CFAR September 2024 Newsletter

Fall is always a busy time for CFAR, with all of the families getting back to their regular routines and appointments. It’s an especially important time for the youth we serve, with the stress of balancing school and activities, and the difficulty that sometimes comes with navigating social situations. Our team is working hard scheduling appointments so that we can help prepare our clients for the challenges the face.

We’re also thrilled to announce that we received a grant of nearly $28,000 to purchase laptops for our team. With our reliance on electronic health records and increase in telehealth appointments, it is critical for our clinicians to have well functioning laptops to do their work successfully.

We are excited to announce that CFAR CEO Jordan Brogan has joined the Board of The Alliance of Community Service Providers. The Alliance is a professional membership organization representing over 75 non-profit and for-profit organizations in Southeastern Pennsylvania that provide supports and services for adults and children with intellectual disabilities, those with mental health issues, and people recovering from addictions. The work they do is critical, and Jordan is honored to join the board to help further that work.

CFAR's Together Through Trauma (TTT) program provides Community Workshops and Staff Trainings to identified Philly rec centers and other partner organizations. Community Workshops help  youth and adults impacted by gun violence identify, address, and heal from trauma, and topics include Grief and Loss, Combating Anxiety after Trauma, Resolving Conflict, Taking Care of Yourself After a Traumatic Event, and Regaining Control of Your Life After Experiencing a Trauma. Staff Trainings help the staff of partner organizations approach their work in a trauma informed way, show them how to address secondary PTSD, help them manage the stress of working in communities that struggle with trauma, and cover a variety of topics. TTT has some grant-funded workshops and trainings available for partners working in or around our identified rec centers, and for partners that work with communities struggling with trauma. For more information, visit cfarcounseling.org/ttt-workshops, where you can see a list of available topics and submit an interest form.

Our Children Deserving Services (CDS) program is celebrating and honoring Hispanic Heritage Month by highlighting the importance of providing culturally-competent services to the rapidly growing Spanish-speaking population in Philadelphia. Our CDS team members, who provide free mental health services to uninsurable youth, are all bilingual with immigrant backgrounds, and have a passion for providing services and resources for vulnerable immigrant youth. The resource highlighted in this newsletter was developed to help teach Spanish-speaking youth (and adults!) ways to cope with feelings of anxiousness. It’s part of a larger Spanish-language mental health workshop developed by CDS Program Director Belen Gomez. If you are a partner organization interested in a CDS workshop, please contact cds@cfarcounseling.org.

The CFAR team was blown away by the incredible LGBTQ trainings by The Bryson Institute of The Attic Youth Center. The impact of these trainings on our work is immeasurable. Special thanks to one of the training team, nadeen "MothaSistah" herring, for these kind words about our team in a recent Instagram post: "these peeps are one of the most enthusiastic, dedicated and thoughtful groups i have ever encountered. they are about inclusive spaces and then some!" CFAR looks forward to partnering with The Attic Youth Center again in the future.