NNews-Spring-2022

12 Pride+ continues our journey and commitment to build cultural representation of the communities we serve. — Diane Travers, LCSW, CTTS Director of Programs “Growth happens here every day.” This is the first sentence of Family Connections’ mission statement. “Inclusive” is the agency’s first core value. The newest evidence of Family Connections’ dedication to its mission and values is the recent launch of the Pride+ program. “This program speaks so much about who we are,” said Jacques Hryshko, LPC, ACS, Chief Executive Officer, who joined the agency more than 29 years ago and currently serves as Vice Chair of the NJAMHAA Board of Directors. JP Pedoto, MSW, Coordinator of Pride+, a clinician and one of the newer teammembers, expressed an equally powerful sentiment about the organization. “Pride+ is a truly great example of Family Connections. It’s a large agency, though close knit. All of the staff knewme when I started here as an intern in January 2021, and the supervisors were enthusiastic about my proposal for Pride+,” he said. Prior to joining Family Connections, Pedoto worked at Hetrick- Martin Institute (HMI), which focused exclusively on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex and asexual (LGBTQIA) population and unfortunately lost funding in the spring of 2021. Pedoto proposed Pride+ to his colleagues at Family Connections to fill the gap resulting fromHMI’s closing. “Within two months, we were doing research to determine what the LGBTQIA community’s needs are and applying for grants,” Pedoto said. The agency secured a grant from the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey in early winter 2021, hired staff and had them start February 1 st , and launched the program on March 1 st , according to Diane Travers, LCSW, CTTS, Director of Programs. “Pride+ continues our journey and commitment to build cultural representation of the communities we serve. It was apparent that without HMI, there was a tremendous void in Essex County for LGBTQIA youth,” she said. “A number of things came together: JP’s awareness of HMI closing, the community’s needs and our long-term relationship with the Foundation. The staff worked quickly to put together an incredible program,” Hryshko said. Family Connections started achieving a positive impact on participants just as quickly as they developed and launched the program. In a conversation with NJAMHAANews in early April, Pedoto said, “The youth and their families are very, very thankful for our services. Many need clinical services and there are long wait lists at other organizations serving LGBTQIA youth. There is no wait with our program.” Family Connections Takes Pride and Quick Action to Serve Diverse Individuals Spring 2022