Editor’s Note: The following is the fourth installment in a
series of articles connecting our readers to the area’s most needy
residents during the holiday season. The Morgan Hill Times will
present the stories Nov. 28 through Dec. 22.
Morgan Hill – Angela Jacobs’ son was so hyperactive that he was kicked out of preschool at age 4.
He was, in layman’s terms, “all over the place,” a “problem kid” who couldn’t follow directions or socialize with peers.
By the time Jacobs found help for him at the Gilroy-based Chamberlain’s Mental Health Services, 8352 Church St., he was the most severe case of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder the center’s psychologist had seen at that age.
“He was not able to focus for more than a nanosecond second,” said Cheryl Weldon, director of Chamberlain’s, a tiny nonprofit agency that provides counseling services to children ages 3 to 12, often from low-income families.
According to Weldon, what happened next was extraordinary: Jacobs’ son took a sharp turn for the better after he got intensive counseling three hours a day in the center’s small-group setting.
“He was able to start kindergarten and be maintained in the classroom,” she said.
Vicky Tamashiro, Chamberlain’s assistant director who’s been with the agency for 20 years, said Jacobs’ story illustrates the desperate need for mental health services for low-income families.
“A lot of families work really hard just to make the rent,” Tamashiro said. “It’s hard for them to find affordable services.”
Chamberlain’s is the only agency in South County that offers intensive counseling for preschool-age children. There are 16 children, ages 3 to 12, in the program learning behavior modification, how to express their anger, in small groups. The center has a waiting list, but it’s closed. At any given time, there can be as many as 10 children waiting six months to a year to get counseling.
“There’s a greater need for mental health services than can be provided,” Tamashiro said. “I field calls constantly and I am turning people away all the time. It’s really sad. But if someone has a critical need, we will be out there to help.”
Founded by Clara Chamberlain in 1973 as a San Martin foster home, Chamberlain’s grew to include daycare services and residential programs to meet the changing community’s needs. In 1976, Clara developed two nonprofit agencies: a residential center in Hollister and intensive day treatment services in San Martin. A decade later, Chamberlain’s developed a school-based day treatment program in the Morgan Hill Unified School District. The program moved to Gilroy’s school district and then into the community in 1988 to serve the entire South County area. The center also has clinicians who visit various schools in Gilroy.
While Chamberlain’s is funded by Santa Clara County, Tamashiro and Weldon said the agency also depends on donations. A holiday gift drive takes place annually, with canned food, blankets and toys distributed to families who use the center.
“If anybody has donations, we need food, blankets, jackets and toys,” Tamashiro said.
On Dec. 18, the center organizes gift baskets to distribute to its clients.
Tony Burchyns covers Morgan Hill for The Times and county issues for the Gilroy Dispatch. Reach him at (408) 779-4106 ext. 201 or tb*******@*************es.com.
