Berkshire County Arc Hires Director of Brain Injury Services

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire County Arc has hired a new director of Brain Injury Services, Amber Steele.

Steele has been with BCArc since 2011. She has worked in a variety of capacities within BCArc, including as site manager and as a senior site Manager. Most recently, she worked as a residential supervisor in the Brain Injury Services Department. Prior to arriving in the Berkshires, she worked as a residential coordinator at CapeAbilities in Hyannis, Mass.

Amber holds a certificate in Quality Management from the National Graduate School of Quality Management and will be completing her bachelor's degree from Springfield College, School of Human Services this fall.

"This is such an exciting time to be working in the human services field, especially with all the expansion of services for people with brain injury. There are more opportunities now than ever for people to find their new forever homes in the community," Steele said. "Having had the pleasure of working at BCArc for the past six years, as a part of this amazing, highly dedicated team of professionals, I can honestly say that the future for those we support looks very bright."

Youngsters Promote National Diabetes Awareness Month in Hinsdale

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
06:35AM / Saturday, November 02, 2024

The water bottles decorated with stickers promoting Diabetes Awareness Month and bracelets that the youngsters acquired for two school personnel with diabetes.

HINSDALE, Mass. — According to the American Diabetes Association, two Americans are diagnosed with diabetes every minute.

 

At Kittredge Elementary School, two youngsters are fighting back.

 

Fourth-grader Nelson Pelkey and his cousin, fifth-grader Emily Ham, each have Type 1 diabetes, a condition formerly known as juvenile diabetes.

 

On Friday, they marked the beginning of National Diabetes Awareness Month by distributing water bottles with stickers calling attention to diabetes to every child in the school.

 

Nelson's dad Jesse said this week that standing up to diabetes is nothing new for his son, who was diagnosed in the summer of 2021.

 

"The very first day he was diagnosed at age 6, he wouldn't let us do a finger stick on him," Jesse said. "The doctor showed how and he did it himself.

 

"He's taken the helm of it. He has the Dexcom and the pump and all of that. He knows when to do what he needs to do or how to program the machines. Emily is the same way."