Finding help when you need it is not always easy. Since 2020, a collaborative program called The Connections Initiative (TCI) has been working to remedy that situation, making it easier for Washington County families and individuals who are in need of life altering resources, such as housing, heating and transportation, to reach out for and receive assistance.
      The groundwork for TCI was laid in 2015 during the Community Caring Collaborative's (CCC) vision day event, where "partners are invited to dream big for Washington County, imagining together solutions and supports that change outcomes for community members," explains CCC Director Charley Martin Berry. From that, a program called "Mentor Neighbor" took form in 2018. During the pandemic, a separate initiative driven by state and regional leaders and organizations took shape with a goal of having a single helpline provide any necessary resource. As the shared goals of the two programs were realized, they were joined together into TCI in 2020.
      Now, anyone who is in need of assistance can go to TCI's website at www.connectioninitiative.org and submit a request for help. Once submitted, the ticket will be followed by TCI Program Manager Dante Zanoni, who will ensure it is followed up on.

A hub of services
      "When the Connections Initiative started, it was a godsend," says Jessica Melhiser of Aroostook Mental Health Services (AMHC). Prior to its launch, Melhiser and her coworkers would go through a list of agencies and send out requests for assistance to them one by one when one of their clients had a particular need. "Instead of having to send out 47 requests, not knowing who did what, we could open a ticket with TCI, and they would be able to provide us with people and agencies who could help with that sort of thing."
      In many cases, Melhiser says, TCI is able to pull in resources that aren't familiar or which may have temporary funding to share. A few winters ago, she recalls a client who needed heating assistance after exhausting the standard resources. After she put in a ticket with TCI, they were able to find an alternative resource -- in this case the Shriners -- who were able to help through funding they'd received. "I had no idea they even did that," Melhiser says.
      "It makes my job in helping clients much easier, and it makes it so they're able to get help much faster," she continues.
      While Melhiser is using the service less lately, it's only due to her recent change of roles within AMHC, she says. When she was working as a children's case manager managing about 25 cases, she made a few referrals each month, she recalls.
      The most frequent requests for help that she handles revolve around heating assistance, Melhiser says, and typically involve families or individuals who have run out of resources from state agencies. Others are for transportation assistance and vehicle repairs.
      "I'm so glad it's around now. It's just kind of shocking that nobody did it sooner," she says.
      State Rep. Anne Perry of Calais has similarly been referring constituents who are facing difficult situations to TCI since the program launched, she shares, finding that "sometimes they come up with solutions that aren't cookie cutter."
      In one case, Perry had heard from an elderly man who was on a fixed income. "His rent got away from him," she says, leaving him without a place to stay besides his vehicle. Once connected with TCI, providers were able to help set him up with long term lodging.
      "He called me back, he was so excited he was able to find housing. He said, 'I've been looking in all the wrong places for help,'" Perry recalls, adding that she's heard that several times from people in need. "Nobody knows where to go."
      Given the increasing cost of housing in the county, the importance of a program like this can't be understated, Perry says. "We don't know how many homeless people are here. They're in cars, on neighbors' couches, on the streets. We don't realize how many people are really struggling with housing."

Current offerings and future goals
      Since launching four years ago, TCI has been a runaway success in terms of how much it's helped streamline the process of requesting and providing assistance in the region. In effect, it's become what it was intended to be, "a place to turn for people who have reached too many dead ends, experienced too many frustrating attempts to access the resources they need and who time after time could not 'connect' with a person," Zanoni says.
      At present, the list of needs TCI addresses is impressive, with Zanoni outlining that the program has helped with heating assistance, food insecurities, in-home care for older adults, home improvement, childcare, family advocates, mental health counseling for both youth and adults, connections around literacy, car repair, healthcare needs, employment needs, durable medical equipment, mental health, substance use resources and more.
      While it's a relatively young program, Martin Berry says that CCC is "committed to the long term success of TCI," noting that it currently relies on grants from private foundations and health institutions.
      Beyond simply continuing TCI as is, the CCC is looking to grow the program in the near future, Martin Berry says, with a goal of providing additional, multi layered support. "We will be connecting people to volunteers, mentors and coaches in an intentional effort to expand social connections that can improve health, education, career and community life."