Jewish Family Service of MetroWest announces they have received a grant from the Merck Foundation Neighbor of Choice initiative to support their work serving children and adolescents in need of mental health counseling and intervention in the MetroWest community.  

Funding from Merck will allow JFS to maintain and enhance mental health counseling services and psychiatric evaluations to children and adolescents, whose families may lack health insurance, are underinsured, or who have no access to specially-trained therapists.  Government reports show that while two million adolescents suffer at least one major depressive episode each year, only 40 percent receive treatment, even though early intervention is well-recognized as an effective means of avoiding larger emotional and behavioral problems later in life. 

The Merck Neighbor of Choice grant will enable JFS to immediately expand the Department of Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services in a way that is child and family centered, accessible, and responsive to clients' needs, by engaging a licensed clinical social worker to provide additional hours of mental health counseling per week.  Additionally, JFS will affiliate with a board-certified child psychiatrist to provide priority care, diagnostic evaluations, medication consultation, and additional therapies as indicated.

The Merck Company Foundation is a U.S.-based, private charitable foundation.  Established in 1957 by the global research-driven pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., Inc., the Foundation is funded entirely by the Company and is Merck's chief source of funding support to qualified non-profit, charitable organizations.  Since its inception, The Merck Company Foundation has contributed more than $560 million to support important initiatives that address societal needs and are consistent with Merck's overall mission to enhance the health and well-being of people around the world.  For more information, visit www.merckcompanyfoundation.org.

With roots going back to 1861, Jewish Family Service of MetroWest is today a comprehensive social service agency providing counseling and support services, on a non-discriminatory basis, to help strengthen and restore the family, in Essex, Morris, Sussex and parts of Hudson and Union counties.  JFS annually touches more than 3,500 families in the Metro West area.  Traditionally, half of our services help older adults and their families cope with the changes of aging through extensive in-home services including subsidized home care, case management services, counseling, caregiver education, volunteer friendly visitors, and specialized programs for Holocaust survivors. For children and families, JFS provides individual, couple, child and family counseling, family play therapy, support groups, adoption services, school social work services, debt counseling, domestic violence services, family life education and other assistance needed to maintain healthy families. JFS has offices located in Florham Park, Livingston, West Orange, and Jersey City.   For more information, please call (973) 765-9050.