After a recent event which gathered feedback from longtime supporters, Monadnock Family Services is looking to increase partnerships with other community organizations, including veterans’ organizations, fire and police departments, faith organizations and schools.

About 45 people, including Keene Mayor Jay Kahn and Peterborough Fire Chief Ed Walker, attended the event.

“In these uncertain times, when things are changing so fast, we are taking time to really listen. We are co-designing the future, not just for the community, but with the community, and we will continue to do these events,” said Kayla Szczesiul, MFS’ director of development.

Szczesiul said her team will use suggestions and feedback from the event to chart a course for MFS in the years ahead.

“We’ve already talked about how we are going to implement this information into our five-year plan. Some of these suggestions for partnerships were more obvious, and things we are already doing, such as partnering with other social service organizations and hospitals, but others were surprises, and things we had not thought about as much,” said Szczesiul.

Attendees suggested a total of 42 local and regional organizations who could potentially partner with MFS to better serve the organization’s mission of providing mental health support and services. The interactive, charrette-style meeting was the first event of its kind for MFS.

“We had people say this was not something they had experienced previously with MFS and that they really felt it was valuable. We have the spent the last week looking at the results and really digging down what our supporters are saying,” Szczesiul said. “The biggest surprise about this event was that everybody was so excited about being engaged with us, and that people are so optimistic about our future.”

At the June 12 event, longstanding MFS supporters and advisors known as the agency’s “incorporators” took part in an interactive exercise. Attendees were given sticky notes and asked to provide feedback on MFS’ strengths, to suggest how the organization can serve clients better and to list any organizations who might be potential partners in carrying out the mission.

Szczesiul, who has led similar events for decades, said the June 12 event was exceptional .

“When we looked at the Post-its and saw what people had written down for ‘strengths,’ we realized that seven people out of 45 had written down the name of our CEO, Dr. Melinda Asbury, as a strength. I’ve done this type of event many times, all over the world, and I have never seen that before in my life. That is a real testament to our CEO and the work she is doing,” Szczesiul said.

The event was organized both to introduce several new leaders at the agency and to get input from incorporators during a challenging time for nonprofit organizations nationwide.

“The changing landscape of public funding is here, and it is not going away any time soon. It is hard to know what to expect and what we can rely on,” Szczesiul said. “We provide accountability-driven mental health services; that is our driving force. We don’t do things that don’t work. We have data that backs up everything we do.”

Gina Burke, MFS’ director of marketing, said that the agency “has quite a legacy in this state.”

“We have around since 1905, and we are the oldest community mental health facility in New Hampshire. The next-oldest organization was not formed until the 1960s,” Burke said.

Asbury, who was formerly MFS’ chief medical officer, became interim executive officer in January.

“The impact Doctor Asbury has had in the few months she has been here has been significant. We have increased on how many people we served, especially with severe psychoses,” Szczetiul said. “One of things Doctor Asbury was able to do was to connect with her network and work with the State of New Hampshire to expand the definition of early onset psychoses, and to expand the age group of diagnosis.”

Also new to the MFS team are Chris Taggart, community program development manager, and Karen Johnson, new chief operating officer.

“Attending my first incorporator meeting as the MFS chief operating officer was a fantastic experience,” Johnson said. “It was such a pleasure to meet and talk with such passionate and dedicated supporters of MFS. It brought me much joy and pride to be part of an organization, providing much-needed care for patients in our community struggling with mental health issues.”

Johnson felt the feedback gathered at the charrette will be essential to MFS going forward.

“As part of the meeting, the attendees participated in brainstorming for ideas of how to improve MFS services, what’s working well, and what other community organizations with whom MFS may partner. The feedback was extremely helpful with lots of great ideas. I’m so excited to be part of MFS and truly appreciate partnering with our community donors and volunteers to address the needs of our patients,” Johnson said.

Taggart said it was meaningful to see the community support for MFS.

“The incorporator meeting was my introduction to how strong and diverse the support for MFS is. It’s inspirational just how many people care for this profoundly important agency,” he said.

Szczesiul said that creating new community partnerships will be at the top of her list for 2025.

“Finding new partnerships, acting on these suggestions and incorporating the feed back from our community supporters are going to be a direct focus of what Chris and I will are doing over the next year,” Szczesiul said.

Founded in 1905, Keene-based MFS is the oldest mental health service agency in the Monadnock region and provides services to 35 towns. MFS, which is one of 10 community-based health centers in New Hampshire, serves the Peterborough area at 9 Vose Farm Road. People seeking services should call 603-924-7236. People needing help with mental health emergencies should call 988 from a New Hampshire phone number and 833-710-6477 from other area codes.