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May is Mental Health Awareness Month
 May is Mental Health Awareness Month, where we can take this time to amplify the message of prioritizing mental health and sharing that it is okay to not be okay. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) 2021 campaign is sharing the message of 'You Are Not Alone' and sharing personal stories. You can read more below. If it would help to talk to one of Spurwink’s trained professionals, you can contact us at The Link at 1-888-889-3903 or info@spurwink.org.
National Foster Care Month: Maine's Urgent Need
 Maine continues to see an urgent need for foster homes that can provide a safe place to children of all ages. If you or someone you know may be able to provide a safe place while a youth and provider are working on permanency planning, please reach out to our Foster Care team. For this and more information, you can visit our website.
What is Child Sex Trafficking and Exploitation?
 When someone thinks of child sex trafficking and exploitation, it is fairly common to think of an anonymous stranger luring a child into a van and sending him or her to perform sex acts in other areas of the country. However, this dramatic scene is not what we typically see when working with young people who have been trafficked.
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On April 7th, Spurwink honored Cullen Ryan, the Humanitarian of the Year at Bloom—Spurwink’s 2021 Humanitarian event. The virtual event also honored Spurwink’s front line heroes. We raised over $118,000 through the generous support of sponsors, host committee members, individual donors, and an online auction. Read more and watch our inspiring video of Spurwink's Frontline Heroes. Photo credit: AV Technik
We were touched with the message that former Spurwink student, Steve Finkel, shared with us to be shared with Spurwink staff. He said “Keep up the great work and remember you all are making a bigger difference than you might think.” In 1965, Steve was a ten-year-old child with ADHD and learning difficulties when he arrived at a Spurwink home on Riverside Street. Steve went on to graduate from high school and college, then went onto have a long and successful career in the finance industry. He also took time from his busy schedule to serve on Spurwink’s Board for several years. 
With her inspiring words, poet Mary Oliver urges us to think about our impact in the world and our legacy. If increasing access to mental health services is important to you, we encourage you to consider including Spurwink in your estate plan. With its person-centered treatment models; its broad array of programs that touch people throughout the lifespan; and its statewide reach in Maine, Spurwink is an ideal recipient of your legacy gift. 
To aid in street outreach, the City Manager’s recommendations include funding for Spurwink’s Behavioral Health Outreach Worker program based at 22 Park Ave in Portland. The behavioral health outreach workers serve as case management, street outreach, and triage specialists for support services. 
“The pandemic has underscored the importance of human interaction, and has highlighted the need to listen and be aware of how others are doing.” Foreside understands that as an employer they play an important role in behavioral health in the workforce. We are grateful for Foreside's dedicated support of Spurwink.
Co-Occurring Collaborative Serving Maine (CCSME) recently held their annual awards ceremony, which took place during their virtual annual membership meeting. Among those recognized was Spurwink’s ShifaME program for CCSME’s Innovative Practice Award.
