By Laura Bailey
TERRYVILLE-When Pat Stebbins began passing out water on hot days in downtown Bristol, she wasn’t planning on starting a nonprofit organization. The Bristol resident was looking for a way to help those in immediate need and ended up doing so on a larger scale.
“Brian’s Angels was a happy accident. I was out there one hot August day; someone who saw what I was doing said that they wanted to help. They handed me $500, and that’s what started it all. I thought of my son Brian, whom I had lost to suicide after a period of homelessness and founded the organization in his memory.”
Volunteers donated their time on Saturday to the benefit, including all members of the six musical acts: The Remnants, Country Steel, Blondie & Beyond, Katrina & Mark, LB4, and Jeff Suma and the Roasters.
Rock Steady Production’s Eric Smith joined forces with Michael Cansdale of Big Mac Productions to organize and promote the event. The former ESPN producer was happy to volunteer his time for what he feels is an important cause.
“Homelessness is a big problem, and they [Brian’s Angel’s] provide a good service for people in need,” said Smith. “We’ve got five great bands for this year’s event and perfect weather. It doesn’t get much better.”
Brian’s Angel’s provides food, clothing, and temporary shelter to those in need. The nonprofit organization has grown tremendously over the past seven years and is currently helping 30-50 clients a day. Stebbins has seen a large uptick in clients since the eviction moratorium expired last summer and hopes to put the funds raised from the benefit towards a move.
“We need a bigger space; we probably need to double our square footage. We were helping around 20 clients a day during Covid and now it’s usually double that.”
With a bigger space, Brian’s Angel’s will be able to help more clients like Demetrius Hernandez, who is grateful for Stebbins and all the volunteers.
“I’ve been here since March 26th and they’ve all been so welcoming. I relapsed a while ago and Pat has been so encouraging. She tells me to keep going and I’m thankful for her support; I just love her. I’m doing well right now thanks to them.”
For more information, visit briansangels.org
