PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Hundreds gathered at the Colonial Theatre to celebrate the Brien Center's 100-year anniversary of providing behavioral health care to the Berkshires.

 

"It's an important night for the Brien Center because we're celebrating the 100 plus years of our history, so I think given the fact that that organization has been around for 100 years it speaks pretty well for its future," President and CEO Christine Macbeth said Saturday at the Gala.

 

"And I think it's an incredibly important agency to this Berkshire community since we're their primary provider of behavioral health services, and I think that over the years, certainly, our programs and services have evolved as community need has."

 

It began as the Riggs Center in 1920, opened by the founder of the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge. The organization's name evolved over the years and was established as the Brien Center in 2003.

 

The centennial gala was postponed for over two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic and is believed to be the center's first.  

 

Musician James Taylor and his wife, Caroline Taylor, served as honorary chairs of the event, though they were not able to attend. Board members Lori Kiely, Marybeth Mitts, and Tim Burke of Mill Town Capital served as benefit chairs.

 

About 10,000 Berkshire County residents are served by the Brien Center per year, and it employs around 500 people.

 

With widespread mental illness increasing over the last couple of years, speakers emphasized the importance of talking about mental illness and destigmatizing it.

 

"I think what is really important about tonight is to talk about it and show that this is something not to be ashamed of,"  board Chair Linda Febles said.

 

"If you have an illness, it's not something that you should be ashamed of. If you have an addiction, it's nothing to be ashamed of. We are here.  We want to help you and we want to show everybody that it does work."

 

The need for the Brien Center's services has been in the community long before COVID-19 but has increased during the pandemic, Macbeth said, which may be a combination of increased need and people talking about it more.

 

The evening featured a performance from the Me2 Orchestra, the only classical music organization created for individuals with mental illness and people who support them. The Burlington, Vt.-based group played Antonin Dvorak's Symphony No. 8, its first entire symphony.

 

Executive Director Caroline Whiddon explained that she has an anxiety disorder and highlighted the diverse experiences of the ensemble.

 

"Half of my friends on stage today are also living with a diagnosed mental illness. We represent everything from bipolar disorder to depression and anxiety to PTSD to dissociative disorders, addiction, and everything in between and sideways," she said.

 

"The other half of the people on stage are here to support us and together, I think, we represent a really beautifully integrated community."

 

Community members also shared their experiences with the center.

 

Jennifer Filiault is a former client and now oversees therapeutic after-school programs that she participated in as a child. She credits the services with saving her life.

 

"I remember when chaos and violence were the most consistent things that my brother and I had in our lives. We both experienced pretty similar abuse and neglect at the hands of the adults who were meant to protect us," she explained.

 

"Having services in place from the Brien Center changed my life. The people who provided those services to me saved my life. My brother was not so fortunate. He passed away a few weeks ago from an overdose. I don't know how to express how this loss feels. What I can say is that it could have been me in his shoes."

 

Filiault said she and her brother spent most of their childhood being verbally and physically abused for having behaviors that resulted in trauma and being told that they would never be independent or wanted.

 

That level of abuse required years of consistent and intense therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.

 

"Without the help of a social worker, a therapist, a mentor, a teacher, guidance counselor, or a friend, most children suffering abuse feel incredibly alone and isolated," she said.

 

"Thank you Brien Center and thank you for those who work here for providing therapeutic supports to children who experience crisis or abuse on a daily basis."

 

She added that people with similar experiences never forget the people who helped them.

 

Macbeth said the challenges of funding and staffing have been prevalent for the past century but she is optimistic for the future, observing that local and state legislators are paying more attention to the behavioral health world.

 

Saturday's celebration also kicked off the organization's 100-Plus Campaign, which will continue through June 2023.  

 

The gala's sponsors included the Donald C. Mcgraw Foundation, Berkshire Health Systems, Greylock Federal Credit Union, MountainOne Bank, Insurance and Investments, and many more.

 

"When we began planning this event, we hoped to have one presenting sponsor that would provide $25,000 or more in financial support as well as several additional sponsors and I am pleased and thrilled to report that we have the 20 sponsors including four presenting sponsors," Mitts reported.

 

"Which demonstrate demonstrates respect for the Brien Center's 100-plus year history of being an essential service provider throughout our county."

 

In addition to providing financial support, the sponsors secured 200 free tickets to the concert for community members who would not otherwise be able to attend.