NOVEMBER NEWS
SYFS ANNUAL APPEAL

When you or a family member is facing a mental health problem or challenging life circumstance, where do you turn? If you’re like most in our community, it’s Shrewsbury Youth & Family Services. Why? Because you know you will be treated with dignity and respect by dedicated, compassionate professionals in a warm, caring environment. We offer services for all ages and are committed to serving everyone who seeks care, regardless of their ability to pay.
The need for our services continues to grow, and we need your help to meet it. You are receiving this letter today because we have an immediate need for additional resources to continue assisting our community members. Y our gift will help make an impact on helping us support individuals and families through difficult times ensuring that vulnerable people, including children and adults, are safeguarded from harm.
While the agency has seen a significant increase in the number of clients we serve and the complexity of problems, the level of resources has not increased. As you read this, there are over 50 of your friends, family members, or neighbors waiting for our services to treat depression, anxiety, school refusal and behavior problems, addiction, suicidal thoughts, and for access to critical resources to meet basic needs.
Ultimately, your donation to Shrewsbury Youth & Family Services, Inc. supports people in the most fundamental ways. Your donation supports our commitment to bring about positive social change, helping individuals of all ages thrive in our community, and being advocates for those who have lost their voices. We are working to improve the lives of those who need it most. By contributing to Shrewsbury Youth & Family Services you are supporting the well-being of our entire community.

Thank you for supporting us in providing exceptional care to our community members. Every dollar donated is used to provide the highest quality mental health care and social services. Care builds communities where compassion, experience and support help people build better lives. Your gift will help us provide the resources to ensure Shrewsbury is that kind of community.

This season of giving thanks is the perfect time to consider the many significant benefits in cultivating gratitude for mental and physical health. Studies show that the practice of gratitude can increase happiness levels by an average of 25 percent and overall health by, for example, increasing the quantity and quality of sleep. Beneficial outcomes can be achieved by such simple practices as praying, writing in a gratitude journal, placing a thankful phone call, making a mental gratitude list, or writing a thank-you letter to someone. Gratitude is primarily studied by self-reporting, but science is turning out increasingly promising results measuring hard scientific data, such as decreasing cor­ti­sol and stress lev­els, heart rate vari­abil­ity, brain acti­va­tion pat­terns and increases in beneficial neurochemicals. Some studies are showing that gratitude can actually   rewire the frontal lobes .

Feeling grateful increases your brain’s production of dopamine . Dopamine is a feel-good neurotransmitter that’s part of the brain’s reward and pleasure-seeking circuit. People with  abnormally low dopamine levels may have  impaired thinking and memory and slowed reaction times. A lack of  dopamine causes the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s  disease.  Dopamine is also linked to depression , anhedonia, the inability to feel pleasure, and lack of motivation.

One of the most popular  gratitude exercises  is the daily gratitude journal. One study found that materialism among adolescents decreased when they implemented this practice. Participants also donated 60% more money to charity (Chaplin, Roedder John, Rindfleisch, & Froh, 2019).

Here are suggestions you can do daily or weekly to cultivate an attitude of gratitude:
  1. Journal about things, people, or situations for which you are grateful. Consider including negative situations like avoiding an accident, for instance.
  2. Think about someone for whom you are grateful
  3. Write a gratitude letter to someone for whom you are thankful. Consider sending it or giving it to them in person.
  4. Meditate on gratitude (present moment awareness).
  5. Do the “Count Your Blessings” exercise (at the end of the day, write down three things for which you were grateful)
  6. Practice saying “thank you” in a real and meaningful way. Be specific. For example, “Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter!".
  7. Write thank-you notes. Some might say this is a lost art. Challenge yourself to write one hand-written note every week for one month.
  8. Be mindful of your five senses. How does each enhance your life?
  9. Create visual reminders to practice gratitude. Sticky notes, notifications, and people are great for this.
  10. Focus on the good that others have done on your behalf.
  11. Actions lead to gratitude. Smile, say thank you, and write gratitude letters.
  12. Give something up. We tend to adapt to newness; sometimes it’s a good idea to give something up so that we can increase our appreciation of it.

At first, it may be difficult to see life from the perspective of gratefulness. It may even feel forced or fake. That’s OK. With regular practice over time, being grateful will feel more authentic and become a habit and default setting in your brain.

Among the many things SYFS has to be grateful for are the sponsors and supporters who make our work possible, the staff members who work tirelessly to support not only those we serve, but also one another, and most importantly, our clients who bravely trust us with their vulnerability during their most difficult challenges. We are grateful that we can provide this safe space for those in our community who need it the most.

From our family to yours, we wish you the happiest of Thanksgivings.


Christine Mowry, Executive Director
SYFS EVENTS
Thank you to all of our friends and supporters who joined us at our Annual Giving and Thanks Event last month. It was the perfect evening for us to show our gratitude to our extended family and connect with friends before the business of the holiday season!
In Loving Memory
The SYFS board and staff wish to extend our deepest condolences to our esteemed board member Michael Gregory and his family for the passing of his mother, Virginia Gregory , on October 28, 2019. The Gregory Family is in our hearts and prayers during this difficult time.
SYFS is happy to welcome back Stephanie Mourad as the newest member of our clinical team! Stephanie completed her clinical internship here at SYFS in the spring of 2019 and graduated from Assumption College with her Masters in Mental Health Counseling. We were impressed by her work as an intern and are thrilled to have her as an official staff clinician! Welcome back to the SYFS family!
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Grace and Gratitude
Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services, Inc. is proudly sponsored by....

The Haffty Family Fund
At SYFS, our work is driven by our commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all, early identification and intervention for those at risk, and integrated care and treatment for those who need it, with recovery as the goal. We need YOUR help! If you are a business owner, please consider a Corporate Sponsorship!