When Mike Currie of Conway retired from the Greenfield Recorder two years ago, he knew he wanted to do something to help people.
Currie, who has been in recovery for more than a decade, said he wanted to “give a gift he was so freely given.”
A peer support person for Franklin County Family Drug Court’s MISSION-Hope program at Behavioral Health Network, Currie recently received an Outstanding Service in the Field Award from the Western Massachusetts Substance Abuse Providers Association.
“I am honored and humbled to receive this,” he said. “I don’t do it for recognition, though. I do it to help others.
Behavioral Health Network, headquartered in Springfield, has been providing behavioral health services to children and families throughout Western Massachusetts since 1938. It provides community services that include integrated whole-health models, as well as traditional clinical and outpatient and therapeutic services, day treatment, crisis intervention and residential support. It includes the Northern Hope Center and Franklin Recovery Center on Federal Street on the former Lunt Silversmith property in Greenfield.
“Mike Currie, a longtime resident of Franklin County, brings a special knowledge of the community to serve some of the most vulnerable citizens in our county,” said Rose Evans, Behavioral Health Network’s vice president. “He’s a terrific asset to our program; we are fortunate to have him on our team.”
Currie said he had always wanted to work in the recovery services field after he retired, and that led him to working two days a week at Behavioral Health Network’s Northern Hope Center. He said he now works full-time at MISSION-Hope, a comprehensive behavioral intervention program aimed at helping people recovering from drug and alcohol addictions and their families who are participating in the Franklin Family Drug Court. The court currently benefits from a five-year, $2.1 million grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to expand its services.
“Two days very quickly turned into four,” Currie said. “Within a few months, the opportunity to be a peer support person became available with MISSION-Hope. It’s my dream job.”
Currie said he works with an amazing team — MISSION-Hope’s team includes a case manager, family social worker, nurse and peer supporter, like Currie. He said his role is to make a connection, lend support, help with transportation to appointments, lead group discussions twice a week and attend self-help meetings with clients.
“I am part of something that helps people become clean and sober so they can start living their lives the way they should,” Currie said. “I love watching them get better and better one day at a time.”
Currie said he has no plans to stop doing the work any time soon.
“I love to keep seeing the progress,” he said.
Reach Anita Fritz at 413-772-0261, ext. 269 or afritz@recorder.com.