Putnam Family & Community Services, Inc. Awarded $20,000 Grant

Westchester Community Foundation Supports PFCS’ Children’s Crisis Response Program

Putnam County, NY – Putnam Family and Community Services, Inc. (PFCS) has received a $20,000 grant from the Westchester Community Foundation to support its Children’s Crisis Response Program. The program serves children and adolescents throughout Putnam County who are facing emergency situations requiring mental health counseling and guidance.

Liza Szpylka, PFCS Vice President of Behavioral Health Services, comments, “This is an extremely important program for our youth. It is essential that the young members of our community have a safe place to turn to in a time of need.”

Children and adolescents are facing considerable challenges in a rapidly changing world where social conditions, educational expectations, and current events place more and more stress on them every day. School violence and bullying, rising alcohol, heroin and opioid use, and increases in the number of children who are experiencing anxiety, depression and other mood disorders indicate the need for programs like PFCS’ Crisis Response.

“At PFCS, we are committed to the health of our community. Being available to young people in the Lower Hudson Valley and supporting them—and their families–in times of crisis is a vital part of who we are,” states Diane E. Russo, Chief Executive Officer of PFCS.

The emphasis of the Children’s Crisis Response Program is always on the safety, treatment and well-being of the child as well as their parents and caretakers. Trained clinicians are available at PFCS from Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM, to assist local schools and families with an immediate assessment and evaluation when a crisis situation arises.

In addition to the children’s crisis program and a dedicated, newly-remodeled Children’s Therapeutic Playroom, PFCS offers a broad range of services for people of all ages to address mental health needs, social and emotional issues, and substance use prevention and treatment. For more information about PFCS and its services, visit www.pfcsinc.org or call (845) 225-2700.


About Westchester Community Foundation

The Westchester Community Foundation’s mission is to connect generous people to the causes they care about and invest in transformative ideas and organizations to improve lives and strengthen our community. WCF is a division of The New York Community Trust, one of the largest community foundations in the country, with assets of approximately $2.6 billion.


About Putnam Family and Community Services, Inc.

Putnam Family and Community Services, Inc. (PFCS) is the only private non-profit agency providing recovery-based mental health and substance use treatment and prevention services in Putnam County, NY. PFCS offers hope and healing to people of all ages through a comprehensive range of services including individual and group counseling, care coordination, family advocacy, parenting education, community outreach, psychiatric rehabilitation, and medication management. PFCS is a member of Coordinated Behavioral Health Services (CBHS), a non-profit 501(3) membership organization of forward-thinking, community behavioral health and disability service providers in the Hudson Valley Region whose shared goal is to promote recovery-oriented and outcome-based services designed to ensure high quality and low costs.