New Headquarters Announced—

Youth & Family Services Returning To Newtown Center

By John Voket

It appears that runners and walkers will get a lot more than exercise when they come out to Dickinson Park Saturday for the Newtown Youth & Family Services benefit road race. Agency officials, incorporating the recently merged Newtown Youth Services and the Family Counseling Center of Newtown, plan to announce they have found a new home for administration and youth programs.

This week, Newtown Youth & Family Services, Inc, signed a lease to relocate from Sandy Hook to a larger, centrally located building near the intersection of Queen Street and Church Hill Road. The lease takes effect September 1.

A move to the new location at 17 Church Hill Road, formerly the Bob Tendler Real Estate and Coldwell Banker Real Estate headquarters, will enable the nonprofit agency to create an after-school drop-in center for students at Newtown Middle School. The need for an after-school center was identified last summer in a survey commissioned by the Newtown Prevention Council, according to Chris Gardner, chairman of the Board of Directors of Newtown Youth & Family Services.

The move back to the center of Newtown is a homecoming of sorts for the former Newtown Youth Services, which for years was located in the former Congregational Church hall behind Newtown Savings Bank on Main Street, he said. The agency relocated to Sandy Hook three years ago after the Newtown Savings Bank expansion project began, and board and staff are excited to be coming back to the center of town.

“Newtown Youth Services used to be a place where middle-schoolers gathered after school, but the move to Sandy Hook away from the schools effectively ended that,” Mr Gardner said. “The board has been scouring the center of town for a place to relocate the agency, and we could not have found a better address than on Church Hill Road.”

He said the staff of Newtown Youth & Family Services is ready to meet with administrators, faculty, and students at Newtown Middle School and merchants in the Borough of Newtown to discuss how to attract students to the after-school center, and what amenities it should offer. Preliminary thoughts are that the center will have a big-screen TV, pool table, kitchen, computers, and areas for students to read, do their homework, and hang out with friends.

It will be staffed every afternoon.

“This is the kids’ space. We want them to design it, pick out the paint colors, choose the furniture and make it a place where they will want to come every day,” said Mr Gardner. “We’ve got some ideas, but we really want the students’ input before we do anything.”

The 3,100-square-foot building is divided into two sections. The front area of the building will house programming staff, the Job Bank, and administrative offices. The Newtown Prevention Council will also have an office there.

The after-school center will be located in the back half, accessible through a dedicated entrance. It has a small kitchen and its own bathroom, and access to upstairs rooms that will be used for activities for preschoolers and young adults.

Clinical Work

All clinical work, including individual and group therapy sessions, will continue to be provided at 121 Mt Pleasant Road, the building occupied by the former Family Counseling Center. The move of the agency’s administration to Church Hill Road will free up space in the Mt Pleasant location to offer expanded counseling services, according to the agency’s Executive Director Beth Barton.

“Combining the organizations has strengthened our delivery capabilities by expanding and enhancing programs and services,” Ms Barton said. She said NYFS is a strong resource as a result of consolidating costs, allowing more funds to support children and families, increasing cooperation.

Ms Barton added that establishing comprehensive programs, as well initiating a Clinical Center of Excellence, will enhance the further development and growth of NYFS and more effectively serve the community.

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal said he has been following negotiations for the property as the NYFS is the official municipal youth agency that receives grant, state, and taxpayer funding. He said the location will bode well for the agency’s success.

“It’s a safe walking distance from schools and should be a very attractive location for the kids,” Mr Rosenthal said. “The middle school students are certainly at an age where they need access to a lot of activities.”

Mr Rosenthal said the Prevention Council’s presence will also provide a highly accessible resource to youth and families looking for information, if needed.

Director of Development Phyllis Cortese said the new location for Newtown Youth & Family Services will bring an opportunity to launch a fundraising campaign called “Funding Families for the Future,” offering commemorative or memorial naming opportunities for individuals, groups, associations, foundations, corporations, businesses, and government sources.

“Donors will have their name permanently associated with the opportunity selected and share in our rich history of serving the community,” she said.

The building became vacant a year ago after Coldwell Banker Real Estate consolidated its two offices in larger quarters on South Main Street. A committee headed by Newtown Youth & Family Services board member Bob Mitchell has been negotiating with Coldwell Banker and building owner Landmark Homes, Inc, since April. The building will undergo minor renovations and should be ready for occupancy by October 1.

Mr Gardner said the Board of Directors is grateful for the community’s continuing support of Newtown Youth & Family Services, and hopes more residents and business owners will take notice of its many programs and services.

“There really is no limit to what this agency can do for children and families in Newtown,” Mr Gardner said. “We have an energetic staff that is open to new ideas and opinions from the community about how we can better serve our young people.”

The agency’s biggest fundraiser of the year, the second annual Newtown Road Race 5K and Praxair Kids’ Run, takes place Saturday at Dickinson Park. Hundreds of runners are already registered to participate. For information or to register, log on to www.newtownroadrace.com

For more information about Newtown Youth & Family Services, call 270-4335.