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CA$H Maine volunteers will prepare and file taxes for free for those households earning $67,000 or less so they can get 100% of their refund! Program volunteers receive rigorous IRS standards of conduct training and utilize secure and encrypted online software.

The Aroostook CA$H Coalition Free Tax Preparation appointments will start on February 11 and will be held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at the ACAP Customer Service Center at 771 Main Street in Presque Isle. Appointments will be available for scheduling, starting January 22, 2025, by calling ACAP at 207-764-3721. To see if you qualify for Free Tax Preparation visit : www.cashmaine.org/free-tax-prep .

We are happy to announce that a few spots have opened up for The Maine Diaper Project! Due to the limited capacity of the project, additional applicants will be placed on a waitlist. If your family is interested in participating, please complete the form accessed by clicking on the button below. If you need assistance completing the form, call us at 207-764-3721 Ext. 149.

Please note that completing the form does not guarantee acceptance into the project. Families who are accepted will be contacted by phone to confirm their participation.

The Point-in-Time (PIT) Count is a count of people in our communities who are currently homeless. It happens every year, in every state, and usually sometime in the latter part of January. The effort is to include anyone that currently meets HUD's definition of homeless, gets counted and included in the PIT. Aroostook County will conduct the PIT Count for our area this coming Wednesday, January 20, 2025. The event will be headquartered in the ACAP Presque Isle Customer Service Center Parking Lot. Details are noted above.

Aroostook County Schools, working in partnership with ACAP, are among the five entities MaineHousing has awarded $2 million in state funding for pilot programs that are aimed at preventing student homelessness.

These grants were made possible with a one-time source of funding supported by Governor Janet Mills and the Maine Legislature. Funding was awarded in collaboration with the Maine Department of Education and could help as many as 1,700 students and their families avoid homelessness.

School systems in rural Aroostook County, Bath, Biddeford, Lewiston and Portland were each awarded funding to hire homeless prevention and housing navigation specialists, as well as to provide direct financial assistance to a student’s family to cover expenses that will help them either maintain their current housing or obtain new housing.

“This assistance was designed to be flexible to best meet the needs of the family needing help,” said Lauren Bustard, MaineHousing’s Senior Director of Homeless Initiatives. 

At the direction of the Maine Legislature, which approved the funding for this pilot program, MaineHousing worked with the Maine Department of Education to establish the criteria for these grants, which are aimed at determining best practices for preventing student homelessness in Maine through trial initiatives. Read More...

Healthy Maine Works (HMW) aims to assist Maine employers in creating effective worksite wellness programs that enhance employee health. A healthy workforce is crucial for organizational success, as healthy employees are more productive, less frequently absent, and less prone to injuries. They also contribute to a positive work environment, reducing stress and boosting morale and loyalty.

HMW provides free access to the Healthy Us Scorecard (HUS), an online tool that helps employers develop tailored wellness plans. The HUS simplifies the process of selecting activities and programs that meet a workplace's specific wellness needs. It offers:

• An assessment to establish health-related priorities
• Detailed recommendations for new wellness programs
• Tools to sort and prioritize activities, creating a downloadable and printable wellness workplan

Employers, community organizations, chambers of commerce, public health coalitions, and economic development groups are using Healthy Us to create a healthy place to live, work, and play. FMI or to sign visit www.healthyusscorecard.org or contact Renee Bragdon at rbragdon@acap-me.org or 207-764-3721 ext. 237.

This month’s ACAP Today offers a comprehensive look at the Celebrations, Challenges and Change of 2024. Executive Director/CEO Jason Parent sits down with some of the members of the Agency Leadership Team to reflect on the milestones reached, the obstacles faced, and the transformations that shaped ACAP's work in 2024. This first edition of 2025 provides valuable insights into the progress ACAP made and the path forward for our community. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with ACAP’s leadership and learn more about our journey in 2024.

Triple P is designed to give parents the skills they need to raise confident, healthy children and teenagers and to build stronger family relationships. Triple P doesn’t tell people how to parent, instead it gives parents simple and practical strategies they can adapt to suit their own values, beliefs and needs. The benefits can be dramatic and long-lasting. This seminar series, offered by ACAP, is free to all parents who are raising children ages 0-12. Attend one or both of the two remaining offerings.

For more information or to sign up, contact Megan Ouellette at 207-764-3721 Ext. 116, mouellette@acap-me.org or complete sign up form here: https://forms.office.com/r/9yD6YSzDij

Jan. 22: Raising Confident, Competent Children

Jan. 29: Raising Resilient Children

The Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP) helps qualified homeowners and renters pay for heating costs. Benefits include help paying for fuel and emergency fuel delivery. You can also qualify for energy-related repairs if you are eligible for HEAP.

Click here to see if you meet the basic program income guidelines. To schedule an appointment call 207-764-3721 or complete the online application linked below.

This Meal Train is designed to help provide a warm meal to Warming Shelter guests in the evening and a meal in the morning before they leave for the day.

The drop-off location is 160 Airport Drive, Presque Isle, ME. The contact number is 207-762-6000. Preferred drop-off time is between 4 PM and 5 PM.

Meals are being prepared for 15 adults. Preferred meals include crock pot dishes such as soup, chop suey, spaghetti sauce, and chili. Casseroles, breakfast casseroles, muffins, sweet breads, yogurt, and fresh fruit are also appreciated.

Meals can be dropped off anytime and do not need to be hot. There is an oven and crock pots available for reheating. Dinner will be served starting at 7 PM to each participant when they come into the Warming Shelter. Breakfast will be served starting at 6 AM. This Meal Train is designed to help provide a warm meal to Warming Shelter guests in the evening and a meal in the morning before they leave for the day. To sign up visit: hhttps://www.mealtrain.com/trains/17e755

The latest issue of The Prevention Post is now accessible on our website!

This bi-monthly newsletter for parents and guardians offers insights and tools for substance use prevention and overall wellness. It aggregates updates from ACAP's various prevention domains—including Healthy Eating Active Living, Improving Youth Outcomes, Substance Use Prevention, Tobacco Prevention, Restorative Practices, and more—into a comprehensive digital publication for educators and parents.

Should you wish to subscribe to this resource, or if you're interested in inviting our prevention community educators to present to your students or group, please contact the Prevention Team at prevention@acap-me.org or call 207-764-3721 ext. 6.

A huge thank you to the Presque Isle Marden’s and to the individuals County-wide who used their time, talent and resources to make beautiful blankets for children and adults of all ages! Members of the ACAP Team picked up the donated blankets from the team at Marden's last week. Project Leader Betty Foster and her team at the Presque Isle Mardens have been collecting the donated blankets over the past several months from talented quilters and blanket makers. ACAP will distribute the creations to families and individuals in need across the region.

Members of the ACAP Management Team recently spent two days working on a new Agency Culture initiative, including refining ACAP's soon-to-be-unveiled new Core Values that will guide the work of the full ACAP Team into the future. The official roll-out of the new Core Values and Agency Culture Initiative will happen on April 9, 2025, when all ACAP Team Members come together for a day-long session.

SNAPSHOT OF THE WEEK

Celebrating teamwork and dedication in southern Aroostook! The ACAP Team serving our customers in southern Aroostook recently gathered with Agency Leadership to honor those marking milestone anniversaries. Here's to the passion and commitment that make our community stronger every day! Above are the Team Members in southern Aroostook celebrating milestone years of service.

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