Food insecurity, is a health-related social need with harmful impacts on child health, development, and well-being. Family food insecurity can complicate and compound the health challenges and expenses faced by households with children who have mental/emotional health issues, developmental disabilities as well as co-occurring special health care needs.
Bergen’s Promise received a $10,000 grant from The Community Chest Coronavirus Emergency Fund to provide approximately 200 Bergen’s Promise families living in eastern Bergen County with $50 gift card from a local community-based food store that offers a variety of fresh produce and has ties to their community. These families will also receive tailored health education materials with strategies for healthy eating on a budget and the importance of balanced eating for positive physical and mental health outcomes. These resources will be developed by Bergen’s Promise’s Certified Health Education Specialists.
Helping families in crisis is not an easy job, but it is what Bergen's Promise team members do every day. Bergen's Promise provides the highest level of care management in New Jersey’s children's behavioral health system. Our mission is as simple as it is critical: to provide the support needed to keep our at-risk children safe and stable at home and in their communities. This is achieved through use of the Wraparound Model of Care and Child and Family Teams. “Wraparound" is a model of care that builds on the family's unique strengths, values, voice and resources to create an individualized and sustainable plan of care. The Child and Family Team is made up of carefully selected people who are invested in the youth’s future success, such as relatives, friends, service providers, clergy, probation officer, teachers, primary care providers, etc. Bergen’s Promise care managers work collaboratively with the Child and Family Team to help each family to understand their child's unique strengths and challenges and develop a plan to reach their family vision. We then connect families with the resources needed to achieve their goals. Currently, the organization is serving over 1290 Bergen County youth and families. Additionally, through our Behavioral Health Home (BHH), Bergen's Promise incorporates medical expertise and health/wellness education to provide fully integrated and coordinated care for those children who have designated chronic medical conditions.
This partnership and funding by The Community Chest provides Bergen’s Promise another opportunity to reach out a hand of support to our eastern Bergen families, reminding them that they are not alone.
#NeighborsHelpingNeighbors #InThisTogether
