Hand in Hand Mano en Mano

Access to Essential Services, Housing and Education:Mano en Mano's long-standing programs in 2023 continued to meet the needs of immigrant and farmworker communities in Maine. Highlights include: responding to 6,162 requests for assistance for basic needs and referrals; welcoming and celebrating migrant workers; opening a food pantry visited by 5,802 individuals during the year; disbursing award monies to community members from the housing barrier relief fund for down payment and renovations; running bilingual childcare and nearly completing construction on a new childcare facility; and providing services to 363 migrant children/youth across Maine. Access and Advocacy:Access to essential services and advocacy address the lack of effective services available to immigrants and farmworkers in Maine that prevent these communities from meeting basic needs or pursuing long-term goals. Accomplishments include: answering 12,585 requests for assistance and referrals, welcoming 4,242 migrant and seasonal workers during the wreaths and wild blueberry seasons, distributing hard-to-access culturally relevant food to community members, and conducting 95% of community member encounters in a language other than English. Housing:We provided six units of affordable housing for farmworkers at Hand in Hand apartments in 2023, housing a total of 23 individuals. We awarded 7 grants from the Housing Barrier Removal Fund to community members for downpayment or repair assistance for them to become or remain homeowners and support wealth accumulation. Lastly, Welcome Home Downeast, LLC, a subsidiary corporation, continued work to build and renovate 8 units of housing in the area to allow more families to move to Washington county in the future. Rayitos de Sol Bilingual Childcare:In 2023 Mano en Mano's Rayitos de Sol Bilingual Childcare operated with the core mission of providing bilingual Spanish and English childcare that centers the languages and cultlures of the students we serve. The childcare served 21 families (24 children enrolled) during the year, with 50% of families receiving subsidies and support through the DHHS Childcare Subsidy program. The childcare provided stable long-term employment for staff, who earned $5.75-$8.75 more per hour than the average Maine childcare employee. Lastly, in 2023 Mano en Mano completed the bulk of construction on a new facility to house the Rayitos de Sol Childcare, which is anticipated to open in 2024. Migrant Education Program:Mano en Mano partners with the Maine Department of Education to administer the Maine Migrant Education Program (MEP). Through this program Mano en Mano provides educational support services to migrant children and youth, from birth through age 21, across Maine. MEP programming aims to help migrant children and youth achieve their educational goals, with a focus on educational transition support, seasonal instructional support, and advocacy support within school and education systems. In 2023, we served 363 migrant children and youth, providing 14,025 direct services in the areas of advocacy, parent involvement, virtual tutoring, and summer services, including the blueberry harvest school, a three-week summer school for migrant students in Washington county during the blueberry harvest.

Community Health Support:Mano en Mano continued COVID-19 response and community health and wellness programs in 2023 to support community members through the ongoing pandemic. Support included supporting community members with basic needs to address disparities related to social determinants of health, vaccine outreach and education, a community health worker program, and funding for soft infrastructure to support health equity.