When I attended my first "Quizine for a Cause" 6+ years ago I got to meet some Gilead clients and hear their stories. I realized that evening that helping this local agency helps a lot of people in my own community. The services provided by Gilead allow the clients to have a more fulfilling and independent life. I do some very simple tasks like giving a client a ride to the grocery store or taking her to my child's baseball game. She is extremely grateful for these simple errands and a lot of fun to chat with at the ball games. We all win.
I not only serve on the board for Gilead, but am also the parent of a client in one of their programs. Those two roles have given me the privilege of seeing Gilead from two perspectives--that of the recipient of their services, as well as seeing what goes into making that happen. My son has received high quality care, tailored to his particular needs. Gilead is an extremely well-run organization, with exceptional staff and has managed to continue to provide the gold standard of care despite a very challenging economic climate. I volunteer myself, and have never worked with a finer group of people, or done more gratifying work.
Gilead’s mission is “…to provide a broad range of high quality health care and recovery support services in the home and community to improve mental health, physical well being, independence, and community integration for the individuals we serve.”
The recent news regarding Jesse Jackson Jr's hospitalization and Patrick Kennedy's support for him has brought to light the need to stress the importance of Mental Health issues and to treat them as equally important to any “health disease – cancer, heart condition, diabetes…” and as such should receive the same support and awareness with respect to funding and treatment.
Gilead has been a strong advocate and provider of a full range of treatment programs and services for those dealing with mental health issues, as well as to the families that have to live with these issues every day. The needs are great, but only through understanding and support, such as the programs and education provided by Gilead can we help all who are facing these issues with support and compassion who otherwise would be unnoticed, misunderstood and unattended to.
Gilead has been providing high quality mental health services to adolescents and adults thoughout Middlesex County for over 40 years. Gilead offers various levels of care including group homes, day programs and general support to those living on their own. The staff is exceptionally dedicated and the services are essential to hundreds of people in our community.