PROVIDENCE – Michael Reis, a De Lasalle Christian brother who founded Tides Family Services Inc. in the early 1980s to help address needs of at-risk children in the Ocean State, died Sunday at the age of 81, Tides Family Services announced Monday in an X post.
Born in 1942 in Queens, N.Y., Reis, according to his bio on Tides Family Services’ website, started working in the early 1970s directly with at-risk youth and families as a supervisor for three group homes in New York’s Queens and Bronx boroughs. Then, in 1974, Reis came to Rhode Island and co-founded Ocean Tides, a residential treatment facility where he was the organization’s inaugural CEO, the bio states.
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Nine years later, Reis established Tides Family Services thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence and a $5,000 grant from the Governor’s Justice Commission at the time. Since then, the organization, it said, has grown to having more than 140 staffers serve more than 500 youth daily. Such services Tides Family Services offers include family and group counseling, home visitations, educational and court advocacy and other services.
Reis in 2018 transitioned from CEO to being Tides Family Services’ chief visionary officer and handed the reins over to Beth Bixby – who is still the organization’s CEO. The organization posted that Reis’ spirit and commitment for Rhode Island’s most vulnerable children has “been our guiding light.”
“Brother Michael was a true advocate for children and could be described as relentless when he set out on a path to create change,” Tides Family Services posted. “Brother Michael’s legacy will forever inspire us in our mission to offer hope for a brighter future to those we serve. His legacy lives on in all of us and the lives he transformed.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
