Happy Wednesday!
This is the Community Caring Collaborative Weekly Communiqué where we share announcements about trainings, meetings and other events, including announcements from our collaborative partners. Look for links to meeting minutes and agendas in the Meetings section, training registration forms and flyers in the Events section, and job postings and other items of interest in the Announcements section. Subscribe here to get the Communiqué. Make sure to add Community Caring Collaborative to your contacts at claurel@cccmaine.org. Gmail users, check for the Communiqué under the Promotions tab. This mailing goes out every Wednesday, so if you have announcements, please send them to Christine by 5 pm Monday to be included. Thanks!
Above photo courtesy of Charley Martin-Berry
Announcements
Calling all smokers! If you’re a current or former smoker, please consider being part of the Rural Maine Lung Health Study, led by Erika Ziller and Jean Talbot from the University of Southern Maine. Researchers are doing this study to understand rural Mainers’ ideas and experiences about smoking, lung cancer risks, and health care providers. As part of the study, we will hold a group discussion at 2 locations:
- Maine Seacoast Mission Downeast Campus EdGE Building, 7 Weald Bethal Lane in Cherryfield on Sunday June 25 from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm.
- Sunrise County Economic Council at 7 Ames Way in Machias on Monday June 26 from 11 am to 12:30 pm.
Each group member will receive a $40 Hannaford Gift Card and a $10 Irving Gas Card. Pizza will be served.
You may qualify to take part if you are:
• A current or former smoker
• Age 40 or older
• A resident of Washington County
• Someone who doesn’t go to the doctor often.
If this sounds like you, please call us today at (207) 228-8247 to see if you qualify. Ask for Zach.
Participation is voluntary, and you can decide which questions you want to answer. We will NOT try to get you to change what you think or how you live
Hancock CAN Council: Child and Family Opportunities has been selected by the Maine Children’s Trust to administer a Child Abuse and Neglect Council for Hancock County. CFO is currently awaiting a final agreement.
Registration is now open for the Addiction, Recovery & Workforce Summit: See details about this July 13th Summit in the Event section below.
Active Parenting Class starts next week: Free Active Parenting Education Class for Parents of children ages birth – 12. Class will be held over 4 Thursdays beginning June 15th from 5:30-7:30 pm at the Kay Parker Building. See flyer for details. Free dinner and childcare provided!
Free Summer Series: St. Croix Regional Health Center will be offering a Summer Series on Thursday afternoons from 1:30-2:30 p.m beginning June 1st. The series will offer a mix of interest sessions with guest presenters on a variety of engaging topics from health and wellness to financial protection and fascinating historical accounts. Light refreshments and a time for catching up with friends new and old will follow. This program is Free and open to all! For more information please contact Christine Morris at 796-5503.
Community Solutions Forum: June 15th – see Events Section for details
Passages accepting applications in Washington County: Passages at Wayfinder Schools is a home-based, high school diploma program for pregnant or parenting youth ages 14-20. For more information and an online application please visit their website or contact Fern Hilyard (255-1468).
Your announcement could go here: email the details to Christine by 5 pm Monday for inclusion in Wednesday’s Weekly Communiqué.
Events
Now listed chronologically, so make sure to scroll down for items just added!
Community Solutions Forum: Maine Equal Justice invites you to a community forum on child poverty and the economic forecast in our region and state. Hear from local experts and discuss what we can do today to improve the future for all of our kids, communities, and our local and state economy. June 15th, 2017 – 4:30 to 7:00 pm, at the Seaworthy Event Center, 23 Main St. Milbridge, Maine. See flyer for details.
LGBTQ Health Conference: Save the date of June 16th in Portland, ME, for the 2017 LGBTQ+ Health 
Conference on the theme of Trauma and Resiliency with keynote speaker, Sandy James, Survey Project Manager of the National Center for Transgender Equality. Conference information at Health Equity Alliance.
Three Stories of Hope & Resiliency: Join in a community conversation & suicide awareness training at the Sipayik Bingo Hall in Pleasant Point on June 18th from 5-8 pm. Hear stories of those with lived experience and be a part of a local action plan. No registration required. Brought to you by NAMI-Maine. Contact Nickie at 207-622-5767 Ext. 2312 or nickie@namimaine.org. Please circulate this flyer to people who might be interested.
Landlord Lunch Meeting: Landlords and property managers with rental units in Washington County are 
invited to a free lunch meeting on June 20th from 11-1 at the Kay Parker Building – yes, there is such a thing as a free lunch! The Community Caring Collaborative is excited to host this gathering to help connect two important groups: those with housing units to rent and those who help people become great tenants. The meeting will include a panel presentation from several organizations who offer supports for landlords, such as the Maine Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8). RSVP to Charley, or use this Landlord FAQ flyer.
ME Child Welfare Conference: Register now for the 23rd annual Maine Child Welfare Conference
in Bangor on June 22nd. This year’s theme is Tipping Points in Child Welfare: A Time of Hurt and a Time to Heal. Keynote Speaker, M. Elizabeth Ralston, PhD, LISW-CP, LFMT, will present “Why Do You Need to be Trauma Informed?” Conference details, agenda, registration info and more available on this flyer. Registration deadline is June 9th so don’t delay!
Active Bystander Training: ACLU of Maine has partnered with Prevention.Action.Change. to offer free
opportunities for Active Bystander Intervention Training open to the public age 16 and up. The training provides ways to address harassment whether you are the target or a witness. Participants will explore ways to de-escalate volatile situations and how to intervene directly, indirectly and through distraction. Saturday, June 24th, 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Bangor YMCA, 17 2nd Street. Register here.
Addiction, Recovery & the Workforce Summit: Registration is now open to business owners and hum
an resource staff for the July 13th Addiction, Recovery & the Workforce: a summit for Washington County businesses of all sizes. This is a free event from 8:30 to 3 pm in Science 102 at the University of Maine, Machias. Participants will learn and discuss challenges to hiring and employing people in recovery; hear strategies for success and dealing with challenges from a panel of experts; plus gain foundational information on addiction and available treatment and recovery supports. Registration is requested to help with planning food and materials. We are in the process of firming up our speaker lineup and will keep you posted. New flyer with more info – please circulate to business owners/HR managers you know. More information about the summit is available at the event site.
Save the Date: Sue O’Clair of MaineHousing invites you to save the date of September 22nd for the 2017 Maine Affordable Housing Conference at the Holiday Inn By the Bay in Portland. This event will provide a forum for housing partners to gather and share information about what is being done currently – and what more needs to be done – in the affordable housing arena to bridge the gap between housing needs and housing availability. There will be a mix of keynote speakers and workshops to choose from that will be targeted to all partner groups. MaineHousing is still pulling together info on the conference agenda and speakers and hopes to have more info and a registration portal ready to go by June 1st.
Needs & Offers
Ellsworth CFO job openings: Child and Family Opportunities is expanding its services in Ellsworth and has multiple openings for:
- Preschool Teachers working with children 3-5 years of age
- Assistant Preschool Teachers
- Infant/Toddler Caregivers working with children 6 weeks to 3 years of age
CFO is also searching for a Preschool Team Leader at the Ellsworth Early Care and Education Center. Visit CFO’s website for job descriptions and application forms.
Oil Tank Programs: The Maine Dept of Environmental Protection (DEP) is running a campaign to alert people to dangers posed by old, leaky oil tanks that includes a helpline to call if you suspect your oil tank might be leaky or in need of replacement. DEP also has several programs providing financial assistance to help pay for replacement oil tanks. Read this brochure for details.
Transition Coach Needed: Family Futures Downeast is hiring a Transitions Coach to work with students as they continue onto Year 2 in FFD. The job description and application instructions are available here.
2 Job Offers: The Maine Migrant Health Program (MMHP) is now hiring! We are recruiting for a DownEast Program Manager and a Community Health Worker (CHW III) for Aroostook County. Please feel free to share across your personal networks with anyone you think might be interested.
Volunteer Drivers Needed: WHCA is looking for volunteer drivers. Benefits include flexible hours, reimbursement at 44 cents a mile, AAA Plus at no coast to you. Volunteers must be at least 25 years old, have a valid, clean Maine driver’s license for 3 years, have a reliable, clean vehicle, and live in Hancock or Washington County. Call or email Joceyln Storey, WHCA’s Volunteer Coordinator, at 207-610-5940 or jstorey@whcacap.org, M-F, 8-5 pm.
Send us your agency/community needs or offers, such as job recruiting or housing needs.
Updates
This is where we post updates on programs, initiatives and pending legislation.
Thriving in Place Updates:
Status on 2 bills impacting elders and their service providers forwarded by Jessica Maurer from the Maine Association of Area Agencies on Aging:
- The Governor has vetoed LD 832: “An Act To Carry Out the Will of the People of the State of Maine by Ensuring the Issuance of Bonds To Support the Independence of Maine’s Seniors.” As you know, two years ago a super majority of the Legislature passed a bond for $15 million to build affordable senior housing and to fund home repair efforts. The bond was approved by nearly 70% of the voters. The Governor has refused to issue the bond, which is a statutory obligation which LD 832 amends, just for these bonds.
- The Health and Human Services Committee passed L.D. 1466, “An Act To Address Severe and Ongoing Shortfalls in the Funding of Direct Care Workers in Long-term Care Settings and to Establish the Commission To Study Long-term Care Workforce Issues.” The bill is being considered this week in the House and Senate. This legislation fully funds a gravely needed increase for home and community based direct care workers and provides a 10% rate increase to long term care providers across the continuum (Nursing Homes, PNMIs, Adult Day, Homemaker Services, Home Health) to ensure that workers across the continuum are being incented to remain in their jobs. It provides for a cost of living adjustment in year two of the budget. It also creates a Commission to study workforce issues. In order for the LD 1466 to move forward, it must be funded. The Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee and Legislative Leaders will soon have to decide which social services they are going to fund in the budget. Based on today’s staffing crisis, long term care services must be a priority. Now is the time to make your voice heard.
Jessica encourages people to email members of the Appropriations Committee and Legislative Leaders to request that they fully fund LD 1466.
Meetings
Work Group & Poverty Busters: Read minutes from the May 3rd meeting. These groups are meeting this Wednesday, June 7th, from 1 – 3:30 pm at the SCEC House. Guest speaker is Shannon Emery from Fedcap.
St Croix Community Connections: This is Poverty Buster’s sister group in Calais, organized by Christine Morris. This group meets monthly – new members welcome!
Photo Courtesy of Downeast Dilettante