Gilda’s Club Westchester to Launch Community Cancer Program

Gilda’s Club Westchester, a free cancer support community for men, women, children, family, and friends, is launching the River Town Communities Cancer Support Services Program to expand outreach efforts to underserved and Spanish speaking individuals from 19 Lower Hudson Valley river communities. Made possible through a generous grant awarded by the Phelps Community Corporation, Gilda’s Club Westchester will provide flexible, free virtual services year-round to residents of Ardsley-on-Hudson, Briarcliff Manor, Buchanan, Crompond, Croton-on-Hudson, Crugers, Dobbs Ferry, Elmsford, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington, Maryknoll, Millwood, Montrose, Ossining, Peekskill, Pleasantville, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, and Verplanck.

According to Jen Scully, Director of Gilda’s Club Westchester, this program was sparked by research that showed an “unmet need of individuals living in river town communities each year who are diagnosed with, or otherwise dealing with, a cancer diagnosis (including caregivers and family members, as well as those who have experienced a loss).”

The River Town Communities Cancer Support Services Program aims to target low-income river town communities to reach underserved individuals with cancer psycho-social support services. “We hope to become a major support system in the area and a place to find comfort and information, reduce stress and help people effectively cope with the challenges, fears and anxiety they feel when faced with a cancer diagnosis.”

Scheduling for upcoming programs and events is now underway. All of the programs will be free to anyone expressing a need, in order to eliminate financial, transportation, language, work schedule, and childcare barriers. Among the elements of this program are bilingual counseling sessions, support groups, education and healthy lifestyle programs, social events, a Survivorship Series, Resiliency Skills Training, and a Spirituality Discussion Group.

“The River Town Communities Cancer Support Services Program fills a much-needed void and is a perfect fit for our organization,” says Phelps Community Corporation Board Chairman, Kenneth W. Taber. “The Gilda's Club mission is at the very heart of what the Phelps Community Corporation strives to do: improve the health and well-being of individuals and families in the Westchester community."

All of the programs at Gilda’s Club Westchester have been designed to “create a safe, nurturing environment where participants can freely ask questions, express their distress/concerns, and learn vital coping skills to reduce anxiety, depression, and loneliness,” says Jen Scully.

She added, “It is our belief that community is stronger than cancer and that no one can or should face cancer alone.”

About Gilda’s Club Westchester

Gilda’s Club Westchester, located in White Plains, NY, offers an essential complement to medical care, providing welcoming communities of free support for everyone living with cancer – men, women, teens, children, and families. The mission of Gilda's Club Westchester is to ensure that all people impacted by cancer are empowered by knowledge, strengthened by action, and sustained by community through individual counseling, support groups, workshops, education, and social activities. Gilda’s Club Westchester is an affiliate of Cancer Support Community, the largest professionally led nonprofit network of cancer support worldwide.