A message from Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW, President & CEO
August 29, 2025
Dear friends;
It’s been a profoundly emotional month.
McCall was recognized with the Organizational Excellence Award by the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce’s Health Council, a very special honor – particularly now.In accepting the award, I had the opportunity to express my gratitude to the crowd. Before I stood to walk to the podium, I leaned to my friend and colleague Joy Pendola (whose judgment I trust implicitly) and asked if it would be risky to make a statement that could potentially be perceived as political. Joy assured me I could be ‘me’.
I said that the award is a celebration of what we do, how we do it and who we are called to serve. McCall is a behavioral health organization that serves anyone in need, regardless of their ability to pay. We are intentional about creating spaces of true belonging for populations that are often stigmatized and pushed to the margins. That work is done with excellence because we have a staff who are exceptionally well trained and have a deep commitment to our mission. They do this work with such heart.
There are policies now in place that are predicated on fear of many of the people we serve. These policies vilify people who live with mental health challenges, struggle with their substance use, were born in another country or don’t have a roof over their heads and seek to sweep them up and lock them away from public view. This strips away the humanity of both the person being detained as well as those who are doing the detaining, and by degrees, each of us bearing witness.
I shared that this recognition centers the beautiful souls we have the honor of serving and it celebrates them. Not only do they deserve care and respect, they deserve and receive excellence. There is a restoration of our collective humanity when we commit to that ideal.
Something extraordinary happened after the event concluded. Dozens of people approached me, many with tears in their eyes, and said how important it was to hear those ideals celebrated. I was heartened beyond words, my friends, by this response. There are implicit messages in our current culture, suggesting that we must shrink in order to be safe. Organizations have to shelve their DEI work, use coded language to serve vulnerable people, lest we lose funding or offend someone in power. But our public declaration of these values had the opposite effect – several organizations said that they want to explore how we can collaborate to serve our communities.
Last night was the Litchfield County Opiate Task Force’s annual Overdose Awareness Day Vigil, one of the most moving events of the year. As I listened to the testimonials offered so courageously, witnessed bereaved mothers hugging one another, children who’ve lost their parents sharing handmade crafts with the crowd and friends writing messages to those lost, I was overwhelmed with the humanity on display. This was community, it was healing, it was love. The beautiful souls gathering by candlelight around the world know that each and every life is worthy of celebration, dignity and love. We must never shrink from those values. We can and must openly and lovingly declare them to the world. Our collective humanity depends on it.
With my love and appreciation,
Maria
Maria Coutant Skinner, LCSW
President and CEO
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