The work we do to empower people experiencing homelessness, hunger, and poverty is never done alone. We are continuously making connections with other social service providers and nonprofits to better serve clients and the needs of the community. From our decades-long collaboration with Avesta Housing for our housing programs to our new partnership with Maine Needs for meeting basic human needs to our ongoing collaboration with Equality Community Center to ensure we’re supporting some of the most marginalized members of our community, partnerships are a key part of achieving our mission here at Preble Street.
We’re proud to highlight two such partners here:
Bread of Life
Bread of Life’s mission is to feed, shelter, and empower people to change their lives. They are dedicated to offering hope and pathways forward for people in our community experiencing hunger and homelessness.
Starting as a humble soup kitchen 41 years ago, Bread of Life has since grown into a comprehensive support network. In addition to the soup kitchen, they now run a 40-bed emergency family shelter, a 14-bed shelter for Veterans, and an 8-bed addiction recovery center. They also provide over 100 affordable housing units throughout Augusta.
Bread of Life expanded their Veteran programming earlier this year. (See the photo of the Art’s House ribbon cutting, above).
“This past March, we opened ART’s House — Addiction Recovery and Trauma — a residential program designed to support Veterans who are ready to confront the underlying causes of their substance use and begin the journey to healing,” shares Victoria Abbot, Bread of Life Executive Director. “ART’s House offers not just a safe space, but a path forward. This program’s vision started three years ago, after we witnessed firsthand the
growing addiction crisis on the streets of Augusta. Moved by the urgency of the need, our leadership team became committed to understanding the deep-rooted traumas that often lead Veterans into cycles of addiction, poverty, and homelessness.”
Preble Street Veterans Housing Services (VHS) deeply appreciates the services Bread of Life offers.
“Bread of Life provides necessary and supportive shelter services to Veterans and families in the Augusta area,” says Laura Clark, Director of VHS. “Preble Street Veterans Housing Services partners with Bread of Life to ensure Maine Veterans have access to life-saving shelter, nourishing food, and case management as they move out of homelessness and into housing!”
Day One
Day One, a long-recognized leader in the prevention and treatment of youth substance use and mental health, provides an invaluable resource to youth and families, including Preble Street clients.
For the unhoused youth at the Preble Street Teen Center, these services are especially accessible as the Day One Street Program team is housed within the Teen Center. The Day One Street Program has been in partnership with Preble Street Teen Services for over 30 years as part of a collaborative network that works to ensure quality care and support for unhoused youth.
Day One Program Manager Cheryl Daly LCSW, LADC, CCS (who you may remember from last year’s Teen Services video) and Clinician Annie Perkins LCSW, LADC, CCS are dually licensed and engage in a low-barrier and trauma-informed approach.
“We employ a harm-reduction lens to our thinking, and make sure that treatment goals are created by our clients, as they are experts in their own lives,” says Cheryl. “We recognize that many of our youth have had negative systematic experiences in the past. The outreach process leads to a more organic way of building connection.”
“A client simply has to express desire to engage, and the Day One staff meet the youth where they are at,” says Teen Center Supervisor, Eric Pratt. “I cannot imagine a lower-barrier method for engaging with therapy services. Additionally, the wealth of knowledge of substance use treatment is incredibly beneficial to the youth we work with. We are so fortunate to have them as collaborative partners. Our clients would be at an immense disservice without them.”
Day One also provides support to youth that have transitioned out of homelessness and into transitional living apartments, helping ensure that they have the tools they need to thrive.
And while youth homelessness is a tragic problem that Preble Street, Day One, and other partners are striving to end, there is also a lot of fun and joy in the day-to-day work.
“The best part of our jobs is that we get to spend our days in community with vibrant youth and strong collaborative partners,” says Cheryl. “There is never a boring day and there is always an abundance of laughter.”
Preble Street is immensely grateful for the more than 220 social service providers and nonprofits we work with toward shared goals. Community partnerships cultivate collaboration and communication between organizations, building and strengthening relationships across agencies. This keeps us grounded in the shared purpose of serving clients in an effective and dignified way.
Working together, we know we can provide stronger, more far-reaching impacts for our neighbors in Maine.
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