Meet Gary: Local hero in our Berkshire recovery community!

Gary Pratt was born in Bristol, CT and moved to the Berkshires as a child. Once in the Berkshires, his family continued to move from one town to another. "It was quite the journey and we never really settled on one place in particular. I never really grew any roots which painted my childhood and early adult years." While his plan was to graduate High School in 1994, Gary had to choose between school or having a place to live and getting a job. He chose the latter. "I am a person in long term recovery from drug addiction and I was a nontraditional student at BCC. After I got into recovery in 2008 and managed to stay in recovery for a while, I decided I couldn't return to construction jobs because I knew where it would probably lead me. I ended up getting my GED through the Adult Learning Center in Pittsfield and decided to go to BCC."

Gary got involved with the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission and after receiving the results from his skills assessment test, he decided to enroll in the Engineering program at BCC. "I got placed into a class that I had no prerequisites for and I quickly realized I didn't want to deal with math every single day." The second choice on the assessment test from the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission was becoming a social worker. "So, I decided to enroll into the human services program. I met with Audrey ringer and she set me up with a whole bunch of classes that I excelled in. I really appreciated everything I learned there." Gary graduated from the program in 2013 and is currently working as the Rural Recovery Resources Project Manager, where he is working towards reducing many of the effects associated with substance use and overdoses in high-risk rural communities of South Berkshire County. Before he started his new job in 2020, he was employed with Berkshire Health Systems at the Clinical Stabilization Services unit in Pittsfield. "Stabilization Services is the place that people with substance use disorder generally go to after acute treatment service or detox. I did a lot of one-on-one counseling." Gary's personal experience informs his work tremendously. "I know that desperation and I know that fear. I know all of that stuff. And I also know that there's a way out. If I can help just one person stay in recovery for one day, I feel like I've done my job."

Around four years ago, after a conversation with a client about the stigma attached to substance use disorder, Gary decided to start a Facebook group called "Smash the Stigma 413". "Within two weeks I had over 1500 followers. I decided that we were going to have a rally at Park Square in Pittsfield and we ended up having around 60-80 people turn out. I held a sign that said ‘I am one of those people' and I ended up on the front page of the Berkshire Eagle with the same tag line: ‘Gary Pratt declares himself, one of those people.'" After a couple of years, the annual stand out for Smash the Stigma 413 moved to South County and the group got permission from the town of Great Barrington to hold it at Memorial Park. They marched through town and rallied in front of the town hall. Together with the South Berkshire Opioid Working Group, they applied for and received a Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Rural Communities Opioid Response Program grant which enabled them to open a peer-support recovery center in South County, which Gary is now the Manager of.

With this grant, funding a recovery center, South County will finally be provided an extremely valuable asset. We all know that connection fuels recovery; not only for the individual but for the community as a whole. HRSA and the tireless advocacy of the South Berkshire Opioid Working Group have made it possible for us to move forward in our mission. Their grant will save lives.