The Katonah-Lewisboro Times 04.23.20

VOL. 2 NO. 47 Visit TapIntoKLT.net for the latest news. THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2020

Grief, anxiety,
depression skyrocket
during coronavirus

BY KATHERINE BORCHERT Department of Community Men-

STAFF WRITER tal Health. “Our clinics haven’t

seen an increase. e psychiatric

Mental health professionals are hospital census is pretty stable, if

seeing new mental health issues not lower. Our outpatient clinics

emerge as people cope with self- are not overwhelmed at this time.

isolation and job loss due to the Most of the hospital services are

coronavirus. being done remotely. So our tradi-

ere’s been a dramatic increase tional system hasn’t really felt the

in calls to a hotline set up by the impact, but clearly, as this goes on

Westchester County Department for longer periods of time, we have

of Mental Health by people seek- seen an increase of people strug-

ing support for new or emerging gling with anxiety, isolation and

Staff at Country Childrens Center mental health conditions. lack of connectedness.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF COUNTRY CHILDRENS CENTER “We’ve received over 200 calls Juliette Sussmann, a licensed

Day care opens for kids in the last two weeks where many mental health counselor who op-
of essential employees
people who don’t have pre-existing erates a private practice in Kato-

conditions are anxious or depressed nah, said that the mental e ects

and are seeking services,” said of the global pandemic can take a

Michael Orth, commissioner of toll on everyone.

Westchester “In general, people are strug-

gling, but I believe they

also work to stay pres-

ent. I think this a ects

BY TOM BARTLEY e nonpro t Country Childrens Center is people with or with-
CONTRIBUTING WRITER caring for the children of the frontline troops, the
out previous men-
A Katonah day care, serving families for a half- rst responders and emergency medical workers
century but abruptly shuttered last month by the who put their lives on the line each day to save See pages 12-13 for tips tal health issues,”
coronavirus outbreak, has reopened at least par- the lives of others. on coping with stress during Sussmann said. “It
tially to aid e orts to combat the pandemic.
SEE DAY CARE PAGE 6 the pandemic SEE MENTAL

HEALTH PAGE 4

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PAGE 2 – THE KATONAH-LEWISBORO TIMES THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2020

The Staff Spring Bedford residents invited to
scenes join iNaturalist City Challenge
EDITORIAL TEAM
Jodi Weinberger Nicole Marinho, 7, Katonah TheTown of Bedford will Usually a competition Yards, which advocates for
be participating in the four- between towns and cit- the regeneration of back
Editor: 914-302-5830 day iNaturalist City Nature ies all over the world, this yards into natural land-
[email protected] Challenge from April 24 year’s Challenge has been scapes rather than mani-
- 27, and the local organiza- changed because of quar- cured ‘lawnscapes.’ “Let’s
Brian Marschhauser tions promoting the proj- antine situations to simply make Bedford the most
Sports Editor: 914-302-5628 ect, Bedford Conservation encourage people to get biodiverse Town in New
[email protected] Board, Bedford 2020 and out into nature, take a close York!”
Healthy Yards, hope to have look and appreciate what
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by going into their back- “We are extraordinarily taking photos of plants, ani-
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[email protected] nature that is there. we can be outside and in nature, and uploading them
nature while in quarantine. to the app where they can
Paul Forhan iNaturalist is a citizen iNaturalist and the City be identified. All observa-
914-202-2392 science project, involving Nature Challenge presents tions made in the Town of
[email protected] amateurs as well as profes- an amazing opportunity Bedford from Friday, April
Corinne Stanton sional naturalists and biolo- to more actively and more 24 through Monday, April
845-621-4049 gists, mapping and sharing deeply learn about and en- 27 will automatically be
[email protected] observations of biodiversity gage in the nature that we added to the Bedford Bio-
Jennifer Connelly across the globe. iNatural- celebrate here in Bedford,” diversity Project.
917-446-7757 ist may be accessed via its said Murray Fisher of
[email protected] website or from its mobile the environmental advo- To register or for more
Bruce Heller applications. cacy organization Healthy information, email Bed-
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THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2020 THE KATONAH LEWISBORO TIMES PAGE 3

Ambulance Harckham
corps brings sweets for
thanks essential workers

community BY CAROL REIF
for support STAFF WRITER

e Katonah New York Sen. Pete Harckman made the rounds
Bedford Hills in northern Westchester this weekend to person-
ally thank the folks who have been manning the
Volunteer frontlines during the COVID-19 health crisis.
Ambulance Corps
shared this “ ank Wearing a mask and gloves—and practicing
you” photo collage social distancing—he stopped at the Somers Fire
with the community. Department on Primrose Street and at the South
Salem Post O ce in Lewisboro.
e message reads:
“Your support has He brought them cookies from Homestyle Des-
made us stronger - serts in Peekskill.
and we are honored
Earlier Friday, April 17, he visited EMS workers
to serve this in Croton-on-Hudson and the Jeannette J. Phillips
community. Love Health Center in Peekskill.

always wins.” He planned to do the Putnam leg of his “Grati-
tude Tour” this week.
PHOTO COURTESY
OF ALLIE WHALEN e senator praised the folks who are “doing re-
markable work under very di cult circumstances.”

Quoting Winston Churchill, Britain’s prime
minister during WWII, Harckham said: “Never
before in history have so many owned so much to
so few.”

“ ose words could not be truer today,”the sena-
tor added.

Census sparks competition between supervisors

BY TOM BARTLEY many people live in a household or whether derived from the most recent census. So “People who are not counted now remain
CONTRIBUTING WRITER their home is owned or rented. anything that hikes compliance ultimately uncounted for 10 years,” Burdick noted. “If
enriches the town. someone lives in a community and uses the
e chief executives of Bedford and Lew- By contrast, as of April 8, fully 59.3 per- community’s services,they need to be count-
isboro are locked in a competition to see cent of the folks in Lewisboro had answered, As Bedford Councilwoman Kate Galli- ed so they can be supported. When it comes
which town’s residents will better respond in according to a county-maintained tally. It gan points out,those dollars will be especially to representation in government, New York
this year’s national nose count, the decennial ranked Lewisboro No. 8 among 43 West- needed in the wake of the coronavirus pan- lost two seats in the House in 2010 due to
census. chester municipalities in census compliance. demic. “With the nancial di culties that the census that year.”
Bedford’s rank: 25th place. undoubtedly lie ahead for many towns—all
At this point, Bedford trails its neighbor of them, really—it’s more important than Galligan maintains hope Bedford resi-
by so much as to make the outcome appear In the week since,perhaps fueling some of ever that we get everyone counted” (in Bed- dents can rally and put their town’s cap on
foreordained. Still, with an optimism per- the underdog optimism, Bedford’s responses ford and, yes, even in Lewisboro, too), said the Lewisboro supervisor.
haps rooted in past performance or simply had increased a respectable 16.5 percent, Galligan, who conceived the wager.
a bettor’s boundless optimism, Bedford sees inching up to 53.4 percent vs. a gain of only “ ings are looking a bit dicey for Bed-
an outside chance of winning the crown. 4.5 percent in Lewisboro. But 62 percent She and Lewisboro Councilwoman Jane ford right now, I’ll admit—but then again,
of that town’s residents have now met the Crimmins took the idea to their respective in 2010 we came in at a 70.9 response rate to
More likely, however, it will end with a federal requirement,cementing their eighth- supervisors. “Both supervisors were good Lewisboro’s 70.8,” she said. “So, I am main-
hat. For the loser. at was the deal Bedford place position, while Bedford, its gains not- sports in the spirit of garnering as many taining optimism!”
Supervisor Chris Burdick Burdick sealed withstanding, remained mired in 25th. [census] responses as possible. Win, win,
with Lewisboro Supervisor Peter Parsons win,”Crimmins said. At the same time, Galligan noted that
earlier this month: loser dons the cap of his A con dent Parsons has already published “high response rates bene t both commu-
neighbor when the Town Boards next con- online a depiction of his Bedford counter- Burdick agreed, saying, “Money doesn’t nities, because we share roads, schools, pro-
vene after a May 6 day of reckoning. part sporting a Lewisboro tam.And Burdick necessarily follow need, it follows num- grams, etc.”
is an odds-on favorite to make that picture bers—money for schools, hospitals, roads,
When Bedford initiated the competition, a reality. after-school programs, assisted living, Medi- “So hopefully this little competition will
barely more than half its residents, 50.9 per- care and Medicaid.” encourage residents of both towns to re-
cent, had responded to the U.S. Census Bu- Nevertheless,he’ll hardly come out a loser. spond to the census,” she said. “And fortu-
reau’s handful of basic queries, such as how Funding and other bene ts for municipali- Failure to answer the census’few questions nately, given the current situation, it’s some-
ties are often pegged to population, a gure carries long-term consequences for the town. thing people can do from home.”

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PAGE 4 THE KATONAH LEWISBORO TIMES THURSDAY, APRIL 23, 2020

MENTAL HEALTH who normally might not struggle. disclose or be observed to show “I’m just asking Scan this QR
“In a situation like this, every- that they’re being abused.” people to send me Code using your
FROM PAGE 1 an email. It doesn’t smartphone to
body’s vulnerabilities are heightened, Marinelli also expressed her even have to have access the Yorktown
certainly can create more anxiety in even [in] people who didn’t realize concern about seeing spikes in do- a message, just send Together! COVID-19
people because the unknown cre- they had vulnerabilities around anxi- mestic abuse and substance abuse me the link so that Resource Guide.
ates a ght-or- ight feeling. I think ety or depression,” said Eric Toth, a disorder with many people being we may take a look
there’s an increase in fear due to not licensed master social worker and cut o from their normal routines.

knowing what’s next and there’s the CEO of CoveCare Center. “I “ ese are issues that thrive on at it,”Talbert said.

also life and death issues that people think people who are anxious are isolation and so if people are stuck Westchester County has also set taining a daily routine, eating healthy

haven’t had to deal with before.” feeling more anxious, people who at home and struggling, that is also up a hotline and hired additional and making sure to get a healthy dose

Sussmann added that in her were feeling isolated and depressed an issue and a fear of mine that sta to help people dealing with of sunshine and fresh air to stave o

opinion, clients who were already are feeling more isolated and de- people are su ering in silence,” new mental struggles. the moody blues, Marinelli recom-

engaging in some form of therapy pressed. People who relied on sub- Marinelli said. “We set up the telephone line mended following the three elements

before the pandemic may be more stances for a variety of reasons and She added that people are hav- where we had our professionals re- of self-compassion by Dr. Kristin

resilient during this time because used them in ways that aren’t healthy ing to overcome the obstacle of spond and problem-solve, trouble- Ne , a pioneering self-compassion

they have an understanding of for them are going to quite possibly reaching out through digital plat- shoot,” Orth said. “We connect researcher, author and teacher.

their own mental health and prac- escalate that use. e other thing forms to seek help. However, some people to our mental health commu- First, don’t compare your su ering

tice using coping mechanisms. that is probably a little hidden, and organizations have come up with nity-based agencies, and we’re also to what someone else is going through.

Pamela M. Marinelli, an again, I think will be the next wave ways to provide support to all resi- fortunate to have about 60 clinicians Second, practice self-kindness.

LMHC who operates a private of need, is the rise in domestic vio- dents in one space. who are providing pro bono services “It’s OK if you didn’t accomplish

practice in Mahopac, said one of lence, speci cally partner violence. Alliance for Safe Kids in Yorktown for those people who may be strug- all of these things that you set out

the biggest emotions people are In the normal environment, it’s hard has compiled a database of resources gling and really don’t need long-term for and it’s OK if you didn’t learn a

dealing with right now is grief. for people to get out of those situa- that can help a variety of people over- treatment, but just need somebody to new skill or read a new book today,

“It’s a loss of the way things used tions very often; in the current envi- come issues during the pandemic. talk to and some short-term support.” whatever it is,”Marinelli said.

to be and loss of jobs, loss of con- ronment, it makes it extraordinarily It’s as simple as scanning a QR code Toth said that CoveCare is cur- ird, she said, is to practice

tact, the grief of not being able to more di cult for people to get out with your smartphone camera and it rently accepting new clients who mindfulness, being conscious of

see your family,”Marinelli said. of those environments.” takes you to multiple pages contain- may feel they need more in-depth one’s thoughts and come from a

With recent major holidays like One thing Toth was speci cally ing support hotlines, text numbers, treatment at this time. place of non-judgment when eval-

Easter and Passover, many families concerned about is that often calls virtual meetings and even a YouTube “If someone calls Monday uating those thoughts.

missed out on that time to connect, to Child Protective Services are link for the elderly that will teach through Friday between 9 a.m. and She added it is best to share your

she added. made by school personnel. With- them how to use FaceTime. 5 p.m., the front desk should be thoughts with someone you trust,

“I know people who have lost out teachers having those in-per- “We’ve been looking at so many able to eld their call and begin the but if you don’t have a support sys-

loved ones right now and have not son interactions, he worries abuse di erent things, such as how to process,”Toth said. tem, write it down in a journal or

been able to grieve those people could go unnoticed. support the youth, our parents He also said that anyone who reach out for support.

how they typically would in person. “(School is) where kids spend a and caregivers that are wearing so needs immediate support should Sussmann recommended work-

I think grief and loss are a huge lot of their time and where profes- many di erent hats while they’re at contact the United Way 211 hot- ing on staying in the present and

part of this,” Marinelli said. sionals can recognize the signs and home with their families, and our line, which covers a wide variety of taking things one day at a time,

Self-isolation and quarantine symptoms of child abuse,” Toth seniors,” ASK Executive Direc- issues, including substance abuse reminding people that they can

can also bring about symptoms of said. “I’m very concerned for those tor Liz Talbert said. “We thought and domestic violence. always reset their day, use mindful-

mental health conditions for people kids who don’t have the chance to this would be an ideal thing for “I think it’s a great time for ness and distract themselves and

the community, to have a portal of neighbors to be checking in on focus on the things they like to

sorts where we could keep all this each other. Family members, keep their mind in the present.

information in one place.” friends should be checking in on “ is too shall pass. We’re going

She added that she is continu- people who they think could be to get through this together and

ously updating the database and is vulnerable to anything,”Toth said. it’s important to stay positive and

asking for the public’s help in nd- While all mental health profes- do your best to stay in the present,”

Famil -Ru Sinc 1975 ing more resources. sionals have recommended main- Sussmann said.

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