Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center announced it is the recipient of a $15,000 grant from O’Shaughnessy-Hurst Memorial Foundation, Inc. of Leesburg to provide child and family therapy services to pre-school age children and their parents. The grant is underwriting counseling services provided by McLean Counseling Center at the Children’s Center.

“We are grateful to the trustees of O’Shaughnessy-Hurst Memorial Foundation, Inc. for recognizing the tremendous importance of treating young children who are struggling with emotional and mental health issues, while their minds are still developing. With the appropriate mental health treatment, which for children under age five includes their parents and custodial adults, children can learn coping skills needed to minimize mental health issues as they enter their teens and adulthood. These coping skills also minimize the toll on a child’s physical health that has been identified in people who experience ‘toxic-stress.’”

According to the Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, “toxic stress” can occur when a child experiences strong, frequent, and/or prolonged adversity, such as physical or emotional abuse, chronic neglect, caregiver substance abuse or mental illness, exposure to violence, or the burdens of living in poverty.

Falls Church-McLean Children’s Center will celebrate its 50th anniversary next year of providing a high-quality early education to all children, regardless of their family’s financial resources, giving them for a strong foundation on which to build the rest of their lives.