Patricia Andriole
A New Britain native, Patricia Corrigan Andriole earned degrees from Hospital of Saint Raphael School of Nursing (three-year nursing degree), University of North Carolina (Bachelor of Nursing), and Catholic University in Washington, D.C. (Master’s Degree) and worked as a staff nurse at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Since her arrival in Branford in 1963, Pat has been actively involved in the community in a wide range of activities: PTA Council (past president), Branford Garden Club (past president), Branford Festival Committee (assistant treasurer and residential fundraising chair). She is currently on the boards of Camp Totoket, the School-Based Health Center, and Branford Rotary Club, among others. It seems that each new venture the town under takes or each new challenge it faces somehow finds Pat at the center.
For more than thirty years Pat has devoted her life, above all, to educating the citizens of Branford to mental health issues and improving the quality of life for those who are most in need. Her ability to relate to those in need, to inspire confidence in those who have lost all hope, and to maintain a positive outlook in the most dismal circumstances, have become her legacy. Her always-present smile and can-do attitude have become her trademark.
Today, Pat is well known as the director of the Branford Counseling Center, but few realize that she has been the driving force behind the Counseling Center since it was first conceived. In the early 1970's, Branford was hard hit by a number of teenage deaths related to drug and alcohol use. While everyone mourned the loss of life, it was Pat, the Chair of Branford's Drug Use Committee, who recognized that preventive measures were needed to ward off future losses. She hired Brian Lynch to do a study, and the results to the formation of a 24-hour-a-day "Help Line" that would be staffed by volunteers.
Pat raised money and asked the town for funds to hire a part-time social worker to train and organize the Help Line volunteers. When the town said yes, Brian Lynch took the job. The Help Line was an immediate success and opened the eyes of the community to the need for a full-time facility that could work with those in need over an extended period of time. Pat led the fight for funding; and when the Branford town fathers balked at the cost, Pat personally organized several hundred citizens to pack the town budget meeting to demand the funds to create the Branford Counseling Center.
During the early years of the Counseling Center, she remained the volunteer Chairperson of the Board. She put in countless hours, but it took a lot of convincing to get Pat to finally accept a paying position. Her work as a counselor is legendary. She has made herself available to every crisis the town has faced. She has instituted preventive programs to relieve stress and build confidence. She has worked with children, the elderly, and everyone in between. Her finest work will never be known because of confidentiality and her own humility.
Pat was instrumental in acquiring the present location and funding for the Branford Counseling Center building. She was also the driving force behind converting the old Police Station into the Volunteer Services Center, which she also chairs. She used her discreet powers of persuasion to convince numerous individuals and organizations to devote their time, skills, and finances into this conversion.
Pat has been the voice for those who cannot speak for themselves, and she has educated all of us in the process. The other boards on which she serves and the numerous awards and recognition she has received beyond this community exceed the space available. Not only her countless hours of service to the town, but also her personal commitment to the people she has helped, have made Branford a much better-and a more humane and compassionate-place for our children, our families, and ourselves.
For more than thirty years Pat has devoted her life, above all, to educating the citizens of Branford to mental health issues and improving the quality of life for those who are most in need. Her ability to relate to those in need, to inspire confidence in those who have lost all hope, and to maintain a positive outlook in the most dismal circumstances, have become her legacy. Her always-present smile and can-do attitude have become her trademark.
Today, Pat is well known as the director of the Branford Counseling Center, but few realize that she has been the driving force behind the Counseling Center since it was first conceived. In the early 1970's, Branford was hard hit by a number of teenage deaths related to drug and alcohol use. While everyone mourned the loss of life, it was Pat, the Chair of Branford's Drug Use Committee, who recognized that preventive measures were needed to ward off future losses. She hired Brian Lynch to do a study, and the results to the formation of a 24-hour-a-day "Help Line" that would be staffed by volunteers.
Pat raised money and asked the town for funds to hire a part-time social worker to train and organize the Help Line volunteers. When the town said yes, Brian Lynch took the job. The Help Line was an immediate success and opened the eyes of the community to the need for a full-time facility that could work with those in need over an extended period of time. Pat led the fight for funding; and when the Branford town fathers balked at the cost, Pat personally organized several hundred citizens to pack the town budget meeting to demand the funds to create the Branford Counseling Center.
During the early years of the Counseling Center, she remained the volunteer Chairperson of the Board. She put in countless hours, but it took a lot of convincing to get Pat to finally accept a paying position. Her work as a counselor is legendary. She has made herself available to every crisis the town has faced. She has instituted preventive programs to relieve stress and build confidence. She has worked with children, the elderly, and everyone in between. Her finest work will never be known because of confidentiality and her own humility.
Pat was instrumental in acquiring the present location and funding for the Branford Counseling Center building. She was also the driving force behind converting the old Police Station into the Volunteer Services Center, which she also chairs. She used her discreet powers of persuasion to convince numerous individuals and organizations to devote their time, skills, and finances into this conversion.
Pat has been the voice for those who cannot speak for themselves, and she has educated all of us in the process. The other boards on which she serves and the numerous awards and recognition she has received beyond this community exceed the space available. Not only her countless hours of service to the town, but also her personal commitment to the people she has helped, have made Branford a much better-and a more humane and compassionate-place for our children, our families, and ourselves.