Please Support Residential Treatment Center for Adolescents

We are close to opening our doors and you can help us get there today by donating to The Healing Connection Residential Treatment Inc. (Our Upstate New York Adolescent Residential Eating Disorder Treatment Center).

Our “Filling the Gap” Campaign https://www.thehealingconnectioninc.org/filling-the-gap is seeking funds to open the doors to the first non-profit Residential Eating Disorders Treatment Center in Rochester, NY, to complete the continuum of care for adolescents with eating disorders. The facility would be operated by The Healing Connection, a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit eating disorder treatment agency. It would primarily serve adolescents from Western and Central NY and be available to teens outside this area.

There is a great need for an Upstate NY eating disorder residential program. All adolescents currently need to go at least 5 hours away for residential treatment, and the majority have to go out of state, leaving behind their families, friends, and health care team. There is also a minimal opportunity for adolescents on Medicaid or financially disadvantaged families to receive this level of care. They cannot afford it, the programs are out of network, or their insurance plan does not cover this level of care. Because The Healing Connection is a nonprofit agency, we would afford adolescents the opportunity for this level of care regardless of financial status.

Eating Disorders have the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric illnesses (outside of opioid dependence). The death rate associated with anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than the death rate of ALL causes of death for adolescent females. Good outcomes and full recovery are possible with early identification and intensive treatment. For some adolescents and their families, this means 24/7 residential care. In residential treatment, teens can stabilize their eating and weight, interrupt eating disorder thoughts and behaviors, and learn new coping and self-care skills. Their parents/guardians can learn how to provide mealtime support and develop skills to promote ongoing recovery.

Eating Disorders occur in adolescents regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. COVID has served to increase cases of eating disorders in teens. There are long waiting lists for residential treatment across the country. The National Eating Disorders Association Helpline noted a 107% increase in call volume from March 2020 through December 2021 https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/people-news-national-eating-disorders-association. Adolescents and their families need access to residential treatment now more than ever.

The Healing Connection works closely with the Child and Adolescent Eating Disorders Program at Golisano Children’s Hospital (GCH) https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/childrens-hospital/adolescent/eating-disorders.aspx and the Western NY Comprehensive Care Center for Eating Disorders (WNYCCCED) https://www.nyeatingdisorders.org to ensure a continuum of care for adolescents with eating disorders and their families. The GCH program provides inpatient and outpatient medical care. WNYCCCED staff is co-located at GCH, THC, and in the community. Western NY CCCED delivers services not covered by insurance (care management, parent peer mentoring, peer mentoring, life coaching, outreach, and education). THC provides partial hospital (full day), intensive outpatient, and outpatient programming. The only gap in this continuum of care for adolescents is residential treatment. We are launching this fundraiser to ensure the availability of residential treatment alongside other levels of care within the same continuum of care and provided by the same health care team that follows adolescents and their families across the continuum. So please, consider FILLING THE GAP with your donation! Thank you!