Good Morning! It is a good day for Democracy!! If you did not vote yet, polls will be open until 8PM. Make a difference today- Vote-Vote-Vote.

On election night eve, Governor Janet Mills joined leaders from the immigrant communities led by the Imam of Masjid Salaam mosque, The Pastor of the Church of All Nations, Representatives from the City of Lewiston and other community leaders. The Governor addressed policies and plans and took questions from the Audience. Among the large audience at the mosque were voters who migrated from different countries including Somalia, Angola, Congo, Jordan and Iraq. This was a rare event where elected officials meet with the immigrant communities rather than representatives of the community. The town hall-like event was independently facilitated by our Co-Executive Director Abdikhadar.

The Bates College swim team will partner with AK Health and Social Services to increase food accessibility for Maine's immigrant and BIPOC communities. Our partner, Good Shepard Food Bank, provides many different types of food for our communities. On October 28, the team assisted the Collaborative in packaging and distributing 5000 pounds of produce to our community members. AK Health and Social Services will continue food distribution and packaging every Friday.

On October 26th, AK collaborative members were joined by the Maine ACLU and Maine Peoples’ Alliance to host a voter information session for the immigrant and BIPOC communities in Lewiston and Auburn, Maine. Presentations from different groups focused on voter rights, questions on the 2022 midterm election, and general voter education. Speaking at this event were community leaders and elected officials, including the Lewiston mayor, who encouraged participants and their families, friends, and neighbors to vote.

On October 28, AK Collaborative member organization, Her Safety Net,hosted its monthly Girls’ Night event. Designed to provide a safe space for young girls to discuss gender-based violence and to create awareness about sexual violence and sex trafficking. Her Safety Net also hosted a 30 minute seminar to discuss sexual assault and sex trafficking. The rest of the evening was spent with food, music and storytelling

On November 2, the AK Collaborative hosted a voter information session with the Secretary of State Shenna Bellows at Masjid Salaam Mosque in Lewiston, Maine. The Secretary discussed voting and voting rights, the role of the of office of the secretary in elections and security measures to ensure election integrity in Maine. The secretary also took questions from the audience. The nonpartisan event was organized by members of the AK Collaborative as part of their civic engagement program.

On Friday November 4, Masjid Salaam Mosque welcomed 12 candidates from both parties to meet, greet and speak with the immigrant communities in Lewiston and Auburn. The 12 candidates were running for offices including Maine House of representatives, state senate, County Commissioners and District Attorneys. The event also allowed members of the Immigrant communities to ask questions and learn more about the Candidate' running platforms.

In January 2023, the AK Collaborative will permanently extend its geographical service area to Cumberland County. The collaborative, led by AK Health and Social Services, is leasing an office space in Portland as part of its capacity-building plan. Leaders of the Collaborative have already started meeting with Portland area community leaders, elected officials, mosques, and other service providers. We will send out our planned opening ceremony to gather Cumberland county leaders, imams, elected officials, and community members.

VOTE! One individual from each category will be named "Best of" at uplift LA's in-person celebration.

The community voting period will be open through November 18, 2022. Only one voting submission will be accepted per email address. Casting a vote in each category is not required, but certainly encouraged!

Congratulations once again our own members, Abdikhadar and Amina.

The AK Collaborative members  will work on building sustainable social service infrastructure 

and capacity building for the next two years. 

We have proposed activities and projects to reduce health care disparities and target social determinants of health. 

We are running this short survey to ensure that we hear from the community on what is really important to them. 

Please help us share this survey with your clients, friends, families and social service providers.