At FFIMI, we have sounded this alarm before—and we are far from alone. Advocates, families, clinicians, and impacted individuals have long called for meaningful change at Bridgewater State Hospital (BSH). Yet the suffering continues. The population at BSH includes some of the most vulnerable people in our state—individuals living with serious mental illness. These individuals… Continue reading Bridge Over Troubled Waters: A Call for Change at Bridgewater State Hospital
Another scathing report about Bridgewater State Hospital Disabiltiy Law Center just released their Feb. 6, 2025 report and the conditions at Bridgewater State Hospital (BSH) have NOT improved. The report states: "The Commonwealth must stop waiting for change that will never come and protect BSH Persons Served (PS), a population widely recognized as including individuals… Continue reading Disability Law Center Finds Unlawful, Violent Practices and Unsafe Environmental Conditions Persist at Bridgewater State Hospital
By Ernest Nate Benjamin Hello, friends, family, and supporters of Family & Friends of Individuals with Mental Illness (FFIMI). I wanted to share another piece for the FFIMI blog. I wrote to the powers that be a while ago, hoping to secure funding and training for clinicians to learn about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing… Continue reading From Trauma to Healing: Advocating for EMDR in Prisons
Below is the press released shared by DLC on July 30, 2024. Today, the Disability Law Center (DLC) released a public report discussing findings and recommendations from its intensive monitoring of Bridgewater State Hospital (BSH) from January to June 2024. As Massachusetts’ Protection and Advocacy agency, DLC has federal authority to monitor facility conditions and… Continue reading July 30th DLC Report Calls for Transfer of Bridgewater State Hospital to the Department of Mental Health IMMEDIATELY
Why BSH Need to be Moved to the Department of Mental Health Hear Our Voices is a dramatic portrayal inspired by the real-life experiences of individuals residing at Bridgewater State Hospital (BSH) in Massachusetts. Crafted by an author intimately familiar with BSH and informed by the accounts of individuals with serious mental illness who have… Continue reading Hear our Voices
Exciting. Exhilarating. Energizing. This is the enthusiastic response of Sheriff Donna Buckley, the first female sheriff ever elected to Barnstable County, describing her mission to serve the community, families, and incarcerated individuals. She also carries a sense of solemn responsibility with a forward-thinking vision and a strong determination to ‘get it done’. Her goals are… Continue reading A Mission of Hope
There is a significant lack of access to adequate mental health care in incarcerated settings. FFIMI could not agree more with NAMI's perspective of HELP, NOT HANDCUFFS. Sadly we all have loved ones who did not receive the mental health treatment they needed and became enmeshed in the criminal justice system. We share this repost… Continue reading Help, not Handcuffs
This summer has been a productive month of advocacy for the Family and Friends of Individuals with Mental Illness. Several of our members participated in two Massachusetts legislative hearings in support of the following bills: Representative Ruth Balser’s bill H.2985 An Act transferring Bridgewater State Hospital from the Department of Correction to the Department of… Continue reading FFIMI Supports Two Important Legislative Bills
Introduction My name is Tom Kavanaugh. I am a board member of my local NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) chapter, the facilitator of the Bridgewater State Hospital Families Group, and the father of a son with mental illness who is currently being held at the hospital. About the Patients If I may, I’d like… Continue reading NAMI Board Member and Family Advocate Adds His Voice at Judiciary Oversight Committee
Representative Michael Day, who moderated the Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Judiciary oversight hearings on December 21 stated in the February 2022 issue of Commonwealth Magazine that the then recent Disability Law Center (DLC) report was "deeply disturbing." Based on the January 2022 and July 2022 DLC reports, a barrage of damning news articles, meetings between the Criminal Justice… Continue reading Bridgewater State Hospital Must be Placed Under the Dept. of Mental Health – Not the Dept. of Correction
Family and Friends of Individuals with Mental Illness ~ Advocating for those who are Justice Involved 