U.S. Sen. Blumenthal and Community Leaders Honor Nonprofit Behavioral Healthcare Provider CHR
ENFIELD, Conn. — Nonprofit behavioral healthcare provider Community Health Resources (CHR) recently returned to its original location in Enfield to celebrate its 60th anniversary and thank community leaders for their friendship and support through the years.
“We’re grateful to all of you for standing with CHR, believing in our mission of providing lifesaving care to people of all ages, and recognizing the importance of mental health,” said Heather Gates, President and CEO of CHR.
When CHR was founded in Enfield in 1966, the agency was known as the Greater Enfield Mental Health Center and provided outpatient counseling services for residents of Enfield and surrounding towns. The Enfield Street location originally housed all administrative and clinical offices. Today, that site is home to CHR’s Enfield Hub, which provides recovery-focused social rehabilitation services for adults who receive care at CHR.
“We were founded to fulfill a specific need in Enfield and have grown through the years to meet the needs of children, families, and adults from cities and towns across Connecticut,” Gates added, noting that CHR continues to provide a broad range of mental health, substance use, parenting support, housing, and other services in the greater Enfield community.
“The world was very different in 1966, and people were just beginning to understand the importance of providing dignified, quality behavioral healthcare services in outpatient and community-based locations,” she said. Today, CHR has more than 30 locations across central and eastern CT, has been named a Top Workplace among large employers for 13 consecutive years, and is the most comprehensive behavioral health system in the state.
“My message today is to thank you for all you’ve done through the years and the work you continue to do to help people across Connecticut,” added special guest U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
During the reception, Gates and Sen. Blumenthal recognized the following people and organizations for their longstanding support of CHR and its mission:
- Phil Tartsinis, of Professional Properties of Enfield and AMF Management Corporation, who supports CHR through philanthropy and advocacy.
- Jane Garibay of Windsor, who has always championed funding for mental health and substance use services on the state level.
- The Town of Enfield for their continued support from the time of CHR’s inception.
- Former CHR Board Chair Betty Domer was posthumously honored for her strong support for CHR during pivotal years in the agency’s history. Her award was accepted by CHR’s current Board Chair, Miranda Muro of CT Foodshare.
In the year ahead, CHR will host community celebrations at several of its locations throughout central and eastern CT. “We would not be as strong as we are today without community support and look forward to celebrating 60 years of caring with the communities we serve,” Gates added.
About CHR: With a broad range of services for children, families, and adults whose lives have been touched by mental illness, addiction, trauma, and homelessness, CHR is the state’s most comprehensive nonprofit behavioral healthcare provider. In addition, CHR was the first nonprofit in CT to meet all the rigorous federal criteria as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic and has repeatedly been named among the Top Workplaces in the state. Learn more at www.chrhealth.org.
November 5, 2026
For more information, contact mmcguire@chrhealth.org.