05 March 2020
Buckets on the Table: Knox County Homeless Coalition
Speaker of the Day: Stephanie Primm, Knox County Homeless Coalition - Breaking Cycles of Poverty and Homelessness in Midcoast Maine
Thank you Rotarians for helping us out at the Hospitality House! We are the only dedicated homeless service in Knox County and are committed to keeping the client at the center of the decision making plan. We are currently caring for 424 people. Why do we exist? We save lives, restore hope and confidence, we are doing the right thing for human beings, help break cycles of poverty and homelessness for entire families. We have assisted 2000 people since opening! 50% of these people are children. You don’t see homelessness here in our area, but it does exist. There are 43 staff members working to care for these community members. 911 clients have been housed and there is a 90% success rate for people who graduate our program.
Our core services include the hospitality house (housing 22 people), comprehensive client care, the Landing Place, Emergency Services, transportation/outbound food distribution/emergency supply depot, and Love. There is a case management office in the school. We provide host homes for children. Some causes for homelessness are domestic violence, low wages, and affordable housing. Creation of small houses helps create solutions for affordable housing. We are hoping for, this fall, Shovels in the Ground on small house construction! The Coalition is working toward prevention and education for the future. In 10 years we are hoping for elimination of homelessness in the community. Note that Maine in the hungriest state in the country. Collaboration is key to our success.
Committee Reports:
More Thank You notes from gift recipients.
Gwen Clemens is a new member proposed
Regular meeting next Tuesday for Community Meeting, March 21 Habitat project
Interact will be going State House to be pages March 24th
Phase 2 water project in Tanzania is moving forward.
EREY this week Jim Potter
District grant project for Meals for Hope is in process, different meals and more participation from other organizations.
Sat 18th of April for E-Waste
Duck Derby – May 23rd, couple prizes are set!
Register for the conference!
Next Week’s Speaker: Maria Povic, The Future of Maine