October 27, 2023
Astor co-Hosts the 15th Annual Building Bridges Conference at Marist College
On October 27, 2023, more than 200 educators, mental health professionals, and various behavioral and community health providers came together to celebrate the 15th Annual Building Bridges Conference at Marist College.
The theme for this year's conference was "Navigating New Routes in Youth Mental Health," and was co-hosted by Astor Services, Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health, Poughkeepsie City School District, and Mental Health America of Dutchess County.
This year's Building Bridges included some motivating and challenging speakers including Dr. Marc Brackett (Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence) and Isaiah Santiago, various workshops focused on mental well-being and support for students, special appearances from Astor CEO Yvette Bairan and Dutchess County Executive William F. X. O'Neil, and a youth panel led by 6 local teenagers who shared their thoughts about relevant topics such as the impact of social media, bullying, mental health in schools, etc. What an incredible day of learning new tools to better serve our youth!