New Wayne Partnership To Address Mental Health Amid COVID-19

WAYNE, NJ — During a recent news conference, Mayor Christopher Vergano spoke about the mental health impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

"It's been a rough year for many of us. This is probably the longest year for all of us, I can honestly say that," said Vergano.

He noted that mental health, as well as food insecurity, has been a notable issue in Wayne during the coronavirus pandemic.

This realization has led to a partnership with Wayne Counseling and Family Service, Vergano announced.

The partnership will "use relief funds to provide mental health services to Wayne residents when all other means of payment have been exhausted," according to an announcement on the township website.

"Wayne Counseling and Family Services has a licensed, professional staff to assist the community with their mental health and counseling needs. Coupled with the ability to provide these services to any Wayne resident, regardless of the ability to pay, they can be a tremendous asset to those in need of assistance," the announcement read.

Food insecurity in particular has been felt at the Wayne Interfaith Network Food Pantry, where, during the course of the pandemic, officials have seen an increased need for aid, but fewer donations.

Initially serving around 130 clients before the pandemic, the food pantry saw demand for aid jump to record highs of close to 170 clients during the summer as the coronavirus lingered. Now, WIN leadership said they're expecting to see another jump in need.

"We have probably seen about a 15 % increase in requests for food," said co-president Cathy Czar.

According to a Patch report, Feeding America predicted last summer that 50 million people, including 17 million children, could face hunger by year's end because of the pandemic. Feeding America projects the food insecurity rate in Passaic County will rise to 16.4 percent in 2020, up from 10.4 percent in 2018.

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