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Contact: Gail Donovan
Donovan Communications
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BROOKLYN PSYCHIATRIC CENTERS HONORS
BERNELL K. GRIER AT GALA EVENING

BROOKLYN, NY—October 27, 2004— Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers, Inc. honored Bernell K. Grier, chief operating officer of Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City, with its Judge Robert J. Wilkin Award for Commitment to Community at a gala evening on October 20 aboard a World Yacht cruise around Manhattan.

The award Ms. Grier received is named after Judge Robert J. Wilkin, who founded Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers in 1907 and charged the organization with helping vulnerable children. In his distinguished career in child welfare, Judge Wilkin worked for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, was head of the legal bureau of the Children’s Society in Brooklyn and Long Island, helped establish the Brooklyn Children’s Court in 1902, and was appointed a judge for that court the same year. Judge Wilkin remained on the bench of the Brooklyn Children’s Court for 25 years and was the presiding judge when he died in 1927 at the age of 67.

“We are pleased to be honoring Bernell Grier with our Judge Robert J. Wilkin award because like our founder, she understands what it takes to create and maintain successful communities,” said Dr. Pamela Straker, president and CEO of Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers. “Community based mental health programs like those provided by Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers are among the services needed for economic development because they help vulnerable individuals heal and become productive citizens. Yet again this year, these mental health services are experiencing more cuts in government funding, making the contributions we receive from our supporters through fundraising events like our gala evening even more critical to the continued operation of our agency.”

Upon accepting her award, Ms. Grier praised the work of Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers and highlighted the need to provide mental health services to people living in the communities in which she’s worked for 30 years so that they can succeed in our society. “It’s important to understand the significance of the work of Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers,” she said. “And, I ask that you to continue to give it support.”

Ms. Grier joined Neighborhood Housing Services of New York City in August 2004. The organization is a nonprofit citywide organization working to increase and protect investment in underserved low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, help people through education to help themselves, build communities that encourage and support neighborhood self-reliance, and create, preserve, and promote affordable housing in New York City neighborhoods.

Prior to joining Neighborhood Housing Services, Ms. Grier was executive vice president and market manager of Fleet Community Bank franchise in metro New York and New Jersey, where she oversaw 67 Fleet Community branches in metro New York and New Jersey.  Prior to this position, Ms. Grier was senior vice president and director of Fleet’s Community Development Unit where she was responsible for promoting the development, access and use of innovative banking products, programs and services for low- to moderate-income individuals, small businesses, and communities in need of economic development.  A 30-year veteran in the financial services industry, Ms. Grier spent the majority of her career in commercial middle market lending before she transitioned into the field of Community Development in 1995.

A native of Harlem, New York, Ms. Grier is a graduate of City College of New York, a Rockefeller Fellow Class of 2000, and is a recipient of numerous awards and honors in the field of Community Development.  In 2003 she was named chairperson of the Harlem YMCA. Ms. Grier currently serves on the board of Neighborhood Restore; Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement; and 360 Clinton Avenue Tenants Association.  Her service to the Brooklyn community began in 1986 when she served as treasurer of Amboy Neighborhood Houses.

She has served as a volunteer or board member with the following organizations over the past 20 years:  the Board of Education District 13 Business Advisory Council; the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Colony South Brooklyn Houses, East New York Local Development Corp.,  Pratt Area Community Council,  Trickle Up, and Youth and Adult Service Coalition.   Ms. Grier moved to Brooklyn in 1980 and resides in Clinton Hill with her daughter Michelle.  She is a member of Emmanuel Baptist Church, the Reverend Anthony Trufant, Pastor.

Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers provides borough-wide mental health services to Brooklyn’s most vulnerable residents through its clinics in Bushwick, Canarsie, Flatbush-Sheepshead Bay, Williamsburg-Greenpoint, and downtown Brooklyn and the borough’s public schools. Its diverse staff of more than 100 professionals provide more than 60,000 visits annually to adults, seniors, children and their families. Public funding and government contracts comprise 90 percent of Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers’ income, but the remainder must be raised from the community. 

Honoree Bernell Grier, center, holding the Judge Robert J. Wilkin Award, pictured here with the members of the Brooklyn Psychiatric Centers Board of Trustees. Back row, left to right: Eddie Lightsey, Anne Maltz, Denise Arbesu, Farley Nachemin, and Joan Bartolomeo, chair.  Second row, left to right: Dr. Pamela Straker, president and CEO, Dawn Bennett, Jacqueline McMickens, and Ellen McCatty. Photo by Greg Mango.