Brien Center Staffer Receives ABH’s Moe Armstrong Award for Peer Leadership
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Association for Behavioral Healthcare, a statewide organization representing more than 80 community-based behavioral healthcare provider organizations, has honored Colleen Sondrini-Cooper, the Recovery Services coordinator at The Brien Center, with the Moe Armstrong Award for Peer Leadership for her exceptional contribution to the development and strengthening of the role of consumers in addiction treatment services.
Each year, ABH recognizes individuals and groups that have made impressive contributions to the field of mental health and addiction treatment.
"On behalf of ABH, we want to thank all of today's award recipients for the important work that they do," said Vic DiGravio, president/CEO of ABH. "The dedication of everyone in this room to individuals and families struggling with substance use and mental health disorders is truly making a difference in our communities, and we salute you for your life-changing work."
Sondrini-Cooper is currently the Recovery Services coordinator and Human Rights coordinator for the Brien Center. Prior to her current roles, she has held several positions within the Brien Center that opened opportunities for self-disclosure and relational supports.
In her attempts to teach sensitivity to her fellow co-workers, she began to self-disclose her own mental health struggles to teach them a deeper understanding of people’s capabilities. Long before the peer movement was an accepted force in the mental health field, Sondrini-Cooper pioneered it in her own works. She has pushed boundaries and with balance has supported staff to understand that recovery is possible. In August of 2014, Sondrini-Cooper guided five individuals to create the first peer run home in Berkshire County, Freedom House.
Sondrini-Cooper was recognized at a ceremony at the Westin Hotel in Waltham. ABH members are the primary providers of community-based behavioral healthcare in Massachusetts. Member providers and their 47,000 dedicated employees provide clinically effective and cost-sensitive care to 81,000 individuals on any given day in communities throughout the state.
As an organization with three decades of experience in not only the advancement, but also the preservation and promotion of community-based mental health and addiction services, ABH is recognized as the leading statewide association in this field.
Tags: Brien Center, mental health,
