Fast Break Children’s Mobile Mental Health Care
If you need help now, dial 988.
Led by highly-skilled, board-certified child psychiatrists, Fast Break offers a full range of children’s mental health services including a wide variety of therapies and treatments, psychiatric assessments, and medication management. The Fast Break network includes four free-standing children’s mental health clinics at ABC sites, thirteen school-based licensed mental health clinics, and five school-based mental health programs that serve a total of 25 individual schools, Manhattan’s only 24/7 children’s mobile crisis team, and a community-based care program, Fast Break Plus.
Fast Break Clinics
Schedule
Monday to Friday: 9am - 7pm, Saturday: 10am - 3pm (Echo Park Clinic only). Appointment advised, but walk-ins are possible
Locations
Bronx Early Childhood Clinic: 1366 Inwood Avenue, Bronx, NY 10452
East 115th Street Clinic: 158 East 115th Street, New York, NY 10029
Echo Park Clinic: 1841 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10035
102nd Street Clinic: 345 East 102nd Street, New York, NY 10029
Clinics
The Echo Park Clinic shares space with ABC’s early childhood and youth programs, increasing treatment accessibility for children and families.
The East 115th Street Clinic is co-located with other community-based organizations at the East Harlem Health Action Center including those that focus on maternal, prenatal, and pediatric health.
The Bronx Early Childhood Clinic specializes in treatment of birth to five-year-olds through evidence-based treatment models and provides consultations to staff and parents in early childhood centers.
The 102nd Street Clinic supports families in East Harlem and those who require mental health treatment beyond their mandated time with ABC’s family preservation program.
If you are waiting for services:
Check out this brochure for help managing your mental health needs or contact our In Good Hands team. In Good Hands provides services for children and parents before, during, and after their treatment time with ABC. We offer parent groups, advice and reassurance from peer advocates who have been through the process themselves, and referrals to other services if needed.
Contact Information
Director of Fast Break Mental Health Clinics: Carrie Wolleman-Stein, LCSW, cwolleman-stein@a-b-c.org, 929 288 4320
Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Fast Break Clinical Director: Adam Leczycki, MD, aleczycki@a-b-c.org, 646 459 6166
Director of Mental Health Administration: Leny V. Bolivar, LCSW, lbolivar@a-b-c.org, 917 575 5456
In Good Hands, Program Coordinator: Sophie Spiegel, LCSW, sspiegel@a-b-c.org, 646 354 9723
School-Based Mental Health
Fast Break’s School-Based Mental Health Program, which is now in twenty-five public schools in Manhattan and the Bronx, conducts crisis intervention and treatment for children, and provides trainings so educators and parents can recognize and respond appropriately to the mental health needs of the children and young adults in their lives.
Schedule
12-month program, Monday to Friday, from 8am to 4pm.
Children can continue to receive their mental health services during school breaks either onsite, at an ABC site, through telehealth, or during a community visit (park, public place, or at home).
Apply
If your child attends one of the schools on the map on this page, speak with your child's guidance counselor or school social worker for more information about ABC's mental health services. Additionally, contact Tara Brown (tbrown@a-b-c.org) or Rhonda Abel (rabel@a-b-c.org) for more information.
School-Based Map Key
Programs offered:
Licensed Article 31 mental health clinics: Each school-based clinic provides psychiatric services and medication, individual and group therapy sessions, and training for staff.
Prevention Intervention Program (PIP): Schools with PIP have access to tiered services including workshops for staff/parents, groups for youth, crisis intervention, and ongoing counseling.
School Response Team (SRT): Through the SRT, ABC serves five different schools (one per day) offering workshops for staff/parents, groups for youth, push-ins to classrooms, crisis intervention, short-term counseling, and referrals to outpatient mental health (ongoing therapy outside of school).
Community School Model: ABC has a subcontract to provide counseling and trainings at three public schools.
Contact Information
Director of School-Based Mental Health and Fast Break Plus: Tara Brown, tbrown@a-b-c.org, 646 832 9707
Assistant Director of School-Based Mental Health: Rhonda Abel, rabel@a-b-c.org, 646 483 3064
Fast Break Plus
Fast Break Plus further expands the reach of ABC’s mental health services by connecting children with services in their community whenever and wherever they are most comfortable. By offering flexible care and treatment outside the traditional outpatient setting in a child’s home, school, shelter, or local neighborhood, ABC helps children with acute mental health needs access services they might have otherwise missed.
Location
In each child’s community, home, shelter or local neighborhood. Currently, we only serve Manhattan.
Contact and Referrals
Schedule
Monday to Friday, Saturday based on availability
Health Homes
Health Homes is ABC’s care management service designed to assist children and families with complex chronic health and/or behavioral health needs whose care is often fragmented, uncoordinated, and duplicative. A dedicated care manager helps all the professionals involved in a child’s care communicate with one another and also coordinates access to all services a child requires to stay happy and healthy. Health Homes is available for ABC program participants - usually Fast Break or Early Intervention - who have a diagnosis to show the need for medical case management. We will advise if we think your child is a good candidate for this program, or you can reach out to LaTonya Givens for more information.
Children’s Mobile Crisis Team
ABC’s Children’s Mobile Crisis Team provides rapid crisis intervention to children and young adults 0-20 anywhere in Manhattan via the citywide 24/7 hotline 988, keeping children out of costly, restrictive institutions.
We will…
Respond to an active crisis situation within 2 hours (1 hour for school referrals).
De-escalate behavioral and mental health crises by using safe, non-threatening interventions.
Conduct mental health and safety assessments for children who are suicidal or homicidal.
Link young people and caretakers to ongoing care for long term support.
Meet with a child and caretaker on a weekly basis for 1-4 weeks after the crisis, with options for in person, telehealth, and school visits.
Provide caregiver and school support and parenting skills to prevent future crises and safely manage high risk behaviors.
Family Peer Advocates, who have lived experience and expertise with this process, accompany our therapists and will explain paperwork for consent, which includes permission to meet and speak with a young person, privacy policies, and caregiver rights
Our program will protect any information given to us according to HIPAA protocols. We will only disclose health information if we have permission.
We offer families flexibility with how involved we should be and how often we meet, as well as option to re-refer if they are not interested.
Apply
Contact Daisy Lugo (dlugo@a-b-c.org) for more information or call 988 if this is an emergency situation.
Programs offered:
We use face-to-face interventions with the identified young person in crisis, as well as their family or other support systems, to engage, assess, de-escalate, and connect individuals to the most appropriate services. If deemed necessary, CMCT can help take a young person to the emergency room if they are at risk of harming themselves or others and/or refuse to safety plan. Emergency situations may include:
A young person’s behavior poses an imminent risk of harm to self or others (i.e. suicide attempt in progress, wielding a knife).
A young person expresses thoughts of suicide/homicide with a plan, intent, or preparatory behavior.
CMCT will keep legal guardians involved with the decision of taking a person to the ER in the case that caregivers are not in agreement, using the 9.58 designation.
Contact Information
Program Director: Daisy Lugo, LCSW, dlugo@a-b-c.org
Program Coordinator: Caroline Monteverde, LCSW, cmonteverde@a-b-c.org
Our Impact
99%
of children engaged with their treatment
95%
of children did not require an increased level of follow-up care after treatment
100%
of parents thought the Children’s Mobile Crisis Team treated them with courtesy and respect and would recommend them to a friend