Information to help the City of Portland’s Community Support Fund/ Asylum Seekers

If any Gray residents are looking for ways to help the Asylum Seekers in the City of Portland & the Community Support Fund, please follow the links below for more information: 

To Volunteer & Donate & More Information: 

https://www.unitedwaygp.org/2019/06/15/looking-to-help-asylum-seekers/ 

Financial Donations: 

Text Expo to 91999 or go to portlandmaine.gov/donate.

Additional Resources: 

Yarmouth Compassionate Housing Initiative (YCHI): Since 2015, this collaborative of 3 Yarmouth churches (First Universalist Church, St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, with the participation of First Parish Church of Yarmouth)  has supported over 40 families in Greater Yarmouth through partnerships with the Chestnut Street Family Shelter, Maine Medical Center and Family Promise. The group hosts families in members’ homes for up to 4 weeks until housing becomes available at the family shelter, helps families move into their own homes from the family shelter, encourages and mentors them as they seek employment. The group is offering English language learning classes to the community of new arrivals living in Yarmouth hailing from Iraq, Congo, China, Spain, India, Japan and Burundi at Merrill Memorial Library.  More than 100 Yarmouth residents have been involved in hosting, connecting, mentoring, befriending and providing material support to our new neighbors through this initiative.  To learn more, contact co-coordinators Carla Hunt and Deborah Keefe at ychiyarmouth@gmail.com

The following organizations, provided by the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine, are coordinating volunteer efforts and donations for Asylum seekers.

Portland Community Support Fund
The City of Portland has set up a portal where people can donate toward the Community Support Fund which provides shelter/housing assistance and basic human necessities for asylum seekers. 
Link: https://www.portlandmaine.gov/1554/Support-Asylum-Seekers

Hope Acts: Provides housing for asylum seekers, as well as English language acquisition and practice, legal support toward their asylum case, work authorization and securing employment, and making mutually beneficial social connections with Americans and fellow immigrants in Maine.https://hopeacts.org/

Greater Portland Family Promise: Families who are guests in the program are provided food, shelter, case management, and hospitality as they work to find sustainable housing, employment, childcare, and educational opportunities. https://greaterportlandfamilypromise.org

Neighbors in Need: Assists asylum seekers in obtaining household and personal items by enlisting the aid of a broader group of willing hands with the hope of easing their transition to their new lives as they begin to settle and make a new home here. https://www.neighborsinneedmaine.org/

Furniture Friends: Furniture Friends partners with over 100 local social service providers, hospitals, faith-based organizations, municipalities, and schools to identify people in need who lack the financial resources to purchase furniture on their own. http://furniturefriends.org

Catholic Charities of Maine: From cultural orientation and referrals to case management and ongoing support, CCAM provides professional resettlement, orientation, employment, and cultural adjustment services. https://www.ccmaine.org

Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project (ILAP): The Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project helps low income immigrants improve their legal status and works for more just and humane laws and policies affecting immigrants. https://ilapmaine.org

Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center: The IWC serves as a hub of collaboration that strengthens the immigrant community through language acquisition, economic integration and civic engagement. https://www.welcomeimmigrant.org 

Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition: Coalition of a number of organizations that focuses on improving the legal, social and economic conditions experienced by Maine’s immigrants through advocacy, information sharing and collaboration both through and among our member organizations. https://www.maineimmigrantrights.org