Winter 2015

Donate by mail 66 Canal Street Boston, MA 02114 // Donate by phone 617.371.3000 © Bay Cove Human Services, Inc.

Boston Night Center Opens to Serve Homeless Men and WomenOn January 2, Bay Cove—in partnership with the City of Boston, the Boston Public Health Commission, the Boston

Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP), Pine Street Inn and other organizations—opened the Boston Night

Center at 31 Bowker Street (home to Bay Cove’s Center Club). This drop-in program, open from 8 p.m.-6 a.m., seven

days a week, offers homeless men and women a place to get warm, have a hot meal and escape a night on the streets.

“The Night Center is a warm, welcoming and safe place for people to come in and

get shelter, food and access to medical care and other resources,” says Nancy Mahan,

senior vice president of services for Bay Cove.

The Night Center has a capacity of 60 individuals and is being run by Bay Cove staff.

Mark Maragnano, Service Director for Employment and Rehabilitation for Mental

Health Services, has taken the lead on the project, with Yukaima Simmons, formerly of

Andrew House, running the shelter on-site in the role of Case Management Supervisor.

Four full-time employees who lost their jobs at Bay Cove after the Andrew House

closure (see CEO’s Corner, p. 2) have been brought back to Bay Cove with positions at

the Night Center, and four more staffers are expected to be hired.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the Night Center opening is that the whole thing

came together in roughly three weeks. “Since the closure of the Long Island shelter,

we’ve all been very concerned about the growing number of homeless men and

women who’ve been on the streets overnight, and we wanted to do something to

make a difference,” says Nancy.

Bay Cove hosted a breakfast meeting on December 3, attended by special guest Dr.

James O’Connell of BHCHP and Bay Cove staff from programs throughout the agency,

to discuss different approaches for working with the homeless. It was at that meeting,

Nancy says, that discussion of the Night Center first began.

“Bill Sprague had a meeting with the city not long afterward, and he proposed the

idea of reopening the shelter. Within 10 days, we secured a commitment from our

partners to move forward,” says Nancy.

This represents a homecoming of sorts for the Night Center, a program formerly

run in the same Bowker Street location by Pine Street Inn until roughly five years

ago, when the decision was made to apply the operating funds toward establishing

more permanent housing for the homeless. The recent shortage of available shelter

following the closure of the City of Boston shelter on Long Island,

though, prompted a rethinking.

While Bay Cove runs the on-site operation, funding for the Night

Center comes from BHCHP and Pine Street Inn. At present, the

funding commitment is through May—offering a resource for

Boston’s homeless throughout the harsh winter months. Dr.

O’Connell and staff from BHCHP are running medical clinics for the

visitors to the shelter, and Pine Street is providing hot meals through

their social enterprise catering program and passing word about

the Night Center to individuals living on the street, via their nightly

Homeless Outreach Van.

In addition to these partners, Nancy credits the Boston Police

Department, Boston Innovation District and (cont. on p.7)

IN THIS ISSUE

Bay Cove Chosen by The Boston Globe as a Top Place to Work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Kit Clark Offers Adult Day Health Services to Boston Homeless . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Bay Cove Staffers Earn Honors. . . . . . . . . . . .5

A Busy Spring of Special Events on Tap at Bay Cove. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

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By now, most of you will have heard about the closure of the Long Island Bridge and the resulting evacuation/closure of our Andrew House Detox Program. It’s hard to believe that nearly four months have passed since the surprise shutdown of Long Island.

For those who might not be familiar with the specifics of the situation: On October 8, at approximately 3:30 p.m., Bay Cove got a call informing us that the Long Island Bridge had flunked an essential structural test and was thus judged to be unsafe. All of the people (and programs) on the island would need to be evacuated by 8:00 that evening—for Bay Cove, that meant the staff and patients of Andrew House (Bay Cove’s very first program). Through an incredible effort, the staff helped all of the 56 patients there at the time pack their belongings and transported them to other detox programs, to our own New Hope program or to shelters in the city.

In the days and weeks that followed, much was reported in the news about this event and the impact on the people in the City of Boston homeless shelter and the recovery programs that were displaced by the evacuation. This closure impacted a huge number of people in a very negative way, particularly as we headed into the most difficult season of the year to be without services. Altogether, there were about 750 people receiving services on Long Island. The closure of the 60-bed detox has been fairly well-documented, but this seriously understates the impact. Andrew House averaged 100 admissions a week. Thus, in the 16 weeks the program has been closed, there are roughly 1,600 people who wanted to access detox services but were unable to do so. Unable to access detox, we can only assume that the vast majority of these 1,600 people continued to use drugs and put themselves at greater risk. Many of them joined the growing number of homeless people overflowing the shelters and relegated to life “on the streets.”

The future of Andrew House remains very much at the forefront of our priority list for 2015. It’s been an incredible challenge trying to relocate this program. The space requirements for a medical unit of 60 beds are not easy to satisfy. It is not a service model that “fits” just anywhere, and, unfortunately, it is not a service that is welcomed into many communities. Homelessness and addiction are often linked, and both are tremendous societal problems throughout the nation, but particularly in Massachusetts. Bay Cove has had the opportunity to do a small part in addressing the homelessness crisis (see the p. 1 article on the Boston Night Center, and the p. 4 article about Adult Day Health services for the homeless). We continue to explore every potential lead in the Boston area to find a site to reopen Andrew House. We have possibilities that we hope will result in getting at least some of the beds

reopened in the next few months. In the meantime, our Addiction Services Division continues to assist hundreds of people every day through residential and outpatient recovery programs in Weymouth, Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea and Somerville.

At Bay Cove, our mission and purpose is to help the most vulnerable and challenged members of our community. We take great pride in our work, we do it extremely well, and as a result we make a tremendous impact for thousands of people every day. We will continue to work diligently to reopen Andrew House and add “detox” back into the continuum of services we offer to people desperately struggling with addiction.

CEO’s Corner

Bill SpraguePresident & CEO

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(Above left) Bay Cove Senior Vice President of Services Nancy Mahan addresses the audience at the agency’s Annual Meeting on December 9. The event—which took place at the Cambridge offices of Microsoft—brought together members of Bay Cove’s Board of Directors and Board of Advocates to hear stories of agency consumers and staff, and celebrate some of the agency’s key achievements in 2014. (Above right, l-to-r) Bay Cove Board of Directors member Bruce Goodman, Vice President of Developmental Disabilities Services MaryJo Cooper, Director of Budgets and Contracts Jamie Rihbany and Controller/Vice President of Finance Mike Gattoni enjoy the post-meeting reception.

For the second consecutive year, Bay Cove Human Services is proud to have

been selected as one of the Bay State’s top employers by The Boston Globe. The

newspaper’s annual list of the Top Places to Work in Massachusetts was released

in November, and Bay Cove was again among the 125 companies from across the

Commonwealth to earn this prestigious accolade.

Bay Cove was one of just 25 businesses honored in the Largest Employers

category (1,000 employees or more), keeping company with well-known local

and national companies like Whole Foods Market, New Balance, Comcast, EMC

Corporation and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. Bay Cove was ranked #18 this year,

up from #22 in 2013.

Companies were named to the Top Places to Work list based on staff responses

to a job satisfaction survey conducted by an independent research firm. Among

the highest scores Bay Cove received were on questions concerning how well

the agency serves its clients, and how clearly and efficiently the mission of Bay

Cove is communicated and executed.

For more information about Bay Cove’s ranking on the Top Places to Work list,

or to view the list in full, visit www.boston.com/topplaces

Bay Cove Human Services Earns “Top Places to Work” Honors from The Boston Globe for Second Straight Year

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Kit Clark Senior Services Offering Adult Day Health Services to Boston HomelessAdult Day Health services have always been a key component of Kit Clark

Senior Services’ offerings to Boston’s elder population. Since December,

however, Kit Clark has been able to offer ADH services to a new and

notably underserved group: the homeless.

Thanks to a significant grant by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s

Office (AGO), Kit Clark has launched the Center for Change, the state’s

first Adult Day Health program specifically geared to homeless (or

recently housed) men and women. The AGO has committed $250,000

in funding to this pilot program, stretched over the next two years, for

Kit Clark to offer homeless individuals a day program that goes beyond

simple food and shelter to include services like mental and physical

healthcare and addiction services. The Center for Change is based at 645

Washington St. in Dorchester, home to Kit Clark’s other ADH and Memory

Loss programs, and runs from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Friday.

Kit Clark’s Vice President of Senior Services, Leanne Bragdon, is thrilled

that Kit Clark is able to take the lead on providing vital ADH services

for a population that, traditionally, has been largely shut out from such

offerings. “Eligibility for ADH isn’t easy,” she says, citing the special

conditions that must exist to receive a physician’s referral—not the

easiest thing to get when one is homeless. “A person needs to have a

documented difficulty with some aspect of self-care, such as taking

medications as prescribed; a health condition such as diabetes or high

blood pressure; or a diagnosed behavioral health condition.”

The Center for Change offers all the traditional services of Kit Clark ADH

programs, such as social activities, addiction counseling groups, health

and nutritional counseling and nursing care for chronic medical conditions.

In addition, Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program (BHCHP)

will be conducting medical clinics and will embed two case managers

in the program. Participants also get breakfast and hot lunches, and

career counselors are available to help with resume writing and coaching

individuals looking to rejoin the workforce.

So far, the Center for Change program has 10 clients, who have come to

Kit Clark through referrals from other area organizations that serve the

homeless, such as BHCHP, St. Francis House, Pine Street Inn and Hearth.

Not all of the participants are seniors—the program, unlike most Kit Clark

programs, is open to a wide range of ages. The program is also open to

both the homeless and the recently housed—a population, according to

Leanne, that is at great risk of lapsing into dangerous behaviors that the

ADH program can help combat.

“People who have recently accessed housing and gotten off the

street, while better off in a multitude of ways, can struggle with being

removed from the social network they’ve established within shelters

and even on the streets,” she says. “At this ADH program, along with

the various services and treatments offered, we’re also trying to help

people build a new social network: a self-determination group where

participants hold each other to a standard of behavior and help inform

the program’s policies and procedures, based on what’s important to

them as a group.”

Initial recipients of the ADH services have found value and comfort in

the program. One of the participants, an 85-year-old gentleman named

Miles, says “It’s nice to be inside out of the cold. I worry about that.”

And Ademola, a native of Nigeria, said of the Center for Change, “This

place is like a home. You give us good food like homemade. When I

wake up in the morning and think about coming to this place, it makes

me happy.”

Leanne expects the Center for Change to grow over the coming

months, to its planned capacity of 22 participants. Until that time, she’s

excited about the small group of individuals already receiving services,

and feels that the program is actually moving at an accelerated pace.

“We had thought that we might have to spend the first six months

doing outreach and building relationships with homeless men and

women—people who’ve lived on the streets and in shelters have

typically endured a lot of trauma, and it takes time to earn their trust,”

she says.

“But we’ve been fortunate to get these admissions fairly quickly, and

some of our new participants, and other formerly homeless individuals,

have even gone out with our outreach vans to try and convince others

to participate. We’re trying to build something that isn’t simply a

drop-in shelter, but a place where we can help people help themselves;

where people can benefit and create a safe community.”

To learn more about the Center for Change at Kit Clark Senior Services,

contact Program Director Kate Byrne at 617-619-6942 or kbyrne@

baycove.org.

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(Above) Carley Lubarsky, vice president of Mental Health Services, poses with Bill Sprague after receiving her Elizabeth Funk Emerging Leader Award from the Association for Behavioral Healthcare.

(Left) Melbourne Henry, program manager of Center House Enterprises in Bay Cove’s Developmental Disabili-ties Services, receives the Gerry Wright Direct Service Employee Award from Providers’ Council President/CEO Michael Weekes (left) and Council Board Chair Andy Pond (right) at the Council’s annual convention.

On Friday, Oct. 24, Bay Cove’s Vice President of Mental Health Services, Carley

Lubarsky, was honored with the Elizabeth Funk Emerging Leader Award at the

Association for Behavioral Healthcare’s annual Salute to Excellence event.

Representatives from Bay Cove were on hand to see Carley receive her

prestigious honor, including Bill Sprague, who introduced her at the podium.

“We have been delighted to have Carley leading our mental health services, and

greatly value her many contributions to our communities and organization,”

says Bill. “Under her leadership the past three years, our services have expanded

considerably—including strengthened Community-Based Flexible Supports and

clinical services and the development of two additional Crisis Stabilization Units—

and she’s successfully led our clubhouses through a year of great transition. We’re

proud to see her receive this much-deserved honor.”

Then, on November 17, The Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers

hosted its 39th annual Convention & Expo, bringing together human service

professionals from across the state for a day of workshops and networking. At

the event, the Council gave out a number of awards honoring exceptional human

service workers, organizations and legislators.

Bay Cove’s own Melbourne Henry, Program Manager of Center House Enterprises,

was honored with the Gerry Wright Direct Service Employee Award. Mel was

feted with a framed caricature and one of the award ceremony’s patented

personalized musical tributes and accompanying slideshow, in addition to his

plaque.

Congratulations to both Carley and Mel on their well-deserved awards!

Bay Cove Employees Receive Honors

6

Kit Clark and Bay Cove will once again honor the late elder activist Elsie Frank, while raising money for the wide range of senior services offered by Kit Clark, at the Elsie Frank 5K on Saturday, May 30.

Spring Will Be Bursting with Special Events for Bay Cove

Liberty Mutual has once again signed on as the Empowering Potential

sponsor for the gala, and veteran Boston broadcaster Susan Wornick will

once again lead the evening’s live auction. We are currently accepting

sponsors for this gala evening, as well as auction items for the live and silent

auctions, and looking for supporters interested in joining the gala committee.

Please contact Vice President of Development David Hirschberg (617-371-

3167 or dhirschberg@baycove.org) for more information.

Finally, Saturday, May 30 will be the date of the 2015 Elsie Frank 5K for Kit

Clark Senior Services. Bay Cove and Kit Clark are thrilled that the popular

fundraiser will once again return to Pope John Paul II Park in Dorchester.

All are invited to lace up those running shoes and enjoy a day of fun and

(hopefully) sun on this lovely 5K route while supporting Kit Clark’s mission

of long, healthy and independent lives for seniors. Registration is $25 in

advance ($30 day of race) and includes a race T-shirt. For more information,

call Mary Long at 617-533-9138.

We hope to see our loyal Bay Cove supporters at as many of these spectacular

spring events as possible. (And we love making new friends, so please spread

the word!)

Looking forward to spring is hardly unusual once we hit the dead of

winter, but when the springtime months figure to be as busy as they do

at Bay Cove in 2015, it’s pretty much essential! Between now and May

30, the agency is hosting four major events designed to raise funds and

awareness for Bay Cove and its diverse array of programs.

First up, on April 9, is the CASPAR annual fundraiser. This event for Bay

Cove’s Cambridge and Somerville-based addiction service programs

will be held at the Courtyard Marriott Cambridge (777 Memorial

Drive, Cambridge), and will feature a reception with the chance to

bid on unique auction items and hear inspiring stories of those who

have battled against addiction. Please contact CASPAR Director of

Development Julia Londergan (617-619-5950 or jlondergan@baycove.

org) for more information about sponsorship opportunities, tickets to

the event or joining our planning committee.

That same month, on April 20, the 119th running of the Boston Marathon

will unite athletes and spectators for 26.2 miles between Hopkinton

and Boston. And, as in past years, Bay Cove will be running the race

every step of the way—specifically, the five members of the 2015 Bay

Cove Marathon Team will, thanks to the five race numbers the agency

will receive through the John Hancock Boston Marathon Non-Profit

Program.

This year’s Bay Cove Marathon Team will consist of CEO & President

Bill Sprague (running his eighth consecutive Boston Marathon for Bay

Cove); Senior Vice President of Operations Jim Laprade (running his

seventh Boston); Oliver Ames High School teacher Jake Sunderland

(returning for a second straight year); and two newcomers to the Bay

Cove team, Lauren Easton of Commonwealth Care Alliance and Dorothy

Borkiewicz of Bay Cove’s Mental Health Services division. We salute all

of these dedicated runners for all the grueling hours of training they’re

committing to undertake in support of Bay Cove.

To learn more about the members of the team, and pledge donations

to support their run benefiting Bay Cove programs and services, please

visit www.baycove.org/marathon.

On May 7, Bay Cove hosts its annual Changing Lives Gala, returning

once more to the scene of last year’s popular event—The Seaport

Hotel in Boston. As announced in the fall edition of the Bay Cove

News, the gala formerly known as “The Pearl” has officially been

renamed in honor of the Changing Lives Award, presented annually to

someone who is an extraordinary champion for Bay Cove, a leader in

the effort to provide effective social services, or a leader in the effort

to eliminate the stigmas associated with mental illness, addictions,

developmental disabilities, and/or aging. The recipient of the 2015

award will be announced soon.

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(cont. from p.1) and the Department of Mental Health’s Outreach Team with providing strong assistance in the planning and opening of the Night Center.

Nancy admits that the Night Center is a new type of program for Bay Cove, which has never operated its own night shelter before. But she feels that the agency’s

years of expertise in working with homeless individuals who access other services from Bay Cove, as well as extensive familiarity with the challenges of mental

illness and addiction—conditions frequently found within the homeless population—make Bay Cove well-prepared to run a program like the Night Center.

“We’ve also learned a lot from the police, and our other partners in this endeavour, on the best way to run a program like this,” says Nancy. “We want to make

sure we have a place that’s run efficiently and safely for everyone who comes there. And one thing we learned early on was that how people are greeted at the

door sets the tone for the whole night. We want to make sure we’re always respectful, considerate of what each person’s needs are, and understanding of how

acutely stressful it is to be homeless.”

One month in, the program has been a successful one, and Nancy expects that attendance at the Night Center will only grow as word of mouth spreads about the

shelter’s existence. In the interim, though, she’s delighted by how well this response to an emergency situation has come together.

“I can’t say enough about how incredibly flexible and hard-working everyone—within Bay Cove and among our partners—has been in order to get the center open

quickly,” says Nancy. “I’m very proud that we can join these partners to provide such a critically-needed support.”

Night Center Provides Vital Winter Resource (cont. from p. 1)

The families served by our EI program were again the recipients of incredible generosity from the donors collectively known as the “Fifty Families.” Bay Cove board

member Tucker Smith and her ever-growing group of fellow supporters from the town of Lincoln purchased and wrapped enough toys, books and other gifts to rival

Santa’s Workshop. They then brought all these gifts to the Boynton Child Development Center on Dec. 9, along with donated giftcards to grocery stores and phar-

macies to help low-income families throughout the year. We can’t thank them enough for all they do to support our youngest clients, and their families. (Above left):

Gifts were sorted and labeled by a group that included (left to right) Ingrid Neri, Sarah Bishop, Lucy Sachs, Tucker Smith, Mary Hopkins and Mimsy Beckwith. (Above

right): Volunteers braved a rainy day to bring the holiday spirit to Dorchester, and posed with Director of Child & Family Services Candace Chang (second from left).

“Fifty Families” Make Holidays Bright for EI Boys and Girls

Give the Gift of Warmth this Winter

You can make an immediate, tangible difference in the lives of the men, women & children served by the

many programs of Bay Cove Human Services, Kit Clark Senior Services and CASPAR by donating new or

gently used winter clothing.

We are currently seeking donations of warm coats, hats, gloves, scarves, socks and shoes. There is

a particular need for men’s coats (especially larger sizes) and non-cotton socks. If you are able to

help with donation of any of these vitally needed items, please contact Alcurtis Clark of the Bay Cove

Development Department at 617-619-5930 or alcurtis.clark@baycove.org, and thank you!

Youngsters’ educational and social development are fostered at Bay Cove’s Daniel C. Boynton Child Development Center in Dorchester.

MISSION Improving the quality of the lives of individuals and their families who face the challenges of developmental disabilities, aging, mental illness, and drug and alcohol addiction. We will accomplish this mission by providing effective and compassionate services and through advocacy and leadership.

Publication Manager: Josh Wardrop Telephone: 617.371.3047 E-mail: jwardrop@baycove.org www.baycove.org Find us on FACEBOOK! (baycovehumanservicesinc) Follow us on Twitter: @BayCoveMA

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Bay Cove is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. We consider applications for all positions without regards to age, race, color, religious creed, na-tional origin, sex, sexual orientation, handicap/disability, gender-related identity or any other legally protected status pursuant to the Massachusetts Fair Employment Practices Act.

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