YORK, Pa. — As the 2023-2024 school year looms, parents and children may be feeling stress and anxiety.
The Lehman Center, which specializes in providing support, resources and therapy for children and families, is hoping to provide some relief to families this school year.
“Very often it’s the stress of the school year and not knowing what to do with your child,” said Eric Chase, president/CEO of Children’s Aid Society.
The Lehman Center is a 24-hour care center for children ages newborn through 6 years old. Some of their services include parent support groups, crisis nurseries and creative art therapy. These are also resources that can be utilized for any family in need during the school year.
The Child Centered Creative Art and Play Therapy provides child-focused therapeutic services for children ages 3-17. The play helps break barriers for children who struggle with communicating their feelings or thoughts effectively while creating a confidential environment.
“Our creative arts and therapists help create solutions where children can come and talk about their stress, deal with the situation, as well as offering parent support groups and education,” said Chase.
The Lehman Center, which is overseen by the Children’s Aid Society, is dedicated to meeting the emotional and physical needs of children. One of the needs is a Crisis Nursery, which is one of three in the state of Pennsylvania. The Crisis Nursery offers short-term respite care for children from newborn to 6 years old. This center is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Janelle Swartz says the Crisis Nursery is utilized for many things, including overwhelming parental stress, lack of food, shelter, or utilities, or even if the child's safety is in jeopardy and needs to be separated from the parent.
Two more locations in Chambersburg and New Oxford are also available for families who would like to utilize these resources. For more information and details, click here.