Amina Hassan the Chairwoman of the AK Collaborative and the founder and Executive Director of Her Safety Net is among seventeen individuals selected for The Health Equity Advisory Council. The Council is a pilot initiative and part of a broader set of OPHE-led efforts to advance health equity across Maine.

On September 14, members from the AK Collaborative attended the Bates Volunteer Fair along with multiple other service providers. The collaborative was able to recruit dozens of students to intern and volunteer with the organization this coming school year. We look forward to working with them!

Abdikhadar Shire, founder and Co-Executive Director of AK Health and Social Services and pioneer of the AK Collaborative was among the 40 individuals honored by Mainebiz in their next UP 40 under 40 award.

At our Westminster office location, member organizations of the AK Collaborative, AKHSS, and Her Safety Net hosted a dinner to celebrate the work of our wonderful collaborators, particularly the student volunteers and interns from Bates College. Mayor Carl Sheline, Martha Deschaine from the Harward Center, and State Representative for the 60th District, Kristen Cloutier all attended along with other representatives from the community.

Co-Executive Director Candace Johnson who is also a Bates College Alumni was able to share her experience joining AK Health and Social Services as a student volunteer and coming up the ranks to become a leader in the organization. 

The AK Collaborative debuts its new Members Advisory Committee. The body aims to help the Collaborative organizations design programs that reflect the needs of the immigrants and BIPOC communities, with the goal of reducing healthcare disparities.. As the collaborative braces for two years of building capacity, infrastructure and strategic planning to reduce the healthcare disparities of marginalized and underserved communities, the advisory committee will help act as ambassadors of the community. The members include: 

Abdikadir Abayle, Imam of the Masjid Salaam Mosque

Aleks Diamond-Stanic, Bates College Professor of Physics

Amina Hassan, AK Collaborative, Chairwoman and Executive Director, Her Safety Net.

Eman Einan, Community Navigator, Immigrant Welcome Center

John Ochira, Program Officer, Maine Community Foundation 

Kiala Mbunga, Pastor of The Church of All Nations

Omar Al Qudah, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Maine Health

Laura Brann, Quality Manager, B street Health Center

Marcel Ntogara, Community Engagement Specialist, Greater Portland Council of Governments.

Raha Daud, Graduate Student, Occupational Therapy University of Southern Maine

Sam Boss, Bate College Harward Center,  Associate Director of Community-Engaged Research and Learning

Yusuf Yusuf, City of Portland School Board Member at Large

Zahara Noor, Youth Activist-Lewiston Maine

We are still recruiting more members with a cap of 21 members. if interested please Email Abdikhadar or Candace before 10/31/2022.

VOTE! One individual from each category will be named "Best of" at uplift LA's in-person celebration.

The community voting period will be open through November 18, 2022. Only one voting submission will be accepted per email address. Casting a vote in each category is not required, but certainly encouraged!

Congratulations once again our own members, Abdikhadar and Amina.

The AK Collaborative members  will work on building sustainable social service infrastructure 

and capacity building for the next two years. 

We have proposed activities and projects to reduce health care disparities and target social determinants of health. 

We are running this short survey to ensure that we hear from the community on what is really important to them. 

Please help us share this survey with your clients, friends, families and social service providers.