ServiceNet has a rich history, and has developed into the organization it is today after years of evolution, growth and expansion.
Firmly grounded in the deinstitutionalization movement that began in the 1960s, ServiceNet’s history—starting in 1973 when our founding organization was incorporated—reflects the combined vision and efforts of several different agencies, including those that merged under the new name in 1995 and others that have since joined us.
Committed from the start to providing innovative community-based care, ServiceNet now has more than 100 distinct programs located throughout the four counties of western Massachusetts. The mission that unites them all—from outpatient clinical services to residential programs, early intervention, outreach, recovery, shelter, rehabilitation, and vocational services—is to provide people with effective support, treatments, and strategies so they may live their lives to the fullest.
As ServiceNet continues to grow and change in response to community need: as peer coaches become integral members of the mental health and substance use recovery network, and people with disabilities take an active role in contributing to the agricultural vitality of the region at our working farm, the vision of our earliest founders is realized again and again—forever relevant.
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1965
1965 - Hampshire Association for Mental Health (HAMH) is Founded
HAMH is founded as an advocacy organization to improve treatment for people with mental illness who are living in Northampton State Hospital.
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1973
1973 - HAMH opens Hampshire Day House
HAMH opens the Hampshire Day House, a day treatment program for adults who had resided at Northampton State Hospital.
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1975
1975 - HAMH opens Halfway House
HAMH opens one of the first halfway houses in western Massachusetts for individuals ready to leave Northampton State Hospital, and establishes additional residential programs.
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1976
1976 - Franklin/Hampshire Community Mental Health Center (F/HCMHC) is Founded
Franklin/Hampshire Community Mental Health Center (F/HCMHC) is founded with funding from the federal Community Mental Health Act. Services include crisis intervention, day treatment, residential care, and community education.
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1977
1977 - REACH Program is Founded
REACH Early Intervention program is founded as a program for parents with children who are newborn to 3 years with developmental delays.
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1978
1978 - Northampton Consent Decree is Signed
The decree gives psychiatric state hospital patients the right to treatment in the least restrictive settings appropriate to their needs, and funding is provided for related community-based services. This change eventually leads to the closing of Northampton State Hospital in 1993.
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1979
1979 - Meridian Associates for Programs and Resources is Founded in Pittsfield
Meridian’s range of services includes outreach, vocational, and residential programs.
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1983
1983 - NAMHS
Hampshire Day House opens additional outpatient and other mental health services and changes its name to Northampton Area Mental Health Services (NAMHS).
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1983
1983 - Valley Programs
HAMH expands services to include shelter and housing for homeless individuals and families, and changes its name to Valley Programs.
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1991
1991 - Valley Programs and NAMHS merge
Valley Programs and NAMHS merge, keeping the Valley Programs name.
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1992
1992 - Belchertown State School is Closed
This school is closed following a series of lawsuits, and funding is allocated for community-based programs for people with developmental disabilities.
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1993
1993 - Northampton State Hospital Closes
Northampton State Hospital closed as a result of a class action lawsuit filed in 1978 which held that people living with mental illness deserved treatment in the least restrictive setting possible. Over the next 15 years, the hospital gradually reduced its services and census until the final 12 residents were discharged.
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1995
1995 - ServiceNet
Valley Programs and F/HCMHC merge. The organization’s new name, ServiceNet, reflects the increasing breadth of the agency’s programs and services. Amherst Resource Center programs also join ServiceNet at this time.
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2003
2003 - Outpatient Services Expanded in Greenfield
ServiceNet assumes responsibility for Baystate Franklin Medical Center’s outpatient mental health services.
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2009
2009 - Meridian Associates joins ServiceNet
Meridian Associates, an agency providing services primarily in Berkshire County, becomes part of ServiceNet.
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2009
2009 - ServiceNet Acquires Residential Addiction Recovery Programs
ServiceNet acquires Baystate Franklin Medical Center’s recovery houses in Greenfield and Orange, and its supportive housing program in Turners Falls.
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2010
2010 - ServiceNet Opens New Outpatient Clinics
ServiceNet opens additional behavioral health centers in Amherst and Pittsfield; the clinic in Chicopee is relocated to Holyoke.
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2010
2010 - ServiceNet founds Prospect Meadow Farm
ServiceNet purchases a farm in Hatfield to provide new vocational opportunities for people with disabilities.
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2013
2013 - ServiceNet Acquires Berkshire County Shelter and Housing Programs
ServiceNet takes on responsibility for the homeless shelter and housing programs formerly run by Berkshire Community Action in Pittsfield.
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2013
2013 - ServiceNet opens Enrichment Center
ServiceNet opens the Enrichment Center in Chicopee, a rehabilitation and recreation program for people with brain injuries.
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2015
2015 - PREP Program started
ServiceNet receives Department of Mental Health funding to start the innovative PREP program for young adults who have experienced early psychosis (Prevention and Recovery in Early Psychosis).
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2017
2017 - Culinary Program
Vocational Services establishes a Culinary Program that prepares participants to work in the food industry while making use of ingredients grown/raised at Prospect Meadow Farm.
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2018
2018 - Living in Recovery Opens
Living in Recovery, a peer-driven community for people in all stages of their substance use recovery, opens in Pittsfield.
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2018
2018 - Rooster Café
The Rooster Café opens at ServiceNet’s new administrative offices on 21 Olander Drive, staffed by participants in the Culinary Program.
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2018
2018 - Telehealth Begins in Outpatient Clinics
The outpatient behavioral health clinics begin using telehealth to connect advanced practice nurses (APRNs) in the med clinics with clients at home.
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2019
2019 - Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) Services Open
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) services open at our outpatient behavioral health clinic in Northampton, the first-ever in western Massachusetts to be offered in a community mental health setting. The following year, a second TMS service opens in our Greenfield clinic.
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2020
2020 - Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) Open
Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC) open at our outpatient offices in Northampton and Greenfield, funded by SAMHSA. These clinics provide comprehensive services to surround clients with the support they need to deal with the medical, social and psychological challenges associated with persistent mental illness and/or substance use recovery.
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2020
2020 - Telehealth services Increase
Telehealth services ramp up quickly in response to the shutdowns caused by COVID-19, creating opportunities for therapists and psychiatrists to continue seeing Outpatient clients, and for multiple other programs and services to remain active and connected during the pandemic.
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2021
2021 - Strive Clinic Opens
The Strive Clinic at ServiceNet opens in Chicopee to provide by-appointment physical, occupational, and speech therapy services for individuals with brain injury.
Today, we’re proud to offer a wide array of services for people in need
