Foster care agency supports kids through COVID crisis

Kids who live together at The Children’s Village campus in Westchester are practicing social distancing. Photo courtesy of The Children’s Village

By Victoria Merlino

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to drastically alter the lives of millions of New Yorkers, one foster care agency is trying to maintain some sense of normalcy for the children it serves. 

The Children's Village, which has multiple facilities around New York, including in Flushing, Bayside, Rockaway and Jamaica, is focusing on providing the best services in a challenging time, according to agency CEO Jeremy Kohomban.

“We’re taking care of thousands of people today, children, adults, families that would otherwise overwhelm services,” Kohomban told the Eagle. 

The agency offers a suite of services to kids and families, including foster care, family support, outreach to at-risk teens, afterschool programs, sexual health education, mentoring and support for kids leaving incarceration. 

The Children’s Village’s staff strives to help its kids as they navigate disruptions to daily life, just as they always have, Kohomban said. Many of the staff have been with the agency through other large-scale disasters New York has faced, such as 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy.

One of the problems staff has had to work through for kids is the advent of distance learning. Many of the kids they serve don’t have access to broadband internet, according to Kohomban, making online lessons a challenge. 

“At a time when you don’t have access to public spaces, you don’t have access to public WiFi either,” he said. 

The staff, however, are happy to help kids through what is a tumultuous time for many. 

“For most of them, this is not just a job, this is calling,” Kohomban said. “In times of crisis, we often see them at their best.”