By Peter Tesei
As we celebrate Thanksgiving, Pathways is eternally grateful to all of our community partners who support our essential mission of providing housing and person centered support services to individuals living with serious mental illness.
As a contractor for the State of Connecticut Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services, we are thankful and appreciative for the support and confidence the State has placed in us to provide tailored services to our clients for over 40 years. This partnership and collaboration extends to the five programs we operate at our four residences, in the greater Greenwich community and social Club in Cos Cob.
The Town of Greenwich through its Community Development Block Grant Advisory Committee (CDAC) allocates essential funding for capital improvement and replacement as well as program funding. Through their support, we were able to replace an obsolete fire detection and carbon monoxide system at our Davis Avenue Supervised Housing Program and continue to offer gym membership at the Greenwich YMCA to support the physical and health and well-being of our clients. The Community Development Advisory Committee is comprised of a diverse geographic and demographic group of citizens who take great care in evaluating dozens of requests from worthy non-profit service providers to support those living with limited financial resources.
The Greenwich Department of Human services is an integral part of our connection to and providing services to those living in the community. It is through their identification of residents sometimes through health and well -being checks that we are engaged to assess their mental health and status and provide services. Greenwich Human Services also allocates funding for therapeutic programming for our clients and maintains regular communication with our Deputy Executive Director & Clinical Programs manager on many critical client concerns.
The Greenwich Health Department continues to support our monitoring and assessment of COVID through distribution of test kits so we can rapidly test clients and mitigate the spread. This is particularly important given the congregate living arrangements and high- risk population we serve.
Like all Greenwich residents, we treasure the safety our Police, Fire and GEMS responders provide to us. I have personally witnessed the sensitivity they display in engaging with our clients and it is a testament to their exemplary training and professionalism.
The Greenwich United Way has been working to meet the needs of our most vulnerable residents for 90 years. This year Pathways received funding to support the implementation and adoption of a new Electronic Health Record (EHR) system allowing our clinicians and residential counselors to record the encounters and progress of our clients. This documentation is an essential requirement in fulfilling our contract with the State of Connecticut and results in better outcomes for the clients we serve. Thank you Greenwich United Way.
Pathways has a dedicated Board of Directors, Chaired by Tom Athan and an Advisory Board through which private funds are annually raised to help fund our essential specialized services. Our future sustainability depends on the success of these fund-raising events.
In the February-March timeframe, we hold an event at The Capitol Theatre in Port Chester to Celebrate “Music & Change” in support of Pathways clients. On Saturday, February 24 2024 Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue are performing with special guests The Soul Rebels. Chaired by Board member Craig Warwick, we hope you will join us for this festive evening. Tickets may be purchased through www.pways.org.
We are thankful for the 2023 sponsors of this event and hope you will consider patronizing them.
Serendipity https://serendipitysocial.com/
Greenwich Sentinel https://www.greenwichsentinel.com/
Stamford Acura Hyundai Subaru https://www.stamfordautogroup.com/
Old Greenwich Butcher Shop https://oldgreenwichbutcher.com/
Bergen Brick Stone & Tile https://www.bergenbrick.com/
On October 28 at Burning Tree Country Club, we held our 41st Annual Gala with the theme of “No Place Like Home”. Chaired by Kim Athan and her team of dedicated volunteers, it was a tremendous success. We honored long-time Pathways supporters, sisters Alison Farn-Leigh and Kendra Farn-Finz.
We received generous sponsorships from the following businesses, services and philanthropies.
Wilmington Trust : https://www.wilmingtontrust.com/
Toyota of Greenwich: https://www.toyotaofgreenwich.com/
Greenwich Association of Realtors: https://www.greenwichrealtors.com/
Greenwich Economic Forum: https://greenwicheconomicforum.com/
Berkshire Hathaway Home Services New England: https://www.bhhsneproperties.com/
FISLL: https://fisll.com/
Alex Brown: https://www.alexbrown.com/
Greenwich Hospital: https://www.greenwichhospital.org/
Greenwich Private Medicine: http://www.greenwichprivatemedicine.com/
Serendipity: https://serendipitysocial.com/
Thank you to all our donors who attended, participated in our paddle raise, live auction, take a chance and giving tree. All of your contributions benefit the lives of those living with prolonged mental illness. You instill joy, a sense of purpose and most of all; dignity.
A special thanks to Beth Barhydt and her team at Greenwich Sentinel for the opportunity to write these columns to help one learn more about Pathways important mission to our treasured clients.
On behalf of our Pathways family, blessings for a joyous holiday season.
Peter J. Tesei is the Executive Director of Pathways Inc and previously served as Greenwich’s First Selectman for 12 years (2007-2019). His public service spans 32 years as a former RTM District 9 Chairman and Board of Estimate and Taxation Chairman. He presently volunteers his time as the Chairman of the Board of the Greenwich Symphony Orchestra and as a Board member of the Greenwich Council of Boy Scouts.
