Funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission grant, the clinic serves two main purposes; for students in the college’s Occupational Therapy Assistant program to develop skills and confidence through hands-on experience, and to provide services to families in the community that are struggling to receive services for reasons such as insurance or wait lists. The clinic serves children with behavioral and sensory issues, including those stemming from early drug exposure.

Michelle Godfrey, project coordinator, said the clinic is family-based, supporting not just the children but the families as well.

“We’re not just supporting the children, we’re supporting the parents too,” Godfrey said. “We don’t focus on just one area but several, including when parents need support to manage their kids and support what they’re seeing at home.”

While the clinic had been seeing a few kids as clients before, the official grand opening to the public was celebrated through a ribbon cutting with the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce on April 10. Godfrey said the clinic has been seeing clients since September 2023, adding that the ribbon cutting itself went very well with over 70 RSVPs.

Pictured are JCC Occupational Therapy Assistant Program staff along with Chautauqua County Executive PJ Wendel, representatives for Senator George Borrello, Congressman Nick Langworthy, and Assemblyman Andy Goodell, Daniel Heitzenrater, president and CEO of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce, Phillip Landy of the Chautauqua County Legislature, and Randy Daversa of the Jamestown City Council during the ribbon cutting for the clinic on April 10. Submitted photo

Since then, things have still been going well for the clinic.

“People have reached out to us since,” Godfrey said. “We are in the process of creating a survey for interested people to fill out for a referral process. We haven’t had an abundance of calls but we have had some reach out that are interested in becoming a part of the clinic.”

Anyone looking to receive OT services that have been struggling to receive them the normal way for any reason should reach out and be interested in coming to the clinic, Godfrey said. This can include families that have children who already receive school-based therapy but want more support.

For more information on the Jayhawk Explore and Soar Clinic, visit www.sunyjcc.edu/programs/occupational-therapy-assistant-aas/clinic. If interested in services, the OTA department can be contacted at 716-338-1011 or OTA@mail.sunyjcc.edu. They will be processing referrals to see families at the clinic in the fall, and for anyone interested in becoming an Occupational Therapy Assistant, JCC is accepting applications for OTA students for the fall semester.