Greece Central School District helping families in a new way

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Connecting people with much needed resources: Greece Central School District has launched a new neighborhood Navigation Center to help students and their families have more stability.

The goal is to make it easier for people who need everything from help finding a job to leasing an apartment or getting mental health treatment.

Greece central has 17 schools, with thousands of students who come from a variety of backgrounds and have a range of needs.

The nonprofit “Together now” helped put it in motion .

“It’s actually an initiative that includes health and human service and education and public sector providers and they’ve come together to say how do they work better together so that as people need services it’s more seamless,” says Executive Director of TogetherNow, Laura Gustin.

The center on Alcott Road is a conduit to every connection a family might need.

“It’s definitely a hub. So our mental health teams in the building as well as building administrators, teachers, and even families sometimes by self-referrals will reach out to connect with the services throughout the county,” says Community Schools and Family Engagement Coordinator for the Greece Central School District, Kelly Sperduto.

Sperduto works with some of these families. She says more than 100 of them have been supported so far.

“Our Nav center actually goes to schools to meet with families, they go to families homes to do home visits, they’ll meet them on playgrounds or coffee shops, we get translators when we need. So any way to connect with a family we make sure to make it happen,” says Spurduto.

One of the biggest benefits is that clients don’t have to repeat their stories over and over.

“When families come here we have a great team of care coordinators and they really just emphasize with families and let them understand that hey it’s a really tough time for everybody right now, it’s okay, it’s normal, it’s not atypical, and we’re here to help you and support you through the process,” explains Spurduto.

If your child attends Greece Schools and you need help with anything- food, mental health care, employment or housing, you can contact the center at (585)966-2211.