CELEBRATING 40 YEARS SERVING MAINE YOUTH
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Greetings, friends of New Beginnings!
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This issue of our newsletter is all about
DEDICATION
.
It has been
four decades since New Beginnings opened the doors of our very first program to serve youth and families in crisis -- the emergency youth shelter which has operated continuously since 1980. Over those 40 years we have served more than
11,000 teens and young adults, growing to offer a full spectrum of housing, outreach, prevention, education, and counseling services to help youth facing homelessness find the safety and opportunities for growth that all young people deserve.
We had hoped to be celebrating this 40th anniversary milestone with our staff and supporters in person this spring at our annual celebration dinner. Unfortunately, COVID-19 had other plans! Our communities and the world have had to change gears quickly to address this crisis. While some work (like this newsletter and the annual dinner) has had to be delayed, New Beginnings staff have continued to meet the essential needs of youth during this pandemic. We hope you will stay in touch as we find physically distant ways to celebrate our 40th anniversary until we can gather together in person again!
Thank
YOU
for being dedicated to the youth we serve and our mission!
We are still seeking stories from alumni and former staff and board members to help commemorate our 40th anniversary. If you can help, please contact
supporterengagement@newbeginmaine.org
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If you prefer to read your news in the same layout as the paper newsletter, you can find the entire Spring 2020 Newsletter on ou
r
website
.
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Annual Celebration Dinner Postponed
Please hold the potential date: September 24, 2020 at the Hilton in Auburn
Sponsors for the dinner and our 40th anniversary storytelling projects are still needed! Please contact
nicole@newbeginmaine.org
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Bonney* was 19 when she first heard about New Beginnings from a trusted therapist. She had recently graduated from high school and was living at home with an abusive family. Bonney really wanted to make something of her life and go to college, but she didn’t know where to turn. She felt like she only had two choices – leave her family to couch-surf and face homelessness, or stay and live with the abuse. Her counselor referred Bonney to New Beginnings, and she was accepted into one of the Community Living Apartments of the Transitional Living Program (TLP).
TLP offers homeless youth a stable place to live for up to 18 months, with staff support and case management to help them learn the life skills they need to live on their own while they are in the program and aftercare when they move on. New Beginnings’ TLP offers a licensed, staff supervised apartment site for minors in Lewiston, as well as four Community Living Program apartment buildings for young adults in Lewiston, Farmington, and Augusta.
In the Community Living Program (CLP), residents have access to supportive adult staff that listen and help youth navigate the challenges of living on their own or with a roommate while making progress on education and/or employment goals. Young people rent apartments owned by the agency, and are supported by regular check-ins with case managers and life-skills activities.
For Bonney, the CLP was the opportunity she needed to start a journey to success.
With CLP staff support, Bonney got a part time job at a local grocery store and applied for college. She was accepted and began studying computer science and cybersecurity. Her solid work ethic led to getting promoted at work, but also meant Bonney was spending hours each day walking from the CLP to classes to work and back.
Bonney found she had a natural affinity for finances, and she always paid her rent. Bonney’s job paid enough to cover her day to day living expenses and she begin saving money to purchase a car, but that didn’t leave enough to pay for the hours of driver’s ed required to get her license. Her case manager suggested that she apply to New Beginnings’ Dot Larrabee Youth Development Fund, which offers scholarship awards of $100 to $1,000 to help New Beginnings youth and recent alumni address barriers to succeeding in work and education. The Fund helped Bonney get her license and she bought her first car from earnings she’d saved.
While living at the CLP, not only did Bonney remain focused on her goals and saving money for the future, the support of staff also encouraged her to take positive risks and try new things. During her stay, she represented New Beginnings at a national conference, and also tried skiing for the first time as part of the Adventure Challenge program.
“Teens and young adults usually get the help of their parents,” says Bonney, “Some people don’t have that. It’s an amazing asset to be able to do that at New Beginnings.”
By the time her stay at the CLP was ending, Bonney had saved up enough money for not only finding a new apartment, but also to pay for emergency expenses when her beloved pet was it by a car. The Community Living Program was able to help Bonney find a job, establish connections in her community, learn how to manage her finances, pursue her education, deal with life challenges, and gain the skills necessary to live independently.
For more information about our TLP and CLP housing options,
contact TLP Program Coordinator Denise Vaillancourt at (207) 795-4074
*Names have been changed for the privacy of the youth
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2019 Annual Fund a Success!
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We are thrilled to announce that, thanks to the support of donors like you, our annual fund 2019-20 was able to reach our ambitious $75,000 goal.
We’d especially like to thank Geiger, Northeast Bank, Clean Earth Matters, Jeff & Sonia Gorman Family Fund, Owen Larrabee & Melissa Albertson, Jane Dwinell, Central Maine Credit Union, Camden National Bank, Liberty Mutual, Great Falls FCU, James Pittman, DIRIGO FCU, MainStreet Foundation, Roopers, Pamela Gates, Jane Costlow & David Das, Peggy McRae, Greene & Bourgeois Family, Rainbow Bicycle, Hebert Construction, Langston Snodgrass & Tony Brown, Kelly Nelson, Anonymous donors, and the more than 275 other individuals and Bbsinesses who contributed!
Thank you for giving the gift of hope to the youth we serve.
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Looking Ahead, Changes in 2020
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53 Years of Dedicated Service
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This spring, we’re saying goodbye to two of our most dedicated staff: TLP Director Mike Mooney, and Shelter Program Director Marian Carney. Both brought incredible knowledge and passion to careers spent building New Beginnings’ programs and serving youth. We can’t thank them enough for their decades of hard work, leadership, and their ability to change lives!
In honor of their retirements, here are a few memories from their time with New Beginnings:
How & why did you start at New Beginnings? (And when?!)
Marian: I started working as the Director of the Shelter in 1996. Previously, I worked for the State of Maine as a child protective caseworker in the Adolescent Unit. I also worked for many years as a program director at a for-profit special purpose school for adolescents. I was excited about working for a non-profit in what I considered my “dream Job” since I was a teenager myself.
Mike: I was working with youth in Arizona and moved to Maine in the late summer of 1990. I needed a job and was not very good at math. *Mike chuckles* I saw an ad for a job at New Beginnings; it was something I knew so I applied and got the job. The rest is history.
What are you most proud of from your time here?
Marian: I feel incredibly proud of having spent the better part of my career working for an agency that was always seeking better ways of meeting the needs and incorporating new and innovative approaches into our models of care. I am also particularly proud of developing our family engagement program, which involves enhancing communication and addressing conflict through mediation services, to be more effective in making a difference in the lives of our clients.
Mike: The culture we’ve created here. It’s a culture that respects the idea we are partnering with youth rather than 2 New Beginnings NEWS 53 years of dedicated service deciding for the youth. It’s great that we continually evolve over time to keep up with what the kids say they need from us. Most of all I’ve enjoyed meeting dedicated, compassionate staff that really believe in our work.
What do you think and/or hope for the future of New Beginnings?
Marian: I am optimistic that new leadership within the agency will continue moving the agency forward in addressing the struggles that youth and families face in today’s climate.
Mike: I hope we continue to run successful programs and get more community support. We need a better community culture that supports kids that get ‘bad breaks.’ These kids have
so much untapped potential; they just need to be given a chance. Once they realize what they’re capable of they flourish. It would go a long way if the whole community could see that
and support more of these youth.
Mike retired in April and Marian will be retiring in May. Because we can’t gather to celebrate and say good-bye in person,
we would like to invite anyone who knew them during their time at New Beginnings to share a memory or message of thanks using the forms at:
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2020 Brings Great Change
Even before COVID-19 hit, 2020 was poised to be a year of significant change for New Beginnings. With the Directors of our longest-running programs retiring, the opportunity arose to restructure the agency org chart to better allow for future growth.
The Shelter and Transitional Living Program Director positions are being re-configured into a new Residential Services Director position (supervising both the transitional living and shelter program operations) and Director of Programs position (supervising the Residential Services Director, Outreach Services Director, and Mental Health Services Directors, and responsible for agency-wide program planning, evaluation, growth, and working with collaborative partners).
In March we were thrilled to
welcome Tara Kosma to our team as Director of Programs, and we'll introduce you all to Tara in our next newsletter!
Please note that any correspondence that would previously have been directed to Marian Carney or Mike Mooney may now be directed to Tara at:
tara@newbeginmaine.org.
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EVENTS POSTPONED:
Due to COVID-19, all in-person events and trainings have been postponed until further notice.
ANNUAL MEETING :
The Board of Directors held their annual meeting and election on May 6, 2020 by remote call-in conference line. Election results will be available at are available at
newbeginmaine.org/boardnews-spring20
GRANTS AWARDED:
New Beginnings is one of 5 recipients in Maine of US HUD Supportive Housing funding for our Transitional Living Program. New Beginnings also gratefully received a grant of $10,000 from Norway Savings Bank for our Educational Support Program last fall.
STAFF UPDATES:
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In March, New Beginnings was pleased to promote Shelter Coordinator Alyssa Morin as our new Residential Services Director. Alyssa began working for New Beginnings’ shelter in 2019, after having managed multiple residential youth programs. Alyssa brings experience with leading staff during crisis scenarios and working with youth and families on collaborative approaches to complex situations.
Alyssa honed her crisis management skills working as an AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) member responding to Hurricane Sandy, working in inner-city Baltimore, and leading a disaster relief team after severe flooding devastated parts of Detroit. After NCCC, Alyssa began working in residential youth behavioral health facilities run by Youth Villages. Alyssa was promoted from direct care work to supervisor for sites in Tennessee, and then moved back to New England in 2017 to manage Youth Villages Boston-area residential programs.
We’re so fortunate to have had Alyssa join our agency and management team at this critical time of program restructuring and emergency response to the pandemic—her experience, work ethic, and enthusiasm for making a difference for vulnerable youth are already having an impact.
Congratulations and welcome!
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New Beginnings Visits Capitol Hill
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The National Network for Youth hosted its annual National Summit on Youth Homelessness from March 2–3 and New Beginnings was there to share their story. Executive Director, Chris Bicknell, participated as one of five panel members speaking about “State Policy Advocacy to Prevent and Solve Youth Homelessness.” This session shared practical strategies for successful state and local policy advocacy, including ready-to-use resources and new legal research. Panelists discussed their challenges and successes, including efforts related to higher education, childcare, minor consent, and access to vital documents.
With support from MaineHousing, two members of the statewide Youth Action Board also attended the Summit as youth representatives from Maine. New Beginnings started Maine’s Youth Action Board (YAB) in early 2019 with initial support from the John T. Gorman Foundation. Participants from YAB were accompanied by New Beginnings staff for their exciting journey to Capitol Hill. As part of the Summit “Hill Day” our staff and YAB youth toured Capitol Hill facilities and met with Maine’s Senators and members of Congress or their staffs about youth homelessness and shared their experiences.
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New Beginnings continues to partner closely with MaineHousing to plan and implement the $3.25 million HUD grant for the Maine
Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program (YHDP). After an extensive state-wide community planning process, Maine’s YHDP team asked our federal delegation to advocate for a waiver postponing the YHDP Request for Proposals by one year due to COVID-19. Agencies will now be able to apply for project funding in spring 2021.
We have secured funding to continue the Maine Youth Action Board (YAB) for another year. The YAB is a group of about 19 youth with lived experience in homelessness who have taken a leadership role in the development of our Coordinated Community Plan (CCP) to end and prevent youth homelessness. Having this funding secured is critical for them to continue to lead our decision making in the implementation phase of the YHDP over the next two years.
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Sugarloaf Adventure Challenge, 29 Years of Success!
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Last December marked 29 years of New
Beginnings Transitional Living Program
(TLP) members going to Sugarloaf Ski Resort for their annual Adventure Challenge. This Adventure Challenge
trip began in 1991 when an employee
of New Beginnings with previous work
experience at Sugarloaf suggested the activity. The youth were willing, and Sugarloaf was, as always, ever so accommodating. Each year since its
inception Sugarloaf has provided hotel
accommodations, lift tickets, equipment
rentals and lessons for all participants, both youth and staff, in either skiing or snowboarding, making this one of New Beginnings most enjoyable trips.
In 2019 New Beginnings saw the most diverse group participate with youth from aftercare, Lewiston TLP/CLP, and Augusta CLP attending. Over the course of 29 years, roughly 210 youth have been involved in the experience. This year marked a first for participants with two youth repeating the trip. Neither one of them had skied prior to 2018 and took to the sport immediately.
The trip is a great break from reality for all participants starting off with dinner near Sugarloaf, then a night of cable TV or time in the hot tub, followed by a good night’s sleep. The next day they hit the slopes until it’s time to head back home.
Ethan May, Youth Development Coordinator for New Beginnings, has been on 25 of the 29 trips. According to Ethan, “Out of all the trips, I can’t name one incident as the most memorable. My favorite thing is just seeing the youths’ faces—the awe
and excitement of being in a luxury hotel and watching first-timers catch on to skiing and snowboarding.Those moments are the best.”
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PLEASE NOTE:
Due to
COVID-19, we are not currently accepting donations of used goods.
Mailed donations are preferred!
High-need NEW items only may be dropped off weekdays with no face-to-face contact.
Please ring intercom outside the main side entrance glass door at 134 College Street, and leave your donation under the overhang. Please attach a note with your contact info so that we can send you a thank-you letter for your donation.
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Thank you to all of our 2019 In-kind and
Holiday Drive Donors!
Your donations of food, socks, household goods, hygiene items, holiday gifts, and more made a huge difference for our youth last year!
We couldn't have done it without you!
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New Beginnings is funded in part by the State of Maine and US Departments of Health & Human Services, Family & Youth Services Bureau, Housing & Urban Development, and United Way.
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