Nonprofit aims to help children cope

A few years ago, T Love, a board-certified positive psychology educator and energy therapist, read an article about schools in Sussex County struggling to fund their budgets.

Some were considering cutbacks, starting with guidance counselors, social workers and school psychologists.

Knowing that mental health was an area of great concern, T Love, an Andover Township resident, began to develop a mental health initiative.

She had been calling counseling firms when a friend mentioned Lakeside Counseling Associates, the largest counseling group in the county, and T Love set up a call with its staff.

“It was one of the best phone calls I ever made.”

A few days later, the staff called to say they were interested in pursuing a collaboration with Sojihuggles Children’s Foundation, a nonprofit organization that T Love founded in 2016.

The foundation has provided coats, sneakers, clothing, meals, toiletries, laundry cards, hearing aids, eyeglasses, epi-pens, backpacks, school supplies, vision exams, dental exams and medical exams for children. It also has participated in school snack programs and presentations on ways to build resilience and relaxation through sound therapy and meditation techniques.

In its work with Lakeside, the foundation subsidizes the cost of mental health therapy sessions for uninsured and underinsured children through age 18 in Sussex County.

When the partnership began, Lakeside had two locations in Sussex County: one in Newton and one in Sparta. There were a total of 43 clinicians.

Now, there are four locations: one in Newton and three in Sparta. The latest one opened in August. There are a total of 68 clinicians.

There is a list of 250 to 300 children who are unable to afford therapy, T Love said.

Relies on donations

Raising funds has been challenging for the nonprofit, which relies on private donations because it is considered too small to receive grants.

Sojihuggles is run by volunteers so there are no salaries or administrative costs. All the funds raised go to support children in need, T Love said.

“Every donation creates a positive impact in the life of a child and that positive impact creates a huge ripple in the lives of others. I think we can all agree we truly do need more positive impacts in this world.”

T Love added, “Our children are screaming for help. The level of anxiety children experience today far outweighs that of prior generations. It’s a different, ever-rapidly changing world. The rules are constantly changing.

“It’s hard to keep up as an adult. It’s much more challenging for our youth. Children today face a barrage of mental health challenges.”