Our Story
Lodestar was founded in 2016 by James Regan Jr., who had one simple goal in mind- to empower children in need. James’ experience working in various settings- from summer camps to social service and clinical settings- gave him the foundation he needed to understand exactly who and how to help.
Lodestar started small- serving less than a dozen children in Western and Central Suffolk County. After some slow but steady growth, Lodestar began to expand- employing more workers, providing different service types, and reaching out to new communities. We began offering CFTSS in 2019. Similar to HCBS, this group of services allows us to work directly with youth in their homes and their communities, but provides a more in-depth clinical approach towards early intervention and family engagement in treatment. More importantly though, CFTSS offered families broader eligibility options, which allowed Lodestar to begin helping children who were previously ineligible. This made our support model much more accessible to those who need them.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lodestar was one of few organizations in the Long Island area to take on the challenge of continuing to provide these community-based services remotely. Telehealth calls and strict in-person safety protocols allowed us to not only continue offering these invaluable services to our youth, but to keep expanding and help more people during such a volatile time.
Over the years, we have hosted a number of successful fundraisers to raise money and awareness for mental health and suicide prevention, including our multiple Galas, our Milestones for Mental Health event, and our new annual Wheels for Wellness cycle-and-walkathon. With the money we have raised over the years, we have been able to continue hiring professional and passionate workers, and, most recently, have even been able to open our own youth recreational center in Farmingdale.
Since our start, we have served over 500 families in 4 counties across downstate New York, providing over 22,000 unique visits!
Our Mission
At our core, our mission is to “empower children and their families,” and be proactive by meeting youth where they’re at. Many of the youth that Lodestar supports are at risk of placement in residential programs or hospitals, and our services provide the support they need to stay within the comfort and safety of their homes and communities.
We work with the NYS Office of Mental Health and Department of Health, providing services to youth aged 0-21 and their families. Using a “strengths-based” approach, we focus on the inherent skills and values of the youth and center their self-proclaimed needs to provide necessary support.
Lodestar provides two different groups of services- Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) and Child Family Treatment and Support Services (CFTSS). Both service types provide support to the child and family, but have different requirements for eligibility. Some families may be eligible for both.
