Girl Scouts of West Central Florida’s Camp Wai Lani is open for summer after hurricane recovery and other improvements.

Mary Pat King, who serves as CEO for Girl Scouts of West Central Florida, says their reopening was thanks to support from community partners.

“This camp in particular suffered massive flooding, dock damage and major building damage,” said King.

The Juvenile Welfare Board funded some $500,000 for storm recovery, cleanup and to complete projects that were already underway.

Beth Houghton, CEO of the Juvenile Welfare Board in Pinellas County, emphasized the importance of completing that work to continue the camp’s character-building programs.

“We can strengthen girls so that they start with a sense of confidence, of belonging and have done things that they thought maybe they could never do,” said Houghton.

The initial hit from 2024’s storms stuck with Calley Pate, a former Girl Scout, now Troop Leader.

Pate’s daughter is also a Girl Scout and has participated in camp activities for eleven years.

“Seeing the damage to the property was kind of heartbreaking to the point where I probably cried a few times, just the uncertainty of when it was going to be open and the extent of the damage,” said Pate.

Several of the projects included refurbishing nine cabins and installing additional air conditioning in main gathering areas.

Work finished in time to welcome the first round of summer campers on June 8.

“It warms my heart because I know that these are core memories and our Girls Scouts are really building not only the character that they need in life but also the skills,” said King.

View the segment and read the article as originally published at https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2025/05/28/girl-scout-camp-wai-lani-ready-for-summer-campers-after-storm-damage-

Governor Ron DeSantis has appointed Renee Chiea and Alicia McShae to the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County and reappointed Kristen Gnage and James Millican to the board.

Chiea is a compliance director for Elevance Health, Inc. She is the mother of two sons in the Pinellas County Public School System. Chiea earned her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from California State University.

McShae is a client relations manager at Franklin Templeton Investments. Active in her community, she is a member of the Junior League of St. Petersburg and MavPAC Tampa Bay. McShae earned her bachelor’s degree in communications from Pennsylvania State University.

Gnage is the assistant state attorney for the Sixth Judicial Circuit. She is a member of the Pinellas Chapter of the Florida Association of Women Lawyers and the Asian Pacific American Bar Association. Gnage earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Boston College and her juris doctor from Stetson University.

Millican is the division chief and Fire Marshall of Lealman Fire District. He is president of the Florida Association of Special Districts and a board member of the Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board. Millican earned his emergency medical technician and state firefighter certification from St. Petersburg College.

These appointments are subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

Read the article as originally published at https://www.tbnweekly.com/pinellas_county/article_b5a0cdfc-bd00-467e-9de8-a9a0ee636ad8.html

For nearly 80 years, the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) has been investing in children’s futures to strengthen our community. These investments ensure children are ready to learn, thrive, and succeed in homes, schools, and neighborhoods that are healthy and safe. Last year, JWB invested in 98 quality programs with local nonprofit agencies serving more than 77,000 children and families!  

Each year JWB recognizes individuals who work in these programs with the KidsFirst Award: “boots on the ground” professionals, like Paul Kleeman, who consistently go above and beyond to always put children first!

Paul is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. After his service, he wanted to give back and was drawn to working with students in the City of Clearwater’s out-of-school-time programs. What began as a short-term volunteer opportunity became his personal mission and passion project!

Since 2019, Paul has worked professionally tutoring hundreds of Clearwater students. Time with a tutor isn’t often on a child’s list of favorite things to do after school. But when Paul walks in, the kids excitedly call out, “Mr. Paul, Mr. Paul! Work with me!” They describe him as “my mentor, friend, and ‘School Dad!’”

Great Day Live invited Paul to be part of their special broadcast dedicated to veterans and to honor him as the first of JWB’s 2025 KidsFirst Award recipients!

View the segment as originally published at https://www.wtsp.com/video/features/great-day-live/us-veteran-helping-our-kids/67-5426e0f6-ec7b-46b8-af01-98dfae9cfd31

Raising awareness for children’s mental health

WMNF’s Sarah Goebel reports on the Juvenile Welfare Board’s Children’s Mental Health Initiative, providing children treatment and support for mental health issues. Starting at 2:20.

Hear the interview as originally published at https://www.wmnf.org/the-scoop-may-22-2025-tampa-bay-florida-headlines-wmnf/

Since 2018, the Juvenile Wellness Board and partners have helped 70,000 Pinellas County kids get paired up with behavioral health professionals.

Today, the reach will be even greater as a new behavioral health wing opens at the Children’s Medical Center in Palm Harbor.

Integrated mental and behavioral health care with regular doctors’ offices has proven to be very successful in recent years.

The Children’s Medical Center says kids and teens are more comfortable in environments they are familiar with, and having the resources to deal with mental health at a regular doctors’ office means less traveling and less time to get care.

Dr. Steve O’Brien is a clinical psychologist with over 25 years of experience working with kids and families. He says since COVID, there has been less stigma around mental health treatment and any new facilities will help increase capacity for those that need help and to find it.

“There is a need for more accessible counseling,” said O’Brien. “So, in other words, there are more people in mental health than there were years ago. However, they can often also be difficult for people to access either because of insurance issues, money issues and issues with transportation. Even though it is true, there is a lot of online therapy. I find that teens tend to go one way or the other when it comes to online therapy. Some of them like it and others want that in-person experience.”

When it comes to mental health, in-person care is exactly what they will get in the new Children’s Medical Center behavioral health wing.

Watch the segment and read the article as originally published at https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2025/05/20/new-child-behavioral-health-wing-opening-in-palm-harbor