Last spring, the John T. Gorman Foundation awarded $1 million to 71 organizations through its annual Direct Services Grant Program. Since then, grantees have done exceptional work to help low-income Mainers meet their essential needs amid the challenges of a prolonged pandemic. Here in their own words, a sample of grantees offer updates and snapshots of their work this year.
Thank you to all our 2021 Direct Services Grantees – it is a privilege to support your efforts!
The Kinship Program at Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine, Inc. (AFFM) has worked to meet immediate needs for kinship families – grandparents, aunts, uncles and other family members – while providing non-judgmental, empathetic listening peer support. “I feel humbled every day in the conversations I have with Kinship Families and the challenges they face,” said one kinship specialist. “They are so hesitant to ask for anything, but are very appreciative to receive funding to assist with such things as vehicle repairs, oil in their tank, or a Hannaford card for food as all their money was spent on bills.”
A Head Start student in Aroostook County enjoys the first snowfall of the season. ACAP is committed to ensuring that children and their families have the resources that they need to grow and thrive. The Family Safety Program allows our team to work with the family to build an individualized plan to ensure that the household has what they need to ensure every member of the home is safe.
Due to pandemic needs, Augusta Food Bank (AFB) took in and distributed more food to households and children than ever in 2020 – up 33% over 2019. The need continues to grow, with numbers up another 25% through the first half of 2021. In fact, we’re providing the equivalent of more than 50,000 meals – every month! In July, customers were invited back inside for our AFB Marketplace program where shoppers are able to self-select their food items. In addition, every Thursday, 60-70 cars line our parking lot and along Mt. Vernon Avenue to attend our Free Food Thursday program.
Grant funding has assisted the Belfast Public Health Nursing Association in delivering tangible supports to vulnerable individuals across Waldo County, helping them obtain health care, make ends meet and live with dignity. Funding has helped obtain medical devices and medications not paid by insurance for low-income individuals; paid for repairs, heating fuel, and equipment to ensure the homes of vulnerable community members are safe; covered transportation costs to medical appointments; and addressed basic nutritional needs for young children, older people, and those with chronic illness.
Bridging the Gap, like most organizations, has found new levels of resilience and nimbleness throughout the year in order to keep the doors open and community needs met. As the Warming Center season approaches, we are busier than we have been in over a year. We have served over 2,000 individuals so far in 2021 and have seen many new faces visiting Addie’s Attic Clothing Bank, Everyday Basic Essentials, Hygiene Pantry, and the Drop-In Center or requesting resource connection and support. Day in and day out, we strike the balance between supporting immediate needs and addressing long-term solutions.
Since the beginning effects of the pandemic were felt, Castine Area Relief Fund (CARF) has delivered weekly groceries to families experiencing food insecurity on the Blue Hill Peninsula. As of Week 76, over 1,000 bags have been distributed, representing 15,300 meals. Many families have notified us there is no longer a need – some have referred us to neighbors in need, and when the parents of four children found work, they made a $200 contribution to CARF. But the need continues!
The Christine B. Foundation (CBF) has been making incredible strides towards its goal of offering medically tailored nutrition assistance to Mainers affected by cancer. We are anticipating in 2021 that over 70,000 meals will be offered at no cost to 1,300 Mainers, spanning 240 towns of the vast landscape of eastern Maine. This wonderful video offers a great look at the services and support we offer.
For veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, timely, housing-focused emergency financial assistance can make all the difference. In one instance, Easterseals Maine Military & Veterans Services (ESME MVS) was notified about an 81-year-old veteran who was living in his car with severe health issues. While a partnering organization worked to address his health care needs and locate safe, permanent housing, ESME MVS was able to provide the veteran with a seven-night stay in a hotel. The veteran is now safely housed, engaged in services to promote his wellbeing, and is working with a physician to address his medical issues.
Since receiving grant funding last spring, we have been able to continue to provide quality primary care accounting for about 500 patient visits to date. Operational grants are invaluable to us because they mean we can keep our doors open and continue seeing uninsured and underinsured patients, as we have done since 1993. Because of the generosity of donors and supporters, we have expanded our services for the benefit and welfare of the patients we serve.
This summer and fall, ILAP has joined with partner organizations and members of Maine’s Afghan community to help get their loved ones to safety. We have triaged more than 100 cases, many for humanitarian parole, and are now placing them with staff and pro bono attorneys. We are also preparing to support the legal needs of up to 100 Afghan evacuees who will be welcomed to our communities in the coming months. To coordinate this work, we have added a part-time contract attorney to our team and remain committed to supporting Afghan families in their pursuit of safety and unity.
We recently held an event to raise awareness and support for the clients we are supporting in the Midcoast area with shelter, case management services, housing navigation, and wraparound services. On September 24, we invited our supporters and community members to camp out on the Camden Green to experience “One Night Without a Home.” Even for September, it was a cold and rainy night, reminding us that one night is too many. The luminaries represent each of the clients/families we are serving (over 600 people) who are currently homeless or recently housed and recovering their stability. More than half of these are children and youth.
The Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association is pleased to celebrate the milestone of having donated over 250,000 meals of fresh, local seafood to Maine schools, food banks, and community groups as a part of their Fishermen Feeding Mainers program. The program began during the pandemic to support local fishermen who lost market for their catch and provide healthy meals to those facing food insecurity in Maine. With generous support from multiple sources, MCFA has been able to purchase fish directly from fishermen, support working waterfront businesses, and provide fresh seafood to over 60 organizations throughout the state.
Maine Inside Out (MIO), an advocacy and arts program for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated youth, is preparing to open a community site in Lewiston, a pilot for future sites in communities with MIO youth leaders. Program alumni have stepped into staff roles, facilitating art workshops and preparing for leadership roles in the Lewiston site. The advocacy and support team continues to show up for crises, connect people with resources, and advocate for humanity and dignity in our legal and social systems. And MIO artists continue to build networks of peer support to navigate the challenges of re-entry, employment discrimination, poverty, and a lack of access to quality education, housing, and health care.
Mid Coast Hunger Prevention Program’s Mobile Pantries reduce barriers and increase access to our services for community members in rural neighboring towns. This year, in an effort to bring food closer to home, MCHPP continued to offer a Mobile Pantry at Lisbon High School, we expanded our service hours at the Harpswell Town Office, and our program staff launched a new pantry at the Bowdoin Central School.
As students return to a full-time school year for the first time since before COVID, we have been focusing on social-emotional health. We have been taking advantage of the gorgeous weather and the mental health benefits of physical activity. Here, Lawrence Kovacs, a local educator who helps in our outdoor after-school programs, leads students on a bike ride. Not only did they enjoy this ride, they also met a birdwatcher along the way who helped them spot bald eagles – an unexpected treasure!
Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, Rockland District Nursing Association nurses have been driving 800 miles per month (63% increase over pre-pandemic levels), making 20% more in-home nursing visits to area elderly and medically vulnerable residents. This constant pace stretches the tried-and-true district nursing model, proving that it remains resilient and effective a century on.
On September 28, Safe Voices announced a campaign to create a comprehensive domestic violence and sex trafficking resource center in the heart of downtown Lewiston. This new, 12,000-square-foot space will feature a Program Hub that includes a community kitchen and family lounge, as well as a Free Boutique where survivors can access household items, and a fully tech-enabled Training Center.
The Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) of York County is a program of Sexual Assault Response Services of Southern Maine (SARSSM). Using a research-based national model, the CAC provides specialized forensic interviews of children involved in child sexual abuse investigations in a child-friendly, neutral space. Our Family Advocates also work to connect families with resources and services for long-term healing. The CAC partners with law enforcement, child protective services, the District Attorney’s office, mental health agencies, civil legal aid, and victim services to reduce trauma to children and hold more offenders accountable.
Basic needs and subsistence issues are some of the greatest challenges our residents and clients with serious mental illness face. This year, our Basic Needs Fund provided 150 clients and residents with financial support for a range of needs, including food and clothing, prescription co-payments, medical procedures and supplies, dental procedure costs, dentures, apartment applications fees, security deposits, back rent, heating bills, moving costs, vet expenses and many other expenses. Once these needs have been met, people’s lives become more stable and they are able to address personal goals, receive services and appropriate treatment, and once again become a vital part of our community.
Established in 1994 to serve meals to our neighbors in need, the Table of Plenty continues its mission in Berwick, Kittery and surrounding communities, welcoming any and all with a delicious, nutritious meal and warm fellowship. Since May of 2020, due to the pandemic, the Table of Plenty has been serving the communities with take-home meals only. The number of guests has increased over 70% from prior years, the need for packaging has increased costs significantly, and fundraising has been challenged. But grant funds through foundations and organizations – and the dedication of our volunteers – have allowed us to stay financially viable and continue our mission of feeding our neighbors in need.
Through These Doors is the domestic violence resource center serving victims and survivors of domestic abuse in Cumberland County. In this photograph, Through These Doors Housing and Resource Advocates wave goodbye to a shelter resident moving out of the shelter and into her own home. One woman who left shelter in May told us, “Without the support of the strong women advocates at the shelter I would not be where I am today.” These are the happiest moments of our work – witnessing the incredible strength and resilience of survivors of abuse.
We had a busy summer here at the Trinity Jubilee Center! Our Soup Kitchen served nearly 10,000 meals, our Food Pantry handed out over 1,000 boxes of groceries and 10,000 diapers, and our Summer Food Service Program distributions put nearly 80,000 meals into the hands of hungry kids in Lewiston-Auburn! We were also busy helping people with resume-writing and job applications, immigration and childcare paperwork, giving out toiletries and clean socks, lending the use of our phone and printer, and running our homeless shelter. We ended the summer by giving away over 700 brand new backpacks to schoolkids!
Twin Villages Foodbank Farm is busy harvesting thousands of pounds of carrots, cabbage, winter squash and peppers in the fields. We are on track to grow 45,000 pounds of fresh food for seven food pantries and several youth programs in Lincoln County. This week, we had 40 sixth graders from Great Salt Bay School help us harvest our fall storage carrots, which we will hold in our Food Hub and distribute through January to our neighbors who need it most.
Things are busy at Veggies to Table. Frost is near but the weather has held, allowing us to keep growing and donating even more produce. This season, we have successfully donated over 14,000 pounds of produce. Also, throughout this season, we have donated over 1,300 flower bouquets to the Maine CDC, Togus the VA Medical Center, Lincoln Health and to our local partners.