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Soumen Ganguly and Sutanuka Lahiri's Inspiring Commitment

For Soumen Ganguly and Sutanuka Lahiri, The Brookline Center has been a steady presence in their lives, growing and evolving in parallel to their family.

Soumen and Sutanuka’s connection to The Brookline Center grew from a shared commitment to mental health and a desire to contribute meaningfully to their new community. Shortly after moving to Brookline in 2015, a friend invited them to their first Brookline Center Gala, where they were deeply moved by a young client’s story and the transformative impact of the Center’s care. Since then, their appreciation for accessible, high-quality mental health care—and for the Center’s role in providing it—has only deepened.

“A decade ago, people weren’t talking about mental health as much,” said Sutanuka. “Now, it’s a part of our everyday lives and an integral part of the conversation about a person’s overall wellbeing.”

A Multigenerational View of Mental Health

As parents to two children, Soumen and Sutanuka share a deep appreciation for the importance of youth mental health care—a pillar of the Center’s work that feels particularly personal at this stage in their lives. Their daughter, a little one when they first were introduced to the Center, is now a preteen, an age where mental health support is especially relevant and crucial.

“You’ll see a lot of folks involved with the Center who come in focused on adult mental health, and then have kids, and then as their kids grow, understand the importance of mental health at all ages and stages,” said Soumen.

This multigenerational view of mental health underlies Soumen and Sutanuka’s journey and the impact of the Center’s diverse programs and services.

“The connection to mental health for kids has become very personal for us through our daughter, her peers, and eventually our son,” Soumen shared.

Resilience in the Face of Change

As their family has evolved, Soumen and Sutanuka have witnessed The Brookline Center evolve as well: responding to new challenges, expanding its reach, and strengthening its impact. From navigating the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic to adapting amid shifting funding landscapes, they’ve seen firsthand how the Center’s commitment to accessible, high-quality care remains constant even as the world changes.

For them, this resilience is what defines The Brookline Center. Through every phase of life, and in every chapter of the organization’s growth, the community and staff continue to come together to meet challenges and create progress.

“In everyone I’ve interacted with from the Center over the years, I can still see the same hunger to drive change and do good,” Soumen said. “It always comes back to the question of ‘how do we do more of this’ across not just the Brookline community, but the greater Massachusetts community, and beyond.”