How did you first get involved with Preble Street?
I chaired the Greater Portland United Way Campaign in 1997 and toured every agency. The one that impressed me the most was Preble Street.
What do you do when you’re not at Preble Street?
I sit on corporate boards and investment committees; I spend time with friends and family and love to go to the beach!
There are a lot of nonprofit organizations in southern Maine. Why do you think Preble Street stands out in the crowd? What is it that Preble Street does better than anyone else?
Preble Street has a sterling reputation for exemplary leadership – nobody can talk about Preble Street the way that Mark Swann can – combining passion and bringing a business sense to solving these tough social challenges. And throughout the years that I’ve been involved with the agency, I’ve seen time and again that Preble Street is not afraid to address big problems.
What are the biggest challenges Preble Street faces looking to the future? Or what are the specific projects/aspects of Preble Street that you are committed to? The biggest challenges facing Preble Street is the broken mental health system; the stigma faced by unsheltered people; and funding. We once hoped there would be no need for shelters. But, the environment has not been conducive to that.
Being a nonprofit board member can be very demanding and time-consuming. What makes it all worthwhile?
Knowing the work is measured in human lives. As good as Preble Street is at its work, my wish is that Preble Street didn’t have to exist. I wish that people were not seriously ill and unhoused. I wish no one went hungry.
But since that is not the case, Preble Street is there to give people hope and to often save their lives.
Board Profile – Lauren Gauthier
How did you first get involved with Preble Street? My wife is from Maine, and we’d come up frequently to visit my in-laws before moving up here permanently. On one of these trips, I was lucky enough to meet Swannie through my father-in-law, John Roberts, and got a tour of the organization. It stuck with
50 years of food security
At 6 am on a frosty morning in early November, the lights and ovens get turned on at the Preble Street Food Security Hub (FSH). By 7am, volunteers and staff begin to fill the kitchen, and by 8:30 am, everything is humming along. The smell of roast chicken fills the air while knives go thunk
Everyone deserves a safety net
“I had just one thing in mind, one goal in mind,” shares Cindy Neff, from the apartment building she has been living in for the past six months. “I wanted to get off the streets. I wanted to live again. I wanted a roof over my head. I wanted that safety net back for myself.