Our Mission and Founder

Riverside’s Mission:

To make a difference in the lives of individuals, families, and communities through innovative and compassionate community-based behavioral healthcare and human services.

Riverside’s Core Values

We believe:

• Excellence is critical in everything we do.
• Quality care should be available to all.
• A diverse and respectful workforce is essential.
• Technology is critical to improving access and expanding our impact.
• Public policy advocacy in behavioral healthcare and human services is our responsibility.
• Hope is a foundational element of our work.

Riverside’s Founder

Scott M. Bock began building the organization that became Riverside Community Care with a clear vision, unlimited energy, and an unwavering focus on serving people in need of behavioral healthcare and human services. As reflected in our mission statement above, Scott believed in treating people with dignity and respect, and most of all, offering hope – for a better life, for greater opportunity, for understanding and acceptance.

Trained as a therapist but also possessing the drive and determination of an entrepreneur, Scott was 18 when he began working at a center for people with developmental disabilities in another state. Appalled at the lack of resources and respect for those desperately in need of compassionate care, he knew there had to be a better way, and he resolved, “If I had to figure out how to do it, I would.”

So in 1982, with six employees working out of a church basement with 40 clients, Scott founded the type of organization he believed could make a real and lasting difference for, as he put it, “anyone who needs us.” The services would be delivered not in hospitals or institutions, but locally, close to family and support systems, in communities throughout eastern and central Massachusetts.

And he succeeded, probably beyond even his own dreams. Over the decades Riverside grew exponentially in size and scope. Seeing opportunities and gaps in services, Scott formulated new ventures and merged with like organizations so he could ensure people were receiving the highest-quality care. Riverside Trauma Center, Riverside Employment Collaboratives, and MindWise Innovations are just three of the many programs created during Scott’s tenure – innovative initiatives for a community-based organization that were conceived to fill critical needs.

Massachusetts governor Charlie Baker summed up Scott’s impact after his August 2021 death from cancer at age 65: “Whether you live to be 100 or live to be 65, I think what we all want more than anything is to be able to go out believing we made a really big difference in a really positive way for people. And the work that Scott’s done, and the way he’s done it, and the people he’s influenced, will live on long after he’s gone.”

We thank you, Scott.