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!

Photo courtesy of Susan Bennett

Announcements

Out of Darkness Walk: Tonight, Sept 13th beginning at UMM’s Reynolds Center at 6 pm. See flyer for details.

Recovery Awareness Events: Health Acadia is coordinating 2 Recovery-themed events coming right up that will benefit the Downeast Teen Leadership Camp (see flyers for details):

Walk for Recovery & Candle Light Vigil at Bad Little Falls in Machias beginning at 5:45 pm on September 15^th
A Dash of Color – Annual Recovery Awareness 5K Run / Walk beginning at 8 am at Murdock Fitness & Aquatics Center on September 23^rd

POLST Training: Read about this October 6th opportunity for training on Physician Ordered Life Sustaining Treatment in the Event Section below.

Diabetes Prevention Coach Training: Healthy Acadia is pleased to offer the National Diabetes Prevention Program (NDPP) Lifestyle Coach Training. This training is for individuals interested in becoming certified as NDPP lifestyle coaches and will enable them to teach NDPP programs to community members at risk for diabetes. The training is free for all participants, and is two days long: October 14th 9-5 and October 15th 9-4, at the Harrington Family Health Center. To register for the training, please send your name, contact information (phone and email), and organizational details by Tuesday, October 10^th to Angela Fochesato at Healthy Acadia (angela@healthacadia.org, 207-255-3441, ext.103) You are welcome to register multiple people for the training – please include each person’s name, contact information and organizational details.

Recovery Coach Training: Healthy Acadia is offering another opportunity for Machias area folks to take the Recovery Coach training – October 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th – 8:30 am to 4:30 pm – at the Machias Savings Bank Community Room. Contact Terri Woodruf f for more information

Cooking Matters Classes: Healthy Acadia, in partnership with the Beth C. Wright Cancer Resource Center, is excited to offer “Cooking Matters,” a free, six-session healthy cooking class series in Calais and Eastport this fall. The series is specially designed for those struggling with a tight food budget while living with cancer. Pre-registration is required. See flyers below for details:

Eastport (Flyer): Labor of Love Nutrition Center, 137 County Road, Eastport, ME 04631, Tuesdays, September 12, 19, October 3, 17, 24, and November 7; from 5:30 – 7:30 pm.
Calais (Flyer): Calais Methodist Home, Inc., 116 Palmer Street Calais, ME 04619
Thursdays, September 14, 21, 28, October 5, 12, and 19; from 5:30 – 7:30 pm

Washington County Higher Education Initiative 2017: The Maine Community Foundation & Machias Savings bank are offering to sponsor the opening of Next Gen college investing programs for Washington County children age 4-8 with a $100 deposit. Some of the account openers will also benefit from the $200 initial matching grant for opening an account. Please share this flyer about this wonderful opportunity for kids to start saving for college.

Grandfamilies Certificate Program: The University of Maine Center on Aging is pleased to offer an online certificate program for professionals and volunteers who work with grandfamily caregivers. The online Certificate in Grandfamilies Leadership program provides core education, technical support, and leadership development for professionals delivering grandfamily and kinship programming across the country. The course will begin on Monday, October 2, 2017 and close on December 22, 2017. Participants will complete the 9 modules over a 12-week period. Space is limited, and participation is on a first come first served basis, so please visit www.kinshipcert.org to register now.

Your announcement could go here: email the details to Christine by 5 pm Monday for inclusion in Wednesday’s Weekly Communiqué.

Updates

This is where we post updates on programs, initiatives and pending legislation.

Events

Now listed chronologically, so make sure to scroll down for items just added!

Affordable Housing Conference: Registration is now open for the 2017 Maine Affordable Housing Conference at the Holiday Inn By the Bay in Portland on September 22nd. 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.

Repair & Winterize My Home: September 26th from 12 noon to 3 pm at the East Machias Community Center (same building as Firehouse). If you’re a senior worried about making necessary repairs and improvements to your home before the winter, this is the event for you. Speakers from the USDA Rural Development, Washington Hancock Community Agency, Maine Seacoast Mission, and other organizations will talk about their repair and weatherization programs, answer your questions, and get you going to apply or enroll. This event is free. Download a flyer (revised) to share with friends, neighbors and clients. Register to attend here.

Animal Assisted Therapy: The CCC invites you to a fascinating brown bag lunch on the topic of Animal Assisted Therapy presented by ECCO Consultant and CCC trainer, Elin MacKinnon, LCSW, from 11:30 to 1 pm on October 4th in the large conference room at the SCEC House at 7 Ames Way. Read more here. Bring your lunch, we’ll provide beverages & dessert. RSVP to Christine and download a flyer to share with your friends.

Professional Boundaries Webinar: The The Seneca Institute presents Professional Boundaries for Case Managers & Caregivers Webinar on October 4, 11:30 am to 1 pm (1.5 CEUs) for $15 if you register before September 20th ($29 after). Register here. Links for joining the webinar will be emailed 48 hours before the start of the event on October 4, 2017. You may request additional information by contacting us at info@senecainstitute.org

POLST Training: Physician Ordered Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) training is coming to Washington County for Providers, Professionals and community members / advocates. Link to register for this important training, scheduled for 10-6-2017 (8:30a – 4:30p) at Calais Regional Hospital. The training is provided by Maine Hospice Council and is supported by the Washington County Thriving in Place Initiative, funded by Maine Health Access Foundation, and the CCC. Please share this training opportunity widely with providers and professional staff. Registration must be completed by, Friday, September 22, 2017.

MRBN 2017 Conference: Save the dates of November 2nd and 3rd for the 2nd Biennial Conference of the Maine Resilience Building Network and the Bingham Program at Point Lookout Resort, Northport, Maine. See flyer for details. Registration opens September 18th.

Needs & Offers

Commodity Box giveaways: Eastern Area Agency on Aging (EAAA) receives 40 pound boxes of food to give away as part of the Maine Commodity Supplemental Food Program through channels and sites, such as food pantries. There are a lot of boxes unclaimed at some of these sites, and EAAA is asking your help. The program has some eligibility requirements (see application), and is offering $100 grocery gift cards in a contest for help identifying box recipients. Please circulate this flyer to colleagues and staff to spread the word.

Need for Diapers: Family Futures Downeast is delighted to welcome 28 new families to our program this fall. Families are enrolled in classes at both the University of Maine at Machias and Washington County Community College. We have many new students with children under 2 years old, and are looking for donations of diapers: newborn size for the Family Center at UMM and sizes 2-4 at WCCC. Donations can be dropped off with Marsha Sloan at the Sunrise County Economic Council office at 7 Ames Way in Machias, or with Jessie McPhail at the Family Futures Downeast office at WCCC. For more information, call Marsha Sloan at 255-0983.

Need for Backpack Supplies: WHCA is in need of donations for this well-known backpack program for Hancock and Washington counties. Sharrie Curtis, the receptionist at WHCA’s Ellsworth office, is the contact person. Call Sharrie at 610-5908 or email receptionist-ELLS@whcacap.org if you would like to help.

Job Offer: The Maine Educational Opportunity Center is hiring an advisor for Washington and Hancock county. The role focuses on helping potential students address admissions, financial aid, scholarships, and more. For more information, see the official posting.

Child Care Volunteers Needed: Next Step is in need of volunteers to provide child care for moms attending meetings/appointments/court dates, etc. Please contact 255-4934 for more information if you can help.

Adult Family/Elder Decision Mediation: Elder Services Navigator, Lisa Suarez, has recently completed training as a volunteer mediator specializing in adult family/elder decision mediation. “For many, this can provide an alternate dispute resolution to courts,” explains Lisa. “Mediators are neutral and the parties make their own decisions. We guide the process.” Contact Lisa at (207) 460-8129 or email lsuarez@whcacap.org for mediation services and to help elders connect to resources in order to live well at home in Washington County.

Send us your agency/community needs or offers, such as job recruiting or housing needs.

Favorite Resources

This is a new section of the Communique where we post links to helpful websites and videos.

Thanks to our LAUNCH partner, Susan Hinkel, for the following great resources:

Send us your favorite links to share with other Communique readers.

Meetings

Work Group & Poverty Busters: Next meeting is on October 4th from 1-3:30 pm at the SCEC House, immediately after Elin MacKinnon’s Animal Assisted Therapy brown bag lunch (look under Events for details). RSVP to Christine if you plan to attend both the brown bag lunch & WG meeting, just the brown bag lunch, or just the WG meeting.

St Croix Community Connections: This is Poverty Buster’s sister group in Calais, organized by Christine Morris. This group meets monthly – new members welcome!

CCC Wednesday Communique — September 13, 2017