GREENFIELD — Rosa Whelpley is the new director of The Living Room, the county’s recently established daytime space available to “anyone who thinks they need it” in the Franklin County community.
Whelpley, 29, has replaced former director Mitch Halaby, who is retiring.
Located in a two-story residence on the corner of High and Sanderson streets, The Living Room opened in April and now draws 10 to 20 people per day, Whelpley said. The space has a lounge room with a television, a couple of sitting rooms, a stocked kitchen, a bathroom with a shower and fresh towels, laundry facilities, all available for anyone to use during its opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“The services that are provided by the space within the county are extremely crucial,” Whelpley said. “There are high numbers of people who are in need in the county who need a peer-run space that’s sober, that is run by people who have been through the mental health system, or are in recovery themselves.”
Whelpley has worked as a peer specialist with Clinical and Support Options (CSO), a nonprofit behavioral and mental health agency providing therapy, counseling and support in Western Massachusetts, since mid-2018. Excited by The Living Room’s concept, she transferred there when the space opened in April.
The Living Room is solely staffed by peer specialists, who are professionals with experiences similar to their clients. Whelpley, a transgender woman who has recovered from alcoholism, said she uses her personal experiences to relate to guests. She said she is on an “equal playing field” with clients and approaches her work with this knowledge.
“Getting to help people through their day-to-day is also helpful to me through my day-to-day,” Whelpley said. “Doing that for your career is just brilliant.”
Before arriving in Greenfield last year, Whelpley lived in Boston for 10 years, studying at the University of Massachusetts and then working as a Spanish middle school teacher for six years. After tiring of Boston’s high cost of living, Whelpley decided to move west, picking Greenfield for its eclectic art and music scene and easy access to outdoor activities. She said she “stumbled on” the city driving back to Boston after a camping trip in Vermont.
“I really fell in love,” Whelpley said. “I was always drawn to Greenfield because of its sort of metropolitan-rural vibe.”
After moving to Franklin County, Whelpley decided to shift gears and go into non-profit work, finding a job as a peer specialist at CSO. Her decision to change careers was partly driven by her gender transition, she said, which began a couple of years ago.
“It’s a lot easier to transition in a work environment like CSO compared to a school,” Whelpley said. “I think that it’s easier to talk about being trans with adults than it is to teach children about my identity. It’s easier to be out as a trans woman in this space.”
She said her role as peer specialist and now director at The Living Room isn’t too far from her first profession.
“I realized there were many different ways of teaching,” Whelpley said. “Part of being a peer is being a role model.”
As director, Whelpley wants to ensure The Living Room helps as many residents as possible. She plans to create more support groups, holding them once or twice a day. She currently runs a group for transgender and non-binary people, while peer specialists run other groups throughout the week, with the most popular focusing on anxiety and art. She also intends to strengthen relationships with local non-profits so The Living Room can offer guests as many resources as possible to fulfill their needs.
“Working with people at this point on their journey is really important to me, because as a peer, part of being a peer is having been in some of those positions before,” Whelpley said. “You’re there by their side. You get to be the support that they need as this time in their life.”
Reach Grace Bird at gbird@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 280.