Progress Report 2018

It has been a busy 2018 for Riverside Community Care.  We’re pleased to report on these major accomplishments as we continue to meet the needs of the communities we serve.

Update on Child & Family Services

Riverside School and Riverside Life Skills Center in Milford

Our second Riverside School and Riverside Life Skills Center, which opened in Milford last fall, have now reached full operating capacity.  Our first Riverside School in Needham, which helps adolescents with significant emotional difficulties and/or a psychiatric diagnosis, has had extraordinary success with group and individual therapeutic services along with strong academics so that students can stay on track. Eighty-six percent of its students have moved on after an average of 13 months – with nearly half reuniting with their peers at a mainstream high school.

For adolescents unable to manage school, Riverside Life Skills Center provides a highly structured clinical environment involving therapeutic groups and activities.  One teen helped was Maia, who had a history of significant depression, cutting, and thoughts of suicide. “Riverside saved Maia’s life,” says her mother. (Click here to watch Maia’s video.)

Update on Adult Services

New Residences for Adults with Acquired Brain Injury

It’s hard to imagine the frustration felt by someone struggling physically and/or psychologically as a result of a traumatic or non-traumatic brain injury. Our Residential Services for Acquired Brain Injury offer an alternative to institutional care: the comfort of homes or apartments in residential neighborhoods designed or renovated to individual needs, where we can provide more active care – with a high ratio of staff to residents – as we help people recovering from brain injuries work toward their goals.

We opened two new residences this year and plan to open three more by December. We helped Tony, who languished in a nursing home after a major accident before he came to Riverside where he received more active, specialized care … that eventually enabled Tony to live independently today.

Rapid Access

The escalating statewide need for individualized mental health treatment has led to the growth of waiting lists at service providers, and Riverside is no exception. We’re responding with the Rapid Access program we’re piloting at our Newton Outpatient Center. There, every Monday, anyone can walk in and receive an immediate evaluation and group service placement – while they wait for individual treatment if recommended. Sharon, who found help through the program, is “sincerely thankful every single day that life brought” her to Riverside’s Outpatient Center.

Update on Community Services

Screening for Mental Health Joins the Riverside Family

We are very pleased to announce that Screening for Mental Health, a national non-profit that utilizes innovative technologies to provide screenings and educational resources for mental health disorders, has officially merged with Riverside Community Care. Screening for Mental Health was founded with the mission to screen for depression much like professionals in the medical field screen for physical diseases like cancer and diabetes. This led to cutting edge programs like Signs Of Suicide, designed to screen for at-risk high school students. This groundbreaking program has already reached more than 1.5 million children nationwide.

Launching Riverside Community Partners

Riverside was recently honored to be selected by the state of Massachusetts as one of the new Behavioral Health Community Partners for MassHealth (Medicaid) for our expertise in supporting members with significant behavioral health needs in the community setting. At Riverside Community Partners, we are now one of eighteen Behavioral Health Community Partners across the state committed to integrating services and improving health outcomes for approximately 60,000 MassHealth members with complex long-term behavioral health needs.

~Scott M. Bock, Founder and President/CEO