Center for Community Resources connects residents to care and resources
Barbara Scott-Mazza left and Tia Thompson
Barbara Scott-Mazza is Center for Community Resources’ director of programs.
Phil Kosciuszko, Lisa Taggart, center, and Tabitha Walters speak during a recent meeting.
Valerie Benson, right, and Bobbie Condie work on a project.
By Rick Shrum
Barb Scott-Mazza was a newly hired employee when the Center for Community Resources opened a Washington County office in 2018. And the organization, likewise, was new to her. “When I was asked to take this position, I had never heard of CCR,” said Scott-Mazza, who was born and raised in the county.
The agency was younger and leaner at the time but maturing. Scott-Mazza, who has extensive experience in the mental-health field, has witnessed that expansion firsthand. She is now well-versed in the ABCs of CCR – and impressed by its operations.
“We have a footprint in all 67 counties in Pennsylvania,” said Scott-Mazza, director of programs for the nonprofit’s operations in downtown Washington. “And we continue to grow and expand. Washington became familiar with CCR because of the supports we offer to the community.”
Center for Community Resources, which launched in 2002, is marking 20 years of providing supportive services for individuals and families seeking information, referral and service coordination through a single contact. It is a statewide services organization.
CCR was operating for nearly 16 years when Washington County Behavioral Health and Developmental Services contracted with the agency to provide services exclusively for county residents. CCR runs from the Crossroads Building at 95 W. Beau St.
The Washington location provides five categories of services: Student Assistance Program; Mental Health Service Coordination; Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Supports Coordination; Adult Autism Waiver; and the Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255), which is 24/7.
“We cover the full gamut,” said Scott-Mazza, director of the Administrative Case Management Department and the Student Assistance Program for the county.
Scott-Mazza, who has more than three decades of experience in the mental-health field, heads a staff of 16. Many of those employees, she said, are county residents and have been in the field for 25 years plus.
Her colleague, Ashley Hershberger, is in charge of Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities Supports Coordination and Adult Autism Waiver in Washington and leads her own staff. She also provides services in multiple counties.
CCR also rents space in Charleroi and the Fredericktown area and uses space at Cornerstone Care (Burgettstown area) and Claysville Family Practice. The nonprofit’s corporate offices are in Butler.
The Washington office is the proverbial beehive of activity, to be sure. Scott-Mazza said she, Hershberger and their staffs provide services to “thousands and thousands of individuals (annually) – “about 800 to 900 a month.”
Those clients must reside in Washington County, although the local office will assist callers elsewhere. “We provide information and resources,” Scott-Mazza said. “We don’t turn anyone down.” (There also is a Greene County office on West High Street in Waynesburg.)
Functioning during a global pandemic has been a two-year-long challenge for businesses, restaurants, agencies – just about any enterprise. Scott-Mazza, however, said the Washington County operation has efficiently persevered.
“I’d like to say (the pandemic) took everyone by surprise, but it didn’t. We’ve remained fully functional and operational during the pandemic. We’ve never closed our doors. We’ve offered services in telehealth, answered the phones every day, handled intakes, provided screenings. We’ve never skipped a beat.”
Center for Community Resources has continued to provide services and expand its outreach and staffing at a time of need. Scott-Mazza estimates that the agency employs about 300 statewide, which could very well increase.
Indeed, the Washington County native has learned a lot about her employer over the past four years and the services it provides locally and across the commonwealth.
Scott-Mazza is impressed and proud of CCR. “It’s a pretty amazing organization to work for.”
Individuals and families with members who have intellectual disability, autism, mental health or learning needs may contact the Center for Community Resources for assistance by calling 724-914-3058 or visiting ccrinfo.org.