SCHOOL & COMMUNITY Forum

CONNECTED COMMUNITY FORUMS

Two Part Series: SCHOOL & COMMUNITY

Tuesday, January 28, 2020: School Union 76, hosted by Superintendent Chris Elkington, 5-7PM at the DISHS Cafeteria

Wednesday, February 26, 2020: SAU 93, hosted by Superintendent Mark Hurvitt, 4-6PM at the Blue Hill Congregational Church

From Bob Holmberg at Community Compass: I am excited to announce our January Community Compass “Connected Community Forum” on School and Community will be focused upon SU 76 and held at the DISHS cafeteria Tues., Jan 28, 5-7pm (light food available).

This will be in a talking circle table format with Superintendent Chris Elkington kicking off the discussion and going around the group as we do in our annual Community Compass “Big Tent” Forum.

The follow-up and similar Forum, focusing on SU 93, will be hosted by Superintendent Mark Hurvitt and held Wed., Feb. 26, 4-6pm at the Blue Hill Congregational Church.

The discussion will be focused upon how the school system can better connect with community and how community volunteers and services, can better support the school and its students. The Forum is open to the community, plus business, human service, and education group leaders are being specifically invited.

The hoped-for outcome will be some specific new ideas for closer school support by the community.

Shannon's Story

Dear Neighbor,

I’m writing to you today because I want to introduce you to Shannon, a single mother struggling to raise her child in one of the 10 towns in the Blue Hill/ Deer Isle Stonington region serviced by our Community Compass Navigators. 

Shannon is struggling to raise her young daughter by herself. Because she doesn’t have a car, she is walking on the side of a country road, pushing her daughter in a stroller.

She feels isolated and needs help finding a job and educational opportunities for her daughter, but she doesn’t know who to turn to. 

You may have seen mothers like Shannon walking down the roads in your own town here in our rural coastal region. You might have wondered how you could help, or what could be done to improve life for those in poverty and their children. 

You now have the opportunity to be a hero for mothers like Shannon. With just a little support from our Navigator to help connect her to service and educational organizations in our community, she can get the help she needs and stand on her own two feet. But there are many barriers to escaping the trap of poverty and it’s nearly impossible to do alone.

With support from people like you, Shannon can connect with a trusted Community Compass Navigator: a local woman who has lived and known the burden of poverty, who has been trained to help others gain access to resources that they so desperately need. 

For Shannon, a Community Compass Navigator can help her get job training so she can support her daughter and provide what she needs. A Navigator can also make welcoming newborn and preschool home visits, assess basic needs, provide early childhood support and development resources, and connect her to a local Community Compass infant play and parent support group that will help ensure she is ready for kindergarten. Our Navigators help connect parents with regional early child development groups such as Maine Families and Head Start. Getting access to early child education services is one of the best keys to readiness for school and long-term solution to poverty. These infants are the future of our community.

These are not luxuries; they are the basics that a family living in poverty needs to have a chance at thriving in the future. 

Your support is absolutely essential to help ensure that Shannon and her daughter can connect to these services. Will you give a gift of today? 

What happens if Shannon doesn’t get connected to needed services through a Community Compass Navigator and stays separated in generational poverty? Chances are she will continue to struggle. She will continue to feel isolated and alone and she may never find a job to support herself. Her daughter may not be ready for school, which may result in her also living in poverty as an adult. 

You have the power to help our neighbors move from poverty to being self-sufficient. You have the power to help break the cycle of poverty and ensure that Shannon’s daughter doesn’t suffer as her mother has. 

Please consider a gift for mothers like Shannon today. We need to raise $15,000 by December 31st to expand our successful Early Childhood and Basic Needs Navigator program into two more towns in 2020. You are our hope; please help us make this happen. 

Thank you for considering a gift to care for our neighbors. 

Sincerely,

Dr Bob Holmberg, President, 

Board of Directors, Community Compass

Starfish Program links three nonprofits to send kids to camp

Originally published in Castine Patriot, August 15, 2019 and Island Ad-Vantages, August 15, 2019

Starfish Program links three nonprofits to send kids to camp

by Anne Berleant

Summer camp is considered a rite of passage by many parents and children, and a necessity by many working parents. But not all parents are able to send their children to camp. Enter the Starfish Program, a partnership between Nichols Day Camps and peninsula nonprofit Community Compass, in collaboration with The Hatch Community Youth Fund in Castine.

The Starfish Program has provided the opportunity for 37 local children to experience archery, soccer, swimming, kayaking and other water sports, theater, arts and crafts and the friendships that form between children, from all walks of life and geographic locations, at summer camp.

The Starfish Program began with Gil Tenney of Castine, a former Community Compass and current Hatch Fund board member, “to send kids to summer camp who might not have the opportunity to go,” said Community Compass’ Executive Director Scott Hamann. Seated at a picnic table at the Sedgwick camp, with shouts and laughter floating by from a group of soccer-playing campers, he and camp director River Plouffe-Vogel talked about the program and its benefits.

While Nichols Day Camps has long offered “camperships,” to cover full or partial camp tuition and transportation, the Starfish Program has more than doubled the number of scholarships. What is unique is the mentorship embedded in the program that helps identify children in each of the nine towns Community Compass serves—Blue Hill, Brooklin, Brooksville, Castine, Deer Isle, Penobscot, Sedgwick, Stonington and Surry—and help them apply and make sure the children are “camp ready,” with swim suit, food for packed lunches and the like. 

“The mentorship is at the core of the program,” Hamann said.”We really want wraparound services.”

The Blue Hill Society for Aid to Children, the nonprofit organization that operates Nichols Day Camps, gave 20 full and 10 partial camperships this summer at a cost of approximately $10,475, plus transportation costs. Community Compass funded 17 more campers, and worked with Andrea Hatch of The Hatch Community Youth Fund to provide an additional 22 camperships, some through Community Compass and some through direct application to The Hatch Fund, at a total cost of about $15,500. Campers come from each of the nine peninsula towns, with the Hatch Fund specifically aimed at families in Castine, Brooksville and Penobscot but also funding camperships in Sedgwick and for children living at H.O.M.E. in Orland.

“The great thing that happened this year is that Community Compass, through its mentorship program, identified nine or 10 kids in Penobscot and Brooksville who would probably not have been able to go to camp without the funding,” Hatch said. “We were able to supplement the Starfish funding so that we could support all these kids, which was really great.”

More than double the number of Community Compass and The Hatch Fund camperships were available this summer compared to 2018.

“This was the first year we were really able to work off established relationships and grow the program,” Hamann said, which found funding through “some of our major donors who wanted to see this succeed.” In addition, a number of local organizations gave an additional 10 camperships, he noted.

The total enrollment at Nichols Day Camps this summer was 291, with campers from as nearby as down the street to as far as Sweden and Germany. The cost of a two-week session is $418 for in-state and $625 for out-of-state campers, with $155,000 of revenue coming in from tuition and $120,000 from investments filling the organization’s $277,400 operating budget for 2019, according to general manager Marti Brill. 

“It’s unique,” Plouffe-Vogel said, noting that from 30 to 40 percent of campers come from out of state each summer. “Camp is the first place a lot of these kids are getting to meet kids from other towns, and from across incomes. We kind of get to [be] a bridge between the two communities. It’s a really unique setting that allows it to happen.”

Community Compass: communitycompassdowneast.org

Nichols Day Camp: nicholsdaycamps.org

Hatch Community Youth Fund: thehatchfund.org

Community Compass Board of Directors welcomes Elaine Hewes!

Community Compass’s Board of Directors is thrilled to welcome Elaine Hewes. Elaine joins Community Compass with a lifetime of experience that will inform our mission. She was a long time early childhood teacher at Sedgwick Elementary school, and is a retired minister from Bangor Lutheran church as well as St Brendan’s church. Elaine and her husband Michael Hewes are longtime residents of Sedgwick.

Community Compass’s Starfish Mentorship Program Sends 35 Maine Kids to Summer Camp!

In partnership with Nichols Day Camp, and with the support of the The Hatch Community Youth Fund, Community Compass’s Starfish Mentorship program pairs kids in the community with mentors to foster an enriching summer camp experience. Camp tuition is paid for through “camperships,” with 16 coming from Community Compass, and 19 from the Hatch Fund. 

“We’re just so thrilled to be able to send so many kids to camp this year,” said Community Compass Director Scott Hamann. “We worked with mentors in every community in our region, and couldn’t be more proud of their work to identify kids in every town in our service area.” 

Community Compass serves the towns of Blue Hill, Brooklin, Brooksville, Castine, Deer Isle, Orland, Penobscot, Sedgwick, Stonington, and Surry. Each town will be represented with a Starfish Camper. 

“Nichols Day Camps is proud to be collaborating alongside Community Compass and the Hatch Fund.” said River Plouffe Vogel, camp Executive Director. “The Starfish Mentorship program has allowed NDC to achieve our mission of instilling area youth with a passion for the outdoors, and to be a place where everyone can learn and grow together.”

“We truly appreciate Nichols Day Camp’s support for this initiative,” said Community Compass Board President Bob Holmberg. “The staff and board have worked overtime to help our campers register and understand what they need to prepare for camp.” 

The Hatch Community Youth Fund is “a fund to honor Frank Hatch and Harold Hatch through support for youth sports and recreation.” MORE

As River Vogel said, “When community organizations work together, real and meaningful change happens.“

LEARN MORE about Nichols Day Camp. 

Community Response to the Opioid Crisis | Connected Community Forum

Community Compass’s May Connected Community Forum focused on the opioid crisis: “Community Response to the Opioid Crisis.” A panel of speakers included Charlie Osborn and Roger Bergen (Opiate Free Island), Debra Matteson (Healthy Acadia), Barbara Royal (Open Door Recovery Center), Denise Black (Healthy Acadia), and Gordon Smith (Director of Opioid Response, Governor Mills Office). 

As Ellsworth American reported, “Prevention is the missing piece in the fight against opiate abuse.” Notes Gordon Smith, “We wouldn’t need to put as much into treatment if we could keep our sons and daughters from trying substances when they are 9, 10, 11 years old.” 

Overdose rates in Maine declined slightly last year, however we are still higher than the national and regional average with a life lost nearly every day. “An average of 900 babies in Maine each year are born addicted to opiates.” (Ellsworth American) 

Gordon Smith describes his approach to the opioid crisis: “Opiate addiction should be treated like a public health issue. We need to put significant attention with lowering stigma — not just with the public but in the medical community and law enforcement.” 

Affordable & Workforce Housing | Connected Community Forum

Blue Hill | March 26, 2019 | Community Compass held its Connected Community Forum on Affordable Housing. Speakers included housing experts and concerned volunteers from around the state, presenting a broad range of perspectives on the problem. 

Keynote speaker Cullen Ryan (Executive Director, Community Housing of Maine) noted the significant unmet need throughout the state, and spoke about various challenges and opportunities Maine could pursue to address the issue. 

Duane Bartlett (Executive Director, MDI & Ellsworth Housing Authority) spoke about their focus on workforce housing, noting that the cost of housing now exceeds the ability of many year round workers, including shop keepers, trades people, teachers, and law enforcement to find affordable housing. Their goal is to develop workforce housing. MDIHA is working with conservation trusts which often acquire conservation lands that include some of the developable land appropriate for workforce housing. 

Rosa Moore (Board Member, Covenant Community Land Trust) talked about the use of Land Trust model to create affordable housing. CCLT owns land in Dedham, Sedgwick, Bucksport, Orland, and Franklin, which is devoted to affordable housing. 

Erica Veazie (Attorney, Pine Tree Legal) talked about services they provide for clients. Much of their real estate work relates to landlord-tenant issues, particularly representing clients who are being evicted from apartments for non-payment of rent.

Tim Tunney (Bar Harbor Bank and Trust) spoke of the challenges of creating new housing units. With higher costs of building materials, it is increasingly difficult to create new housing that generates suitable return for builders. He also spoke of the interest of lenders to invest in communities and their general receptiveness to working with developers to create new housing units. 

Michael Wood (Island Workforce Housing) echoed many of the housing affordability concerns that pertain to Mount Desert Island. The price of real estate has become so high that participants in the local workforce are challenged to find properties to buy or rent. The Island Workforce Housing is working on a survey of housing needs and resources with the hope of increasing the supply of affordable housing for the DIS workforce. 

The Affordable Housing Forum underscored the fact that affordable housing is an issue throughout the state, not just in our region. Bipartisan legislation currently pending in Augusta would “create over 1,000 additional affordable homes over four years, doubling Maine’s current rate of production.” 

Community Compass Awarded Opportunity Fund Grant

Community Compass was awarded a $15,000 grant from the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Castine Opportunity Fund, which recognizes the social justice work of local organizations.  

This grant comes on the heels of a successful annual appeal where the organization exceeded its goal.

Grassroots community support, combined with the Opportunity Fund grant, will allow Community Compass to continue its work in the region, helping families in need access resources to lift themselves out of poverty.

Affordable Housing in Our Region | Connected Community Forum

Community Compass will host its second Connected Community Forum of 2019 on Tuesday March 26th from 4-6 p.m. at First Congregational Church of Blue Hill (22 Tenney Hill, Blue Hill). RSVP HERE

This month’s topic is Affordable and Workforce Housing in our region. Community Housing of Maine (CHOM) Director Cullen Ryan will deliver the keynote, followed by a panel and audience Q&A. Panelists include Duane Bartlett (MDI and Ellsworth Housing Authority), Rosa Moore (H.O.M.E.), Erica Veazey (Pine Tree Legal), Jack Frost (Bar Harbor Bank and Trust), Marla Obyrne (Island Housing Trust), Michael Wood (Deer Isle Stonington Workforce Housing). The Forum will be moderated by Community Compass board member Charles “Kim” Coit.

“Affordable housing is such an important topic,” Community Compass Executive Director Scott Hamann said, “and these panelists will help us cover a lot of ground. We’ll learn about affordable housing construction, the state’s housing voucher system, renter’s rights, housing loans, and workforce housing.”

This event is free and open to the public. Please feel free to RSVP here.

More News From our Spring Newsletter

Community Compass Response to the COVID pandemic

In the growing regional fall out for the COVID pandemic, the mission of Community compass is now more critical than ever: “Connecting those in need with resources and opportunity”. This collaborative effort is materialized with our 20 plus member Community Advisory group of regional partner service organizations.

Connected Community Forums: School and Community

Connected Community Forums were held on January 28th (Union 76 at DISHS) and February 26th (Union 93 at Blue Hill Congo Church) with 30 participants in attendance at each forum. Participants from the 2 school unions included both superintendents, principals, counselors and teachers including pre-kg. A wide group of community participated including early childhood, human service, town and business groups as Bar Harbor Bank. contact Skip Greenlaw, interim director (skip@midmaine.com)

Navigator Program: New PALS Program in Sedgwick!

Thanks to a three year United Way of Eastern Maine grant, we are growing our early childhood Parents are Leaders (PALS) program. The Sedgwick Early Childhood Navigator Support Program, led by board member Rev. Elaine Hewes and her team of experience local early childhood educators are developing a new “Little PALS : Play and Learn. Contact Pat Horton at phphorton @gmail.com; or bobholmberg@me.com.

Starfish Campership Program

We are planning to send at least 40 local children in need to a free 2 weeks at Nichols Day Camp. This is including free transportation and lunch. Financial support comes from contributions to Community Compass and our partnership with the Hatch Fund in Castine. Contact: Skip Greenlaw at skipg@midmaine.com.

Donor Campaign

We are so grateful for the tremendous generosity of our donors in this years campaign. We exceeded our expectations in receiving $24,000 from the community. The community support has been augmented by successful recent grants received fro UWEM, the Opportunity fund (Unitarian Universalest Congregation of Castine), and a community Building Development Grant.

Pssst, we're on WERU! →

Sue Mackey Andrews of The Maine Resiliency Building Network asked Community Compass to join the conversation with her on Family Corner, on WERU. Listen to what our Neighborhood Navigators have to say about poverty in our region. 

 

WERU-Logo-1.jpg

Basic Needs Not Enough

Kristin Miale, President of Good Shepherd Food Bank, speaks plainly about poverty blamed on the poor, the importance of connecting those in need to our community and reminds us that it's our neighbors that live in poverty. 

 

Parent/Infant Interactions Key for Healthy Development

Our Parents Are Leaders program (PALs) is based on research showing healthy interaction between parent and their infant is crucial to developing social emotional skills. These skills prepare children to be successful in school and beyond. This video is an example of how parent interaction can affect infant behavior.