by maineseacoast | Oct 29, 2016 | Downeast Campus, News, Uncategorized
Story by Nancy Saunders
Photos by Scott Shaw
The Maine Seacoast Mission’s housing rehabilitation program based at our Downeast Campus addresses fixes up or rebuilds twenty houses a year. Repairs and renovations range from painting to insulated mobile home skirting to new roofs. Every year we completely rebuild two mobile homes or houses for local families. The families contribute sweat equity to the rebuilding projects and often have one or more children active in the EdGE program.
Downeast Campus Director of Service Programs Wendy Harrington sent this profile, written by Nancy Saunders, of a mother and daughter who reached out to the Mission’s Housing Rehab Program — and the result. The before-and-after photos are from Housing Repair Program Coordinator Scott Shaw.
“And suddenly you know that it’s time to trust in the magic of new beginnings.” This inspiring quotation, framed and hanging in the hallway of Tara Small’s newly rehabbed mobile home, expresses the sense of marvel she and her daughter feel as they settle into their warm, safe, structurally sound, and attractive home.
The significance to Tara and her daughter of the transformation of their home can be appreciated more fully by stepping back in time less than one year. Their home had leaks in the roof, mold, decaying floor boards, dilapidated siding, little insulation, and an interior dating back to 1968. Tara says her normally outgoing daughter felt unable to invite friends to their home because of its condition.
Tara’s home before.
Tara herself, after coping with a severe, chronic illness requiring multiple surgeries and hospitalizations from the time she was fifteen years old, as well as a difficult divorce, had all but given up. She became very depressed, tearful, unable to sleep at night nor function during the day. She says “I felt like a turtle, unable to leave my shell.”
Tara applied to the Maine Seacoast Mission’s Housing Rehab Program. This program’s efforts are based on the Housing First philosophy, which asserts that people can improve their lives (i.e, seek employment or education, and become more engaged in the community) only after they have a home that is safe, warm and dry. The Mission’s Housing Rehab Program applicants must be able to demonstrate both financial and housing need, be involved in their community, and agree to contribute 200 hours of “sweat equity”.
Tara was selected this Spring, and work began in the Summer by the many volunteers who come to the Mission for a week at a time, and donate their time and skill to the extensive rehab process. Tara and her daughter became very attached to these groups over the summer. One of them even knitted prayer shawls to match the colors of the new rooms.
Tara’s home after.
And what colors they are! Tara’s daughter’s bedroom is painted “passionfruit pink with cupcake brown trim.” She placed her bed at an angle, and using PVC pipe, arranged the curtains to create a canopy. One of the groups made a grow stick for her wall. She provided her own decorative stickers and put her porcelain dolls on her dresser.
Tara’s room is purple, which is the awareness color of her medical condition, and it reminds her to be positive and hopeful. She has pictures of butterflies on the walls — delicate symbols of transformation, and a framed quotation which reads: “a dream is a wish the heart makes”.
Their living room is green and its theme is hunting and fishing, which both Tara and her daughter enjoy. The kitchen is blue and will feature light houses and lobster boats. The new cabinets, stove, and hanging pots and pans invite cooking and social gatherings.
The “transformation hallway” features pictures of the volunteer groups, as well as Scott and Wendy. “We will never forget any of them”, says Tara. “It is from the bottom of my heart that I say ‘thank you'”.
Learn More about the Mission’s Housing Rehab Program
by maineseacoast | Sep 22, 2016 | Downeast Campus, News
CHERRYFIELD – Bonnie Johnson asked Mission Downeast Campus Director Wendy Harrington if Bonnie could use the EdGE building in Cherryfield as a meeting place for Bonnie’s growing, informal support group. Wendy Harrington said yes. That was around year 2010, and Bonnie Johnson’s idea is one of our Downeast Campus’s signature events: The Downeast Table of Plenty, or DETOP, for short.
With Bonnie Johnson’s permission, here is Bonnie’s reflection on DETOP written on Tuesday, September 13, 2016, two days after the DETOP supper on Sunday, September 11, 2016. The photos, also from the September 11th DETOP are Bonnie’s too.
Hi everyone,
What a festive atmosphere. The Downeast Table of Plenty (DETOP) was hopping last Sunday. The Women’s Health Resource Library (WHRL) in Milbridge, ME, a group new to DETOP, hosted the great supper. How thankful we are for the fantastic job they did. Each smiling, culinary creator brought sizable dishes to please EVERY palette. Every DETOP diner was greeted with a yummy serving of healthy fare for their bodies, and a huge dose of kindness for nurturing their souls.
Permit me a small, personal reflection on lovely thoughts from a friend. Last Sunday I was struck with the paradoxical fashion in which human beings choose to “be with” one another. We remember in our hearts the tragedy of September 11th, 2001. We mourn the enormous loss of life, and the complete breakdown of respect, dignity, and love for all people. This will always remain an indelible hurt on our hearts.
At the same time, we see the enormous capacity for human compassion, and the “lifting up of another,” in something as small as a community gathering in a common meal. I can hear in my head and heart- our local adage: “DETOP is our Table of Bread.” It is, indeed a table of bread open for everyone, in every place and space of their life.
This is true at ALL places where basic necessities of life are shared- from food, to information, to pooled resources of time, and energy, and ultimately, Hope.
Each of us is given a daily choice as to what message we want to send in our actions. Last Sunday, as in every DETOP supper, I see everyone choosing the road of mutual dignity and respect. We have a beautiful community here in Downeast Maine, and link our hands with the rest of the world choosing the same.
Thank you again to our new hosting group- the Women’s Health Resource Library! They Rock! And another special thank goes to our stellar musicians – Brian Stewart and Curtis Russet. They brought such great entertainment, that so many enjoyed.
Thank you to everyone who make these Sunday’s happen, and to every diner who has ever graced our doors. Would a meal such as DETOP exist on a very regular, unending basis, with even one of the these pieces missing from the puzzle?
From Pat, Jillian, Steve, Aaron, Nicki, Adam, Mark, who “pickup,” “set up, and “clean up” practically EVERY Sunday…
To Linda, our brave and successful coordinator and organizer personified…
To Wendy, and, Charlie, and the Seacoast Mission for space and administration…
To Jillian and Steve, Priscilla, Linda and Steve, Wendy and Bunny, Marty, Alice, Nancy and Adrian, the Cherryfield Congregational Church, St. Michaels Church and Claire Babcock, “Freaks and Geeks,” Jenny and Kent, The Mason’s, and…
ALL GROUPS and INDIVIDUALS who schedule themselves in the Never Ending rotation of meals…
To Joan, Betty, Linda, Sharon, Diane, and others who put diningware on the table, and help make coffee…
To each person/group offering a dish of food on any given occasion…
To every single person who lifts a chair, or table, or who helps put out the boxes of produce, and…
To the Bayside Market who offers it all…
To the weekly musicians: from Steve, Curtis, George, Tom and Beth, Sepp and Shelia, Brian and Cole Creek, Randy, Michael, Shelia and the list goes on…
To the folks that move over to make space for another diner at their table…
To the folks who play with the children, and dogs, and those who hold babies so others can eat…
To the unbelievable summer work groups that come from away to help with housing repair and offer other help to the supper as well, and…
To EVERY SINGLE DINER WHO HAS EVER GRACED OUR DOORS.
All these components come together like magnets attracted to one another. They all form a huge and amazing portrait.
I know I have most unintentionally left names out. While you may not see your name listed, please know it is etched in our hearts, touched by the sheer magic of your willingness to help.
Peace Abundant
Bonnie Johnson
by maineseacoast | Sep 19, 2016 | News
In mid-August, while verifying spellings and titles for a Mission news release on the Sunbeam‘s Demonstration Cruise to Frenchboro island, I came upon this wonderful “Frenchboro Kingfishers” drawing. Who are the Frenchboro Kingfishers? Who designed that poster? Those questions started me on a brief, online journey, ending at one of the best blogs I’ve come across: Frenchboro School: Adventures in a One Room Schoolhouse.
What an excellent way for Frenchboro School to establish two-way communication with the world. Sad that this blog ended when the school teachers — Mr. & Mrs. Finn? — moved from Frenchboro. But what a great historic legacy. Very well done.
As for the origin of the Frenchboro Kingfishers? I’m including here a bit of the back story. Find out the rest of the story at Adventures in a One Room Schoolhouse.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2010
Mascot Voting
Does your school have a mascot? Of course it does. Every school has a mascot, right? Well, that’s what I thought, until I moved to Frenchboro.
This year we got organized. The kids came up with a large (very large) list of possible mascots. I especially liked Bradley’s, which was the Sharpened Pencils. We put up a sheet at the post office, asking for ideas. Then the kids took their favorites from both lists. After numerous write-in votes, we had pared the list down to five. Hurricanes, Sea Monsters, Kingfishers, Power Strike (no, it’s not a Power Ranger…it’s a lightning bolt), and Sharks.
The kids made up official ballots. They plastered the town with voting signs. They set up a voting station at the school. Then they called. Everyone. Like…multiple times. Let’s just say that we had more voter turnout than any town will have in the gubernatorial race this year. And, if you could talk, you could vote.
We are now officially the Frenchboro Kingfishers. It’s got a good ring to it. Maybe not as snazzy as the Sharpened Pencils, but, ya know…the adults got votes, too.
Continued Here
