As the year draws to a close, we send wishes for a healthy and less turbulent year ahead. It’s important for us all to highlight the many gifts of 2021 amid so much challenge—COVID resurgence, economic challenges, and so much hurt in our world.
What have we learned:
Life’s simplest things are the most beautiful and powerful.
Acts of kindness, compassion, support, and love are everywhere.
Encouraging a strength or talent in someone who is struggling can save a life.
Giving someone the opportunity to learn and grow restores hope
As a team at the Knox County Homeless Coalition, a big part of our work is finding and building on strengths with patience, education, and support. We take time to earn trust—without judgment—and then notice and encourage positive qualities. We slowly build on these positive qualities as we help entire families become the best versions of themselves.
A dear friend showed me something very simple one can make for a loved one or acquaintance or even a stranger who may be going through a rough time. Perhaps self-confidence is low or they’ve felt like they simply don’t matter.
Below are the instructions for this little gift—my gift to you this Christmastime.
Find a special little box or container, small, hopefully made of some special material, like an old silver jewelry box or something made of wood or clay. These kinds of small boxes and containers can be found in so many places—antique shops, garage or yard sales, Goodwill or Salvation Army.
Fill the little box with small slivers of paper, and on each one write a note about something very positive and special about that person. You are smart. You have a beautiful smile. You are kind. You are a great mom. You are curious! You have a great sense of humor! Yum! You are a good cook. Look how you just put that Christmas present together! Look how sparkling the kitchen is—you are an amazing cleaner! Look at that beautiful drawing—you are very artistic!
Give your friend or acquaintance that box and guide them to open it when they are questioning their self worth, confidence, or place in life.
And remind them to keep it close—as it is a true treasure and reminder of all good things about him/her. It can inspire further education for career or life or all of the above.
This Christmas, I am grateful for this incredible community, for all of you. And, for the privilege of having the gift of meaningful work, changing and saving lives, and making our community the best it can be. Thank you for your support. Our caring community is a huge gift, a constant in this ever-changing world that can feel overly challenging at times.
Wishing you a year ahead filled with purpose, hope, good health, and the joys of giving and changing lives and the world—there is nothing we cannot do, if we do it together!
With love and deepest gratitude for all the support you all provide to our work and our families.
Stephanie Primm
Executive Director, Knox County Homeless Coalition
Chair, Statewide Homeless Council
We Do It Differently:
DOING THE RIGHT THING FOR WHOLE FAMILIES
Another successful year of the Adopt-A-Family program!
The Knox County Homeless Coalition brings joy not only to children, but to moms, dads, single folks, and grandparents. We believe everyone deserves a little something this time of year. A special thanks to all of the volunteers who helped us make magic.
3Elves 100+ Donors 15 Volunteers 50 hours of gift wrapping 600 peoples' wishes granted
$12,000+ spent in the
local community = SUCCESS! Thank you for helping us help those in need.
YOUTH ART ON THE ROAD
What’s pink, tear-shaped and has two wheels?
The Landing Place Art-Mobile!
Don’t be surprised if you see the TLP logo rolling through your neighborhood soon!
Thanks to generous funding from the Maine Arts Commission and the Onion Foundation, 15 youth involved in our Makerspace program designed and built this distinctive pop-up trailer that doubles as a rolling art-mobile for hands-on projects and a display space for celebrating youth art. The youth creators learned skills such as sanding, drilling, and painting, and they developed pride in being Makers!
The Makerspace program at The Landing Place provides opportunities for youth to experiment and express their creativity in art and design, with tools, materials, and the guidance of our teaching artist, Kim Bernard.
Don Johnson has made his living by the tides. Once a commercial fisherman in Owls Head, he developed a disabling health condition and became an alcoholic. He’s been sober for ten years now, and he attributes his sobriety to his creative outlet, making tie-dye clothing and selling it through his online business, Creative Tide-Dyes. “I had to find an outlet to take up my time from drinking; find a happy place.”
What started with painting driftwood evolved into a fascination with pattern and dyes. Encouraged by a friend to try tie-dying, Don began to experiment with mixing his own colors and creating elaborate designs on t-shirts, hoodies, even jeans. Don says that first winter was a struggle: “I kept taking everything [I earned] and rolled it right back into [product] so I could stay busy, creative.” He enjoys selling shirts; but also giving them away. His case manager, Bill says Don’s focus is bringing joy to others.
Don first came to KCHC two years ago when his apartment was sold to a buyer from out of state. It was the beginning of the pandemic, and he was homeless for the first time in his life. He’s had to move three times in the last two years. One of the few possessions he has are his totes of inventory. Don dreams of finding more stability: “I’d like to have a store and a place to live, all in one.” For the meantime, he is just finding ways to sell or give away his shirts so he can keep busy with his creative passion.
If you’d like to purchase one of Don’s creations and support his healthy habit, you can find them at 53 Bayview Street in Camden; or on Facebook at Coastal Tide Dyes.
Pictured here is a client who recently moved from the Hospitality House Family Shelter into her own home!She was beyond excited and was glad to let us grab a picture of her and her new place.
Each individual and family who enters through our doors brings their own unique stories, challenges, and opportunities. For some, housing instability has been a chronic challenge since childhood. Others slipped into crisis after a series of complicated events left them with no options and nowhere to turn.
As we face an escalating housing crisis, the continued challenges of the pandemic, and an increasingly urgent nationwide mental health crisis, these victories mean that much more.
Warm woolen mittens. . . and a few more of my favorite things.
We'd like to extend a huge thank you on behalf of our clients to Turtle Fur for donating more than 80 brand new winter hats, caps, and socks to KCHC through their program, Project Warmth!
We'd also like to thank a number of local businesses who have outfitted us with warm winter gear. Thank you Raveis Real Estate, Rock City Cafe, Maine Needs, and Maine Sport.
Thank you to the donors who brought loads of stuffed moose and bears for kids to snuggle this year.
And, we hope you enjoyed the beautiful "Ringing in the Season" handbell concert—we did! Thanks for supporting KCHC.
And there's still time to check out Carver Hill Gallery's Holiday Exhibition and Fundraiser to benefit KCHC. More info can be found here.
Love is a Gift
A couple from Camden, ME set up their wedding registry to benefit our clients. They invited guests to purchase household items and ship them to KCHC. Because of their kind gesture, we received almost 40 items from kitchenware to vacuum cleaners to bean bag chairs and comforters for folks moving into new homes!
One Night Without A Home... A Success! Thank you to everyone who supported our 3rd Annual One Night Without A Home awareness-raising event. We exceeded our $50,000 fundraising goal with nearly 200 caring community members and businesses contributing to the 'sleep-out' event on the Village Green in Camden, ME.
The success of this event proves that when dedicated people get behind a cause, great things can happen. Thank you for helping us raise awareness of the issues surrounding homelessness and the need for affordable housing.
Please be aware and plan accordingly. All of our offices are closed the following days:
December 24, 2021 - Christmas Eve
December 25, 2021 - Christmas Day
December 26, 2021 - Typically not open on Sundays
December 31, 2021 - New Year's Eve
January 1, 2022 - New Year's Day
January 2, 2022 - Typically not open on Sundays
We are hiring! Knox County Homeless Coalition seeks caring, dedicated, and flexible team members to become a part of our mission-driven organization. If that's you, join us to create, implement, and improve programs to support the most vulnerable members of our community. Benefits include employer-supported health insurance plans, optional dental and vision plans, life insurance, short term disability insurance, paid time off, and paid holidays, including your very own birthday as a paid day off (because you deserve it!). Click here for more info.
Thank you to the generous donor who, while doing some landscaping, salvaged a huge evergreen and brought it over to adorn the front yard at the Hospitality House Family Shelter. It certainly does look like a beacon of hope for those looking for help on the way home!
We wish you a happy, healthy holidays and beyond!
As always, if you or someone you know and love needs assistance and is experiencing homelessness—please reach out to KCHC at 207-593-8151 or email us atinfo@homehelphope.org.
