Shannon Cowell Joshua Brennan Jenna Thomas Kaitlyn Critchley Fran Brilliant Three members of the BCArc Titans – Berkshire County Arc’s Special Olympics Team – competed in the recent USA Games in Minneapolis, earning a Bronze medal in bowling with Team Massachusetts, and a Bronze medal [...]
Deb Mercauto is about to mark her 30th year at Berkshire County Arc. She remembers like yesterday the moment 20 years ago that led her to the house she works in now. “I was working at a home in Pittsfield, and they needed someone to manage this house. I needed some convincing because I was happy wher [...]
Reach for the Stars Award Miribai Dyson from the office of State Rep. Tricia Farley Bouvier, presenting Cliff with a document on behalf the Mass. House of Representatives. They call it the “Reach for the Stars” Award. Cliff does not see himself that way, but the people he supports and works with d [...]
Anita, far right, singing with Natalie Cole and Sissy People on stage at a concert. While visiting Natalie Cole backstage at a concert in Los Angeles, Anita Anderson watched Natalie argue with her back-up singer, and then she fired her on the spot. “Natalie was a friend of mine from UMass Amherst [...]
by Deborah Salvini, Residential Support I took Steven Jacobs, who lives in a BCArc home in Westfield, to Washington, D.C, for four days of sight-seeing, education, exploration, and enjoyment. It was his first trip to the nation's capital. Rather than fly, we took a bus down. Steven was delighted to [...]
Call them BCArc’s youngest, most energetic, all-male house. When the five men return home from their day, they are primed for more action. “They need to keep moving in some way,” explained Rob, the Site Manager. “They still have energy to burn.” This might include swimming, lifting weights, building [...]
DeSean Scales dreams of building a thriving photography business. Yet his heart remains deeply rooted in his work at BCArc. “The individuals I support have become such a big part of my life,” he says. "I have formed bonds with so many individuals." He rattled off a long list of first names as if to c [...]
Wendy accepting her Employee of the Year Award 2025 Employee of the Year Winner Wendy has worked in the same residential program caring for the same individuals for more than 13 years. Before that, she managed a restaurant in Hangzhou, China, that had a staff of 500 people, 100 of them worki [...]
Some of the crew taking a break: From left, Kathy, Christina, Barb (Head of House Cleaning), Alan, Roberto, and Franckie. When BCArc's Mark LaVigne approached Berkshire Mountain Lodge’s General Manager Robin Peck about hiring a crew of individuals, she didn’t flinch. “We needed help,” said Robin. “ [...]
For more than a year now, Tracey Babcock, BCArc’s Employee of the Year, has traveled to a nursing home in the North End of Boston to visit a former individual from her program. “She has no family,” Tracey says, “No one is advocating for her at the nursing home. She is non-verbal and she deserves bett [...]