth.org
LOWELL, Mass. – Wayside Youth & Family Support Network recently received a $3,000 grant from the Aubert J. Fay Charitable Fund to hold therapy fairs for children and families who are unable to attend similar community events due to significant emotional, behavioral and mental health conditions.
Last year, Wayside’s Lowell program piloted the therapy fair concept and invited 50 parents to attend. The fair was well-attended and the response from parents was overwhelmingly positive, further encouraging Wayside staff to expand the fairs to the Greater Lowell community. Parents of children with depression, anxiety, autism and trauma can learn new calming therapy activities and replicate the activities at home.
The therapy fairs offer a safe and controlled environment for children to enjoy food, visit music and movement stations and make sensory items such as worry stones, slime, glitter calming bottles and deep-breathing pinwheels. Parents also have a chance to meet other caregivers of children with similar behavioral and mental health challenges.
“These fairs provide a place for parents and children the opportunity to interact with their peers while experimenting with new therapeutic activities designed to calm overstimulated children,” said Beth Chin, Wayside’s regional director of Central Massachusetts and Lowell. “It’s also a chance to engage parents in ways to help their children better control their emotions.”
Wayside plans to hold two community therapy fairs this spring and summer that will be open and free to the public.
Wayside’s Lowell site is the second largest community, serving 200 children, young adults and families each day who are experiencing significant stress due to mental illness, substance use disorders, family issues and other challenges that disrupt functioning. For more information, please visit www.waysideyouth.org, or call (978) 221-6923.
About Wayside Youth & Family Support Network: Founded in 1977, Wayside Youth & Family Support Network is a non-profit, nationally accredited human services agency dedicated to Building Strength, Hope and Resiliency through its family-based outreach services, residential treatment programs, and community-based counseling services to thousands of children, youth and families throughout Eastern and Central Massachusetts. To learn more about Wayside, please visit www.waysideyouth.org.
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