Our mission is to serve individuals and families of Massachusetts to improve their quality of life and sense of self-worth. We are committed to providing the highest quality care, support, education, and referral services, and we do so without regard to race, creed, disability, sexual orientation, or gender. We collaborate with others to ensure a comprehensive and effective use of resources.
When it began, BAMSI was incorporated as a private, non-profit agency as a coordinated response to the shifting ideologies surrounding care of the developmentally disabled community. As a result of a 1955 study commissioned by Congress, "Action for Mental Health," and the Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963, signed by President John F. Kennedy, Massachusetts began to implement a community-based system of care in order to decentralize the Department of Mental Health (DMH) and set up a network of services within local communities so that people could receive support and assistance close to their homes, rather than in large isolated state hospitals.
In the spring of 1975, a public/private partnership evolved, joining together a public agency, the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, with a private, non-profit agency, BAMSI, to create mental health programs designed to follow the federal decree that the rights of those with mental illness should be enabled and individuals given the opportunity to be placed in high-quality community services. BAMSI began to assemble a portfolio of services that would enable the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health to fulfill this commitment.
During its first five years, BAMSI added counseling and outpatient services, public health programs, information and referral services, and housing assistance. The number of persons served was approximately 1,500. Over the next 30 years, the agency grew to include HIV programs, Wraparound Family Services, brain injury services, and a variety of other supports. Currently, we serve more than 25,000 individuals per year. BAMSI has maintained its status as a leader in the human services industry, and will continue to improve and expand in order to provide the best possible services to the most individuals, consistent with our mission of improving the quality of individuals' lives and their sense of self-worth.
