Brotherton Foundation Awards Grant to West Bergen
( l-r) The Fred J. Brotherton Charitable Foundation Co-Trustees, Wayne A. Brotherton, CFP and William P. Brotherton, M.D.
West Bergen Mental Healthcare announced that it has received a grant of $30,000 from the Fred J. Brotherton Charitable Foundation. The grant is specifically given to support West Bergen’s Children’s Depression Intervention Program. In presenting the award, Foundation Co-Trustee, Dr. William P. Brotherton, said, “West Bergen offers high-quality children’s mental health services. The specialized children’s depression treatment program is an outstanding community resource and The Brotherton Foundation is pleased to support it.”
The Brotherton Foundation was begun by Fred J. Brotherton who enjoyed a successful career in construction. A New Jersey native, he was working for the Allied Construction Company in 1939 when he was robbed at gun point while on route to a high school construction job in Glen Rock. But the ending of WWII brought great opportunities for Mr. Brotherton, and in 1947 Fred J. Brotherton, Inc. won, with the lowest bid, a contract to build 150 housing units for returning veterans as part of an emergency housing initiative in Elizabeth, NJ.
Fred J. Brotherton, Inc went on to win contracts for some of the most important construction projects in the area. In 1953 the company won the contract for the Ford Mahwah Plant, and in 1966 was awarded the contract for the IBM plant in Kingston, NY. His work, such as that done for the Yardley of London building in Totowa, NJ, has been noted in architectural magazines.
The primary geographic areas of funding by the foundation are where Mr. Brotherton lived and worked, in North/Central New Jersey and New York City. The foundation donates generously to educational, religious, historic and medical programs. Fred Brotherton died in 2002, but his foundation continues under the leadership of Co-Trustees, Wayne A. Brotherton, CFP and William P. Brotherton, M.D.
Children’s Depression Intervention is among the specialized programs offered by the West Bergen Center for Children and Youth located in Ramsey, Ridgewood and Oakland. Children’s Services were recognized as a Center of Excellence by the Center for the Advancement of Children’s Mental Health of Columbia University. Depression Intervention offers screenings as well as a variety of treatment methods, supervised by child and adolescent psychiatrists.
Only in the past generation has depression in children become a subject discussed in the mainstream. The depressed child often displays traits associated with normal “phases” of growing up that include pretending to be sick, trying to avoid school, or suffering irrational fears. This makes identifying a child with depression difficult. When a parent sees, or is told, that a child seems to be “out of sorts”, the first step is usually to eliminate any physical causes with a visit to a pediatrician. Finding no physical issues, a doctor will usually recommend an evaluation by a specialist.
Originally established in 1963 as a child guidance clinic, today West Bergen provides comprehensive services for all age groups with various levels of need. West Bergen Mental Healthcare recently celebrated being voted Number One in Client Satisfaction by the Mental Health Corporations of America’s National Survey for 2007. The Agency has earned this notable recognition five times since 1998. For information, please call West Bergen’s Access Center at (201) 444-3550.