Looking Ahead Clubhouse Director Christine Berry is retiring and moving to Florida with her husband. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — Last week, Christine Berry was sitting through a series of job interviews, part of a team effort to find a replacement for the position she’s held for the past decade.

As she readies to retire after 35 years in the field of behavioral health, she said its bittersweet.

Berry, the director of the Looking Ahead Clubhouse, a program for adults with mental illness, has undoubtedly made a mark on the mental health field in Maine. She’s responsible for establishing three clubhouse programs across the state, based on an international rehabilitation model that prioritizes social and education wellness, and employment opportunities.

Berry said she’s believed in the clubhouse model because of its emphasis on reducing the stigma surrounding mental health. She said it’s been successful due to “the supportive relationships that are formed in clubhouse communities.”

“We teach, mentor, guide and support others to reach their full potential and to live happy, fulfilled lives,” she said. “I have had the honor and privilege for the past 25 years to work with the most kind, compassionate and motivated individuals.”

Berry said last week that she’s “definitely emotional” about leaving the job and her career in mental health, but said she’s “excited to pursue other opportunities and the next chapter in my life.” She and her husband recently completed building a home in Florida, which also coincided with her husband landing a new job there.

Berry graduated from the University of Maine Farmington in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in rehabilitation, and immediately began working in the mental health field.

She spent the first nine years of her career assisting people with mental health disabilities pursue employment, but was hired in 1996 by Kennebec Behavioral Health to start the first clubhouse program in Maine, the High Hopes Clubhouse in Waterville. In 2002, she started the Capitol Clubhouse in Augusta, and in 2012, Kenebec Behavioral Health asked her to start the third clubhouse in Maine — the Looking Ahead Clubhouse in Lewiston. A fourth, the Village Clubhouse, is in Topsham.

A recent statement from officials at Clubhouse International recognized Berry’s retirement and her role in growing clubhouse programs in Maine.

“The outcomes from Looking Ahead Clubhouse as well as other Maine Clubhouses have served as inspiration to other states looking to emulate the employment rates and other ways that you have dramatically improved members’ lives,” the statement said.

Jason Lavoie, who has been a member of the Looking Ahead Clubhouse for seven years, said Berry’s impact in Lewiston and in Maine can’t be overstated.

He said on top of running the program, she truly cares about the people she works with, whether it’s finding a last-minute tie for a job interview or a bus pass for a member to get to work.

Lavoie is an educational technician who has worked for a number of years with special needs children in Lewiston and Auburn. He’s also been involved in local politics, running for a School Committee seat in 2021.

“She’s been there for our members,” he said. “She’s a compassionate human who believes a person is not defined by the label of mental health.”

Tom McAdam, CEO of Kennebec Behavioral Health, said, “We are so fortunate to have had Christine make a difference in hundreds, if not thousands of people’s lives as a clubhouse director. She has been able to help people knit together employment and a productive life while at the same time navigating the challenges that sometimes come with mental health issues.”

Berry said the job has also given back to her. She’s celebrated with members when they graduate from high school or college, find a job, move into a new apartment, obtain a driver’s license and more, she said.

“We celebrate everything in the clubhouse, which is what makes working in a clubhouse such a wonderful place,” she said.

Asked why she committed to mental health work for so long, she said she long ago realized that not everyone experiences a supportive and positive upbringing. So, she simply wanted to help.

“I have the reputation of being a cheerleader — I actually was a cheerleader for six years in school — so I wanted to assist others to recognize their strengths, talents and abilities rather than focusing on their mental illness,” she said.