As we celebrate Thanksgiving in different ways this year due to the pandemic, we are incredibly thankful for the support of foundations and United Ways to help Maine people continue to access behavioral health care and meet their basic needs.
The pandemic has dramatically destabilized families and heightened stress, increasing the need for behavioral health supports. Many of our clients are low income and are facing unprecedented obstacles including loss of employment, food insecurity, and threats to housing stability. Many were just getting by prior to COVID-19 and are now struggling to meet their basic needs. There has been a significant increase in the number of adults and families seeking counseling, medication management, and substance use treatment.
- For children like Aiden with special dietary needs it can be challenging for families to get the foods they need at food pantries, which can mean the difference between calm and crisis. Food vouchers available through COVID relief funds provided not only food but stability for Aiden and his family.
- For many of our families, remote school meant that working parents suddenly didn’t have childcare. For families with children with autism, families were faced with the difficult decision of losing their job or paying for childcare. Funding helped us provide Nina’s mom with a housing voucher so she could pay for care until the services she needed were available.
We are grateful for a recent grant from the Sam L. Cohen Foundation that will allow us to continue providing mental health care and meeting the basic needs of youth in Cumberland and York Counties. Looking back to the start of the pandemic, we are humbled by the support of our community. Thank you Sam L. Cohen Foundation, Virginia Hodgkins Somers Foundation, John T. Gorman Foundation, Maine Community Foundation, United Way of York County, Maine Health Access Foundation, United Way of Greater Portland, and the United Way of Kennebec Valley for your support of Spurwink children, adults, and families!