Donors Step Up to Help our Mission of Welcoming the Stranger

For the past 40 years, Catholic Charities Maine has been providing resettlement services for refugees and immigrants, inspired by the words of Matthew 25: “for I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.” And our donors have been with us every step of the way!  This year, we are proud to continue this work as we prepare to welcome up to 100 Afghan arrivals, part of an expected 50,000 Afghan visa and refugee applicants and their families arriving under the government’s Afghan Placement and Assistance (APA) program. While we are contracted to provide services, including housing, education, and employment support, our Refugee & Immigration Services program has also begun meeting with community partners who can provide additional supports and services to the newcomers. According to Program Director Hannah DeAngelis, our donors are doing their part as well!  “We have seen an amazing amount of enthusiasm and support. In the past weeks, we’ve received dozens of calls from Mainers wanting to help, whether in the form of gift cards for families to use, household items or cash donations. It’s overwhelming.” 

How Your Support Changes Lives

There’s no doubt that COVID-19 has taken a toll on the mental health of many — if not all — of us in the past year and a half. The staff at our Behavioral Health Network see men, women, and children every day who are struggling with mental illness, behavioral disorders, and — increasingly — substance use disorders. People like Sally (not her real name), who came to her Care Coordinator with a story of a lifetime of misery, from growing up in a family with a generational history of drug and alcohol use to losing her husband of 15 years to a meth overdose. At one point, she revealed proudly, she’d even found sobriety, working to support her son. When the unthinkable happened, and she lost her son to meth as well, her alcohol addiction returned with a vengeance. But it led her to Catholic Charities, where, in spite of the pressures of the pandemic and the grief that she struggles with daily, she was able to find sobriety again!

Thanks to the generous support of donors like you, we are able to step up and meet our clients’ needs where they are greatest, when they need us most. We couldn’t do it without you! 

The United Way’s Day of Caring, on September 17, saw a group of enthusiastic volunteers join SEARCH (Seek Elderly Alone, Renew Courage & Hope) to lend much needed helping hands to local seniors. One 93-year-old lady, who’d recently lost her husband, aged 100, was thrilled to get help washing windows, trimming shrubs, and pulling weeds. According to SEARCH’s Sue Blais, “A lot of these older folks, the work is staring them in the face, but they just can’t do it themselves. This means so much. The volunteers really go above and beyond and the clients are ecstatic.” And we at Catholic Charities are thankful for the support we receive through the United Way and local businesses like LL Bean and Central Maine Community College who lend employee volunteers!

Pictured left to right: Alyson, Brianna, and Suzanna from Central Maine Community College put their painting skills to work; Becki and Kristen from LL Bean make a pretty picture cleaning up. 

Simply the best! Thanks to all our 2021 Community Partners — your support is critical to our ability to provide help and create hope here in Maine.

PLATINUM
Royal River Grill House  •  Tuscan Table  •  Tuscan Bistro

CRYSTAL
Cross Benefit Solutions  •  BGA Financial

CRUSADER
Logically

CHAMPION
cPort Credit Union  •  Infinity Federal Credit Union

CATALYST
Coffee by Design  •  Northeast Delta Dental  •  Pierce Atwood