Alex Parks joined the Ascienzo Family Foundation in the 2015 inaugural class of ambassadors and has been active every year since! Throughout his time as an ambassador, Alex has advocated for The Home for Little Wanderers, a multi-faceted human services non-profit, started over a hundred years ago, that works “to ensure the healthy behavioral, emotional, social and education development and physical well-being of children and families living in at-risk circumstances.” The Home works with children who have been directly affected by trauma, and provides different programs, including therapeutic residential schools, group homes, and preschool programs (which the AFF has funded twice in the past). Covid-19 has disproportionately affected children without stability in their homes, and increased need for students, and parents, to access mental health services. The Home’s grant application explained that most students do not receive the mental health services they need to to stigma and lack of access to services. A $10,000 grant from the AFF will help the Home meet the costs of providing school-based mental health services to school children in Boston. It is essential, especially now, for at-risk children to receive counseling, whether in person or through online video sessions, and to be put in communication with resources such as pediatricians, psychiatrists, and/or social service agencies. With this grant, the Home expects to be able to provide 125 hours of valuable services in schools in the coming year. The AFF has been working with Alex and The Home in grant-funding for the last five years, and we are very excited about this great partnership!
We have previously featured Alex on our blog, and written about the Nick Ascienzo’s visit to The Home!