Who…
…are clients that come to Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services?
SYFS serves anyone who lives or works in Shrewsbury. SYFS provides a variety of counseling,
advocacy, and case management services for those in need of emotional, mental
health, financial, or community-resource finding support. The agency will also
accept referrals from people who are not Shrewsbury residents, but priority
is given to those who live or work in the town of Shrewsbury.
…are the staff members that work for Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services?
SYFS utilizes professional staff and dedicated, experienced town volunteers to
provide quality services to our clients. Our professional clinical staff members
all possess advanced (minimum Master's-level) degrees in such areas of specialty
as Clinical Social Work, Mental Health Counseling, or Master's in Education.
Our Clinical Staff Members have years of experience in working with youth, families,
adults, and/or seniors in need of services.
Our Board of Directors are
dedicated Shrewsbury professionals who actively volunteer their time to ensure
that Shrewsbury's counseling and social support needs are met (for a list of
our Board of Directors, please go to our "Contacts"
page).
All of our organization's staff and volunteer members are caring, compassionate,
and helpful professionals who strive to fulfill the agency's mission to "Strengthen
Shrewsbury's Families".
What…
…services does SYFS provide? Here are some of the services SYFS has been
able to provide:
SYFS has provided the following confidential services to clients:
- Individual Counseling. 1:1 therapy/counseling sessions addressing a wide
range of symptoms, including depression, anxiety, anger management, low
self-esteem, substance abuse, grief/loss, social skill-building, family
conflicts, etc.
- Family Counseling & Couple Counseling. Sessions with various family
members and couples, as needed.
- Therapeutic Groups. Facilitated by a
professional clinician, these are structured psychotherapy groups specializing
in particular topics, including anger management, Girls' Self-Esteem, violence
intervention, etc.
- Support Groups. These are groups intended
to offer clients an opportunity to meet with other clients to gain support
and share insights on specific issues. Topics have included victims of violence,
parenting support, grief/loss, etc.
- Violence Intervention & Prevention (V.I.P.) Program. These are specialized services
that are networked together in the spirit of providing various components
addressing violence, including prevention
SYFS has provided the following outreach / community support services to clients:
- Afterschool Programming. SYFS offers afterschool programming for youth. This program incorporates therapeutic activities, educational groups, counseling sessions, and skill-building programs to help youth address such issues as anger management, conflict resolution, proactive problem solving, school issues, healthy relationships, and mentoring needs.
- Community Education Workshops. Workshops with such topics as parent education and skill building, domestic violence issues, mental health in children, etc. have been offered by SYFS, in collaboration with other town organizations, including Shrewsbury Police Dept., A.D.V.I.S.E. (Against Domestic Violence In Shrewsbury Education project), SCPC, SCDC, and school personnel.
- Case management/advocacy. Our staff can assist clients in accessing resources
in the community, including finding the right treatment / service providers
for particular issues (e.g. home-care providers, prescribing psychiatrists,
shelters for the homeless, etc.). The "social work" provided is
done on a case-by-case basis, and matches clients' individual needs.
- Community Outreach & Education. Part of our mission includes reaching
out to the community to raise awareness about certain issues, or to highlight
important services available to those that may need them. SYFS works diligently
to partner with other organizations to facilitate public awareness campaigns
and provide the community at-large with forums / workshops to discuss these
issues.
- Community Resources / Quality of Life Programs. This is a service that
includes assisting folks with Fuel Assistance (through our partnership with
SMOC), Share-the-Warmth Program, and other financial assistance programs.
The focus of this service is to provide those in the greatest need with
support and access to community resources.
Many of these services are developed in response to the needs of the people
of Shrewsbury -- if you have a request or idea for a particular type of service
or program, please feel free to contact Jeffrey Chin at 508-845-6932 or email
at jchin@townisp.com.
When…
…does Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services provide services?
Normal hours of
administrative operation for SYFS is Monday through Friday, 8am-5:30pm. The agency
is open evening and weekend hours for appointments and for specific programming
(e.g. groups, seminars, etc.)
Where…
…does SYFS provide services?
Most of our services are delivered here at
our offices at 240 Maple Avenue. However, we have the capability to provide
services in schools, in homes, and at various sites in town that may provide
certain facilities (e.g. groups at one of the local churches, or seminars in
Town Hall, etc.). Please contact SYFS staff for details.
Why…
…should you consider SYFS services? Three reasons:
- Quality at a Convenience: As an organization dedicated to the welfare and health of Shrewsbury townspeople, SYFS operates with the singular purpose to Strengthen Shrewsbury's Families. This allows us the opportunity to focus on prioritizing Shrewsbury clients, helping those in need receive services within a reasonable amount of time. If those in need were to seek services elsewhere there would often involve lengthy waitlists and travel involved.
- Adaptability: SYFS seeks to make services flexible and adaptive to the needs of our clients, including providing solutions around such obstacles as transportation difficulties or time constraints. While we most likely cannot resolve all obstacles, there is a spirit of adaptability, flexibility, and collaboration that fuels our service philosophy.
- Responsiveness: SYFS consistently strives to meet the needs of Shrewsbury through active partnerships and collaborations with other town entities, including effective provision of services addressing current crises or needs (death/accident in town, relevant social issues such as school violence or grief issues related to untimely deaths). SYFS also proactively addresses issues by being at the forefront on issues that affect our community and society at large (managing behaviors of children, domestic violence interventions, etc.).
How…
…are services funded and/or paid for?
Services are paid for through a variety
of means. Some programs are grant-funded, while others are billed through health
insurances or private pay methods. We receive some municipal funds to help us
with our operational costs, and we utilize (and appreciate) donations. Most importantly,
we do not deny services to Shrewsbury clients because of their ability to pay
-- we make every effort to reach an agreement that helps our clients and maintains
our ability to remain viable.
