Fadwa’s Story

To say Fadwa is driven is an understatement. She doesn’t dream of becoming a surgical nurse, she is actively taking steps to make it happen. And to make her mother proud.

Fadwa lost her mother to cancer when she was just 13 years old. Her father expected Fadwa to assume her mother’s responsibilities and moved the family often, keeping them distanced from any extended family. She was not allowed to have friends or participate in extracurricular activities. She attended five different high schools and managed to maintain excellent grades while she cooked, cleaned, and took care of her two brothers and father.

At 17, she was abandoned by her father and placed in SCO’s foster care program. SCO helped stabilize the teen, placed her with a foster family, and eventually was able to locate a maternal aunt who opened her heart and home to her long-lost niece through kinship foster care.

Despite her early challenges, Fadwa stays focused on the opportunities ahead of her. SCO’s foster care staff helped her prepare for college; guiding her through the application process and helping her achieve both a Dream USA Scholarship and a Youth in Foster Care Award.  Currently a student at Borough of Manhattan Community College, SCO helped her secure an internship with a surgeon at Mount Sinai Hospital.

Fadwa’s goal is to keep her GPA high enough to get into nursing school. And we have no doubt she will achieve this and so much more.

 

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Madonna Heights Family Service Clinic

The Madonna Heights Family Service Clinic is an outpatient mental health clinic, supporting families as they overcome obstacles and strengthen existing bonds. We offer individual, group, marital, family and play therapies to all members of families living in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Our experienced and compassionate mental health therapists and board-certified adult and child psychiatrists use trauma-informed and culturally sensitive treatment models to address the emotional, psychiatric, and behavioral needs of those we serve.

We provide psychiatric assessments, medication management, complex trauma assessments, psychiatric monitoring, and evidence-based therapy. We specialize in working with families and focus on building strong healing relationships.

We provide comprehensive mental health services, including:

  • Assessment
  • Complex Trauma Assessment
  • Collaborative Treatment Planning
  • Individual Therapy
  • Family Therapy
  • Group Therapy
  • Marital Therapy
  • Psychiatric Evaluation
  • Medication Management
  • Referrals and linkages to community providers

Hours of Operation
Mon to Thurs: 10AM to 9PM
Friday: 11AM to 7PM
Saturday: 8AM to 5PM

Who Can Benefit from this Program

Providing mental health evidence-based therapy and psychiatric interventions for individuals age 5 and up, families, couples

Age Criteria or Other Eligibility Requirements

Minimum age 5

How to Access this Program or Service

Open Access hours twice weekly. Please call the clinic office to confirm current Open Access hours

 

This program is associated with...

Madonna Heights

Providing an environment that teaches, strengthens and encourages young and adult women to heal from trauma. Read More

Success Stories

Fadwa’s Story

Foster Care and Education

“I’m going to be successful regardless of what I’ve been through." Learn More

The Storeys’ Extended Family

Family Care

“We do this for the love in our hearts for them. We’ve seen how much progress they’ve made with care and love." Learn More

Last year, we helped

418

adults become employed heads of households

We help

1,400

children and young adults through foster care programs