News for: In the News

Wednesday, September 24, 2025

LYNN – Heather Fahey had been drinking since she was 13. Throughout her 20s, she simply described herself as a “party girl,” but she eventually realized that searching for the nearest liquor store at 9 in the morning was not normal. “I lost a lot of friends, a lot of family. I lost myself. I didn’t enjoy life,” Fahey said. In 2022, Fahey found out she was pregnant with her 2-year-old son Grayson, while she was almost six months along. She joined Bridgewell Women’s Program at Johnson Street upon realizing she needed more long-term treatment after Grayson was removed from her custody.

Monday, September 22, 2025

LATE LAST YEAR, I made the hard decision to close a mental health center in Lynn, an area where more access to care is needed, not less. The cost of operating this clinic with optimal staffing simply exceeded by a wide margin the amount we received from insurers – largely the state Medicaid program MassHealth – to operate it.

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

CHELMSFORD — The residents of a Sonora Drive residential program for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, operated by the nonprofit human services agency Bridgewell, put on a lemonade stand Aug. 16. Some of the customers included Chelmsford Police officers.

Monday, March 10, 2025

PEABODY — Leanna Fleming is the new chief financial officer for the social and human services nonprofit Bridgewell.

Friday, February 28, 2025

PEABODY — Bridgewell, a local social and human services agency, participated in a Special Olympics Massachusetts organized basketball tournament at Milton Academy on Feb. 23, where they played in two games against other organizations around the area.

Thursday, October 24, 2024

PEABODY — Bridgewell hosted its first formal for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities on Friday, Oct. 18. The prom-like event was held at the North Shore Community Baptist Church in Beverly and was a night of dinner and dancing for more than 130 guests.

Thursday, October 3, 2024

PEABODY — It was another day of giving back at Newhall Fields Community Farm Tuesday. A day of service was held at the Lynn Street farm to kick
off a month-long Celebration of Community hosted by Bridgewell each October.

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

PEABODY — Bridgewell, a Peabody-based social and human services agency, launched its month-long series of activities with a Celebration of Community Service Project at Newhall Fields Community Farm on Tuesday.

Thursday, September 5, 2024

Bridgewell’s Johnson Street Women’s Program graduates share their stories.

Tuesday, September 3, 2024

A group of Danvers-based Abiomed employees recently visited two-day habilitation programs operated by Peabody-based human services provider Bridgewell. The programs provide adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities with compassionate social-interaction and life-skills education.

Wednesday, August 21, 2024

PEABODY — There was a time when 58-year-old Ruth Fabello might not have been given the life-saving care she recently received. Fabello has an intellectual and developmental disability and has received support services since birth. Since 2002, she’s lived in group homes run by Peabody-based social and human services agency Bridgewell, and in 2013, was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney disease.

Thursday, June 13, 2024

“While the number of opioid-related overdose deaths in the commonwealth remains unacceptably high, it is encouraging to see what we hope is a reversal of a long and painful trend,” Bridgewell President and CEO Chris Tuttle said in a statement. “The time is now to boost public investments and once and for all overcome the scourge of the opioid epidemic.”

Friday, May 17, 2024

Bridgewell, a nonprofit social and human services organization serving northeastern Massachusetts, has announced that Kirsten O’Keefe of Lynn has been promoted to director of the Bridgewell Family Support Center in Lynn.

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Bridgewell, a nonprofit social and human services organization serving northeastern Massachusetts, announced that more than $320,000 was raised for programs and services during its annual Imagine the Possibilities Gala held on April 5. The theme for the gala was “Building Bridges,” highlighting the numerous ways Bridgewell’s team builds bridges for, and with, the people they serve; bridges to the community, opportunities, and support as they strive to reach their fullest potential.

Friday, March 1, 2024

Bridgewell will honor the Rubin family of Bernie & Phyl’s Furniture with the 2024 Excellence in Service Award at the nonprofit’s annual Imagine the Possibilities Gala.

Wednesday, January 24, 2024

Bridgewell, a nonprofit social and human services organization serving northeastern Massachusetts, has announced that John Drake has been elected to a three-year term on its Board of Directors.

Thursday, December 28, 2023

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

PEABODY, MA — A Middleton pizza shop owner was honored with the 2023 Champion Award from Peabody nonprofit Bridgewell for providing jobs and training for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Bridgewell said that Matthew Rosa was chosen as this year's recipient for supporting the its employment program and paying a fair wage to employees with intellectual and developmental disabilities to help them become valued and appreciated members of the workforce.

Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Bridgewell, a nonprofit social and human services organization serving northeastern Massachusetts, today announced that Jane Puffer and Karl-Henry Francois have been elected to its Board of Directors.

It marks the fifth three-year term on Bridgewell’s board for Puffer and third for Francois. The board follows a three-years-on, one-year-off policy, and both are returning from a one-year hiatus.

Friday, October 13, 2023

A new exhibit at Great Art Studio, “Shame Fear Love,” is tackling women’s experiences battling addiction. The exhibit is the work of 12 women from Bridgewell’s Johnson Street residential treatment program. “This was a chance for us to get out of the house and be in an intimate setting with women,” Melissa Hinckley, of Gloucester, who is in the Johnson Street program, said. “It was nice to be in a small group and get to open up and share our thoughts and feelings.” The project has been in development since July, when the women started working with art therapist and GAS founder Mary Flannery.

Wednesday, September 13, 2023

To the editor: Direct Support Professional Recognition Week, Sept. 10-16, is the perfect time to reflect on the dedication and commitment of our human services workers — and to thank them. This week of recognition was started more than a decade ago to draw attention to the dedicated, innovative Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) who help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and other life challenges to live their best lives.

Thursday, July 27, 2023

Two photos featured in the Peabody Weekly: Bridgewell’s Molli Marshall and Julia Gutierrez enjoying the Disability Pride Month ice cream social. Michael Poploski shares a laugh with SharkNinja culinary co-op Regina Monaco during the ice cream social at Bridgewell.

Thursday, September 29, 2022

Friday, June 24, 2022

Check out this great article in the Lowell Sun about Darren Goad, Bridgewell Career Specialist, and how his sons inspired his career in human services. Thank you again for sharing your story, Darren!

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

PEABODY — Darren Goad, a career specialist at the nonprofit Bridgewell and the father of two autistic sons, might just be the definition of a super dad. Goad, who joined Bridgewell two years ago, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said he wouldn’t be working as a career specialist if not for his two sons, Josh and Jake. When his sons were young, Goad worked as an area manager for an art retail company, working long hours and missing out on countless therapies for his two sons, who are nonverbal. It was that drive to support his children that led him to quit his job and get a job at the school his children attended.

Monday, May 16, 2022

Chris Tuttle, CEO and president of health provider Bridgewell, said the severe lack of funding has threatened to shut down some of its services. Bridgewell has more than 100 programs across eastern Massachusetts, serving 6,500 people each year in group homes, habilitation programs and mental health clinics in Lowell, Danvers and Lynn.

Thursday, May 5, 2022

As part of its Imagine the Possibilities Gala held on Friday, April 29 at the Fairmont Copley Plaza in Boston, Bridgewell honored Lancelot Janitorial & Paper Products owner George Sonia with the 2022 Visionary Leadership Award. Bridgewell’s Visionary Leadership Award is presented to an individual who has provided leadership, dedication, and tireless efforts in support of the Bridgewell community.

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

LYNN — George Markos, owner of Brothers Deli on Market Street, catered and donated Thanksgiving meals for more than 25 people at Bridgewell’s Roseway Day Services in Danvers on Wednesday...

Wednesday, November 3, 2021

PEABODY — Organizations like Bridgewell, that support and empower people with disabilities, help secure employment in different ways: through volunteer situations, direct employment, or a group-supported model.

Group-supported employment means that, depending on their skills and personal situations, individuals come to work as a group with a job coach who can help them with any issues at the job site. There is usually a ratio in the group of the maximum number of clients per job coach.

Thursday, September 30, 2021

LYNN — The Great Art Studio (GAS) in Central Square has been working with five women from Bridgewell’s Johnson Street residential treatment program to incorporate art into their recovery from substance use disorders.

GAS has been working with the women since August to create a body of work called the “Bundle of Hope,” which includes written and painted reminders of why they are working to overcome addiction.

Wednesday, September 29, 2021

PEABODY ― Bridgewell and Newhall Fields Community Farms are partnering together for a “Day of Giving” on Tuesday, Oct. 5.
The theme of the event is “Give back. Give time. Give a gift.” A team of approximately 40 Bridgewell staff members, volunteers, and clients, along with about a dozen farm volunteers, will be on hand to help to not only spread their organizations’ missions, but to dig and get their hands dirty, helping to harvest some of the many varieties of organic produce grown on the farm.

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

LYNN - For the past three years, Bridgewell's Recuperative Care Center has provided temporary housing and medical care for the city's homeless after they are discharged from the hospital.

However, while city and state officials recognize the services provided by the recuperative care center, located downtown on Buffum Street, are much-needed in the community, "nobody at this point is willing to pay for it," said Bridgewell CEO Chris Tuttle.

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

MERRIMACK VALLEY - Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley and North Shore (ESMV-NS) was one of only a dozen organizations in the country and the only one in the Commonwealth to receive a new Alzheimer’s Disease Programs Initiative grant from the federal Administration for Community Living. The award is for a total of $854,147 over a three-year project period.

ESMV-NS will start a training program at Bridgewell Inc. and Fidelity House Human Services & Career Resources Corp., for staff who work adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities.

Friday, July 10, 2020

Bridgewell shifted to virtual programming amid COVID-19 to provide a resource for families who depend on structure and routine. Judith Doherty, program director of Bridgewell's Family Support Center talks about the impact of virtual programming and how we're providing a resource for families.

Tuesday, March 10, 2020

PEABODY — A North Shore nonprofit took home the gold last Sunday with its first basketball team in nearly 10 years at the Special Olympics Massachusetts Winter Games.

“It was amazing,” said Nicole Doucette-Page, a Special Olympics basketball coach at Bridgewell, a Peabody-based nonprofit that provides social and human services to people with disabilities. “We went undefeated. They did really well.”

Friday, November 8, 2019

LYNN — Kim M., 44, is beside herself with happiness.

After suffering through eight years of an abusive relationship, and then escaping her ex-boyfriend only to endure long stints of homelessness and health problems, Kim, will finally move into her new home on Nov. 18.

“I feel like it’s unbelievable,” Kim said. “I can’t believe it’s actually going to happen until I walk through that door and (lie) on the bed. I’m so incredibly grateful to Beverly. I’m glad I can call her my friend.”

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Prides Deli and Pizzeria hires clients participating in Bridgewell's employment support program

Thursday, July 18, 2019

The single biggest factor contributing to the loss of qualified workers from the community-based human services sector is the pay inequity between private workers and their state counterparts.

Thursday, June 20, 2019

The United States is in an economic expansion and what economists consider "full employment". That means many people have options and one industry facing workforce shortage is community-based human services agencies. President and CEO of Bridgewell, Chris Tuttle, joins Sue to talk about the issue and provide a prospective remedy for the issue.

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

When Autism Awareness Month comes to an end, so too does much of the focus on autism from the general public. As a society, we’ve made positive strides, but it’s important to remember that the conversations about acceptance, inclusion and support for people with ASD need to happen year-round.

Monday, June 17, 2019

Blue Wave will soon start a vocational training program with Melmark, and is working on creating a similar program with Bridgewell.

Bridgewell Career Specialist Marc Jamieson said they are discussing a vocational opportunity in which Rosewood III day program participants would maintain vending machines. Through that, they would be able to improve their skills for grocery shopping, learn about stocking the machine, and collecting, counting and depositing money in a bank, he said.

Monday, June 17, 2019

Tuesday June 18 is Autistic Pride Day and every April, thanks to National Autism Awareness Month, there’s a renewed sense of support for people living with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and those who’ve worked tirelessly to foster environments of inclusion and self-determination for all.

Thursday, May 30, 2019

“It’s been great working with Noah from American Training, Inc. during this transition phase. He’s been extremely responsive and instrumental towards the successful hand off of this opportunity. We appreciate Prides Deli owner Mike Magner for welcoming this change and giving other individuals with disabilities the chance to work as well!” stated Marc Jamieson from Bridgewell.

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Bridgewell celebrated its first Day of Giving this week, and I wanted to take this moment to thank and recognize the community and businesses in the greater North Shore-area for their more than 60 years of continued support. With that support, Bridgewell have been able to give back to the community by providing an unmatched range of social and human services that empower people with disabilities and other life challenges to live safe, self-directed and productive lives.

Sunday, March 3, 2019

Christopher Tuttle has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Bridgewell, a Peabody-based nonprofit that works with people with disabilities. Tuttle has been serving as interim president and chief executive officer of Bridgewell over the last few months. His appointment is effective immediately.

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Twenty-four year old Jessica Cardinal is a recovering heroin addict and mother of two. She is trying to rebuild her life, and looking back, says her darkest days are unrecognizable.

Thursday, February 7, 2019

Video of employees and clients of the nonprofit organization Bridgewell surprising Prides Deli co-owner Victoria Baker with its fifth annual Champion Award.

Thursday, February 7, 2019

About a dozen people gathered outside Prides Deli & Pizzeria around 11 a.m. on Wednesday, and it wasn't the early lunch crowd. Employees and clients of the nonprofit organization Bridgewell surprised Prides Deli co-owner Victoria Baker with its fifth annual Champion Award.

Tuesday, January 22, 2019

As the partial federal government shutdown approaches one month, its impacting more and more people including landlords who could lose their housing subsidies because there's no one at the Department of Housing and Urban Development to renew their contracts.

Friday, December 21, 2018

The legacy of Kelly J. Martin will live on after Bridgewell renamed its Boston Street Center in her honor. In August, Martin, Bridgewell’s former CEO, died peacefully, surrounded by her loved ones, according to her obituary. The non-profit organization, which she dedicated her life to for 35 years, held a dedication ceremony and unveiled “The Kelly J. Martin Center” sign in Lynn on Thursday.

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

They are the youngest victims of the nation’s drug crisis: children of parents with substance abuse disorders. They become more susceptible to long-term behavioral and mental health issues. Twelve-year-old Annie from Gloucester is just one example of what the impact can be. But she is also an example of how treatment can help some children heal. Originally published: 12/5/18.

Thursday, September 27, 2018

One place the fall-out from the opioid crisis continues to escalate is in newborn nurseries. Data gathered from hospitals across the country show that the number of babies born to opioid-addicted mothers quadrupled in the past 15 years.

Wednesday, September 26, 2018