-Jeffrey Greenblatt, Assistant Counsel, PSEG Long Island
The intersection of my life’s work and my love for serving my community came full circle recently when I was appointed to the Board of Directors of the North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center in Westbury.
The Guidance Center has provided vital mental health services for children and their families throughout Long Island for more than 65 years – a service that may be even more essential now. With fears and anxiety about coronavirus permeating our daily lives and thoughts, protecting our children’s emotional well-being is even more crucial. I’m grateful to take on this leadership role now during these uncertain times and I’m delighted that this new role dovetails with PSEG Long Island’s customer service goals in supporting people in the communities we serve with safe, reliable power.
As Assistant Counsel in PSEG Long Island’s Regulatory Department, I represent the company in regulatory proceedings before the New York State Department of Public Service. I help steer our advocacy efforts and those of LIPA by identifying and prioritizing opportunities to influence state policy in areas that affect the utility and our customers.
Along with the important work I do here as an attorney, one of my favorite things about my job is the special opportunities we have to serve our community – when I can swap my suit for a bright orange PSEG Long Island T-shirt. Last year, my colleagues and I contributed 30,000 community service hours to help more than 500 causes and charities across Long Island and the Rockaways. And that wasn’t by chance – giving back to our communities is a core commitment of this company.
As a company, we do the March of Dimes Walk for Babies, the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk, and last year I was sponsored by the Bryan Jacobson Foundation to run in the New York City Half Marathon with my oldest daughter Hayley cheering me on. We both had an amazing experience.
I enjoy taking my three daughters with me to events so they can feel the power of community service. I also love that I’m teaching them to put time aside from their own busy schedules to help others.
This year the pandemic has brought our personal and company in-person community service efforts to a halt, and many large-scale events have been canceled, but we have found different ways to support our neighbors and so has the Guidance Center.
Clinical therapy is now available via video chat and over the phone. There is a free, newly-created, online Pandemic Support Group for parents seeking to understand and help their kids with issues they may be facing. A library of video interviews and blog posts on the website can serve to provide education on various topics.
In February I co-hosted the second annual Guidance Center Trivia Night, which several of my colleagues attended. When they saw the dedication of the Center’s staff in providing compassionate care regardless of people’s ability to pay, and learned how the Center helps people through real-life issues of depression, bullying, teen pregnancy, divorce and so much more, they too asked how they can get involved.
As we don’t know what the future holds, it’s comforting to know that a place like North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center is here to help.
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