WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Brien Center has been helping Berkshire County residents for more than a century.

 

These days, the mental health center wants those residents to respond to a "help wanted" sign.

 

"I would say, probably No. 1 goes back to being short staffed," the Brien Center's Rebecca Phelps-Smith said Monday when asked what the non-profit needs from the community. "I would ask for help in spreading the word that we aren't just hiring clinical staff. We have a lot of peer positions open. We have multiple positions open needing bachelor's degrees and master's degrees but we also have [jobs requiring] high school diplomas and GED positions as well.

 

"Individuals with lived experience can apply. We have nursing positions open. We have clinician positions open. So just spreading the word that there's all kinds of different positions open. And that's for all of the Brien Center. If you go to the Brien Center website, there are many positions on there."

 

Phelps-Smith, the clinical director of the Brien Center's Community Behavioral Health Center, met with the Diversity, Inclusion and Race and Equity Committee to talk about the ways in which the center serves Williamstown and North County.

 

Members of the DIRE Committee also asked Phelps-Smith what more the town can do for the center, specifically asking whether the town should include a direct financial contribution to the Brien Center in the municipal budget. The city of Pittsfield's FY22 budget has a $52,000 line item in the police budget for "contracted clinician services."

 

"Is it something the town could help fund in terms of that position in its budgeting for the Police Department?" Andrew Art asked. "Or is it a matter of the Brien Center allocating more of its resources to North County, for example?"

 

"I think it would be a mix of both," Phelps-Smith said. "Currently, there are funds in the Pittsfield Police Department that they give to the Brien Center to help … the salary of a co-responder. So we've had arrangements such as that offered. That would help offset the cost of that co-responder.

 

"If the [call] volume increased in North County, we could shift [resources] up there. Currently, the one who is up there, typically, with the volume, he manages pretty well. We do send staff up as needed. So if it's a really busy day, we might have two or three clinicians up there at a time. We just go with the flow depending on what the volume is."

 

The DIRE Committee members showed significant interest in the emergency services Phelps-Smith directs for the Brien Center. She explained to the panel that in addition to the one full-time co-responder available to North County police departments during business hours, the center's clinicians are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week when law enforcement makes the call.

 

In addition, she said Brien Center clinicians respond to help those with a mental health needs in their homes, in the schools, in doctors offices or wherever someone is in need.

 

"We do a risk assessment — sometimes it takes some de-escalation — but once it's safe to do so, we do an assessment," Phelps-Smith said. "If they need a higher level of care, we assist in that admission. If it is safe for them to go home, we do a safety plan. We're able to follow up with them for the next several days to make sure they're carrying out that safety plan.

 

"Anyone can access the safety team. Just call the main number at the Brien Center [413-499-0412] and ask for the crisis team."

 

Ability to pay is not a bar to receiving those emergency services, Phelps-Smith said. The Brien Center charges a recipient's insurance, and if the individual is uninsured, the claim is submitted to MassHealth.

 

Phelps-Smith said the Brien Center saw an increase during the COVID-19 pandemic in calls for help with depressive symptoms and anxiety. The center also saw a higher volume of patients in the last two years as more people became familiar with and accepting of telehealth services.

 

"For whatever reason, a lot of people reached out who said they wouldn't reach out without telehealth," she said.

 

Remote conferencing capability can come in handy when dealing with emergencies, Phelps-Smith said. She cited a situation where a police officer in Becket was able to use their phone to enable a Facetime connection between a clinician and a person in need. 

 

Committee member Shana Dixon asked what constitutes an emergency that requires immediate attention from the Brien Center's mental health professionals.

 

Phelps-Smith's answer was succinct.

 

"If someone thinks it's an emergency, it's an emergency," she said. "We don't turn anyone away. We'll figure out the best way to meet the need for their emergency."

 

As for the Brien Center's staffing shortage, there are a variety of reasons why the agency, like others across the commonwealth, could use more licensed clinicians.

 

"I think people are afraid to go into this field because of the increased violence, the increased drug use," Phelps-Smith said. "A lot of people view it as unsafe, especially now that the focus is on community mental health and we're going into people's homes and going in the streets.

 

"Also, there is no secret it's not the highest paying profession. In today's age, that plays a part."

 

After meeting with Phelps-Smith, the DIRE Committee turned its attention to discussing the process for developing the diversity, equity and inclusion strategic plan requested by the Select Board. The committee agreed that, for the time being, it should plan on devoting 45 minutes to an hour at each meeting to that project.