Nami Maine invites you to a Mental Health First Aid training at Machias Savings Bank from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm on June 22nd.  This is a skills-based training teaching how to respond to adults struggling with a mental health challenge.  Register here.  Download a flyer to share.

WUMM Machias will be streaming UMM’s 112th commencement ceremony this Friday, May 5th, from 11 am to 1 pm. Tune in to 91.1 FM in the Machias area or tune into the station online at this link.  Viewers may also watch on YouTube.

If your organization employs Community Health Workers (CHW) the Downeast Health Research Collaborative from the University of Maine System and our partners at the Maine Community Health Worker Initiative invite you to complete a CHW Employer Survey.  We are conducting a community-engaged research project to understand the challenges, opportunities and resources needed to support implementation of the Community Health Worker model and enhance professional development opportunities for the CHW workforce.  Our goals are to understand CHWs’ working conditions and experiences in order to develop strategies for sustainably implementing the CHW model and strengthening the CHW workforce. We are writing to ask for your help. If your organization employs CHWs, we invite you to complete the CHW Employer Survey and receive a $20 gift card for your participation.

The Maine State Housing Authority (MaineHousing) recently announced that eligible households will now be able to receive up to $1,000 in credit for a future water and/or sewer bill. Households that previously received a $500 credit will also be eligible for an additional $500 credit and will not have to reapply to the program to receive the benefit.  For those new to the program, the program is meant to help low- to moderate-income homeowners and renters that have fallen behind on a water utility payment, including water and sewer services. It provides a direct payment to the utility on behalf of the ratepayer. Eligible households include those that currently have a past due balance for water and/or sewer – those households may also be eligible to receive a future $500 credit once the past due bills are paid. For renters, water and sewer must not be included in rent payments. The recent expansion of the program also meant a change to the application date. Households that may be eligible have from now until July 1 to apply for the program. For more information about program eligibility, or to apply, visit MaineHousing’s application portal.

The University of Maine Cooperative Extension’s blog, Spoonful: Bite-Sized Food & Nutrition Information, includes an article and video by Kathy Savoie, Extension Professor, on how to safely harvest, prepare and preserve fiddleheads, soon to be emerging along streams and riverbanks in our part of the world.