Happy Wednesday!
New this week:
First and third Thursdays, 9 am-noon and following Saturdays from 9-11 am: All ages are always welcome. Family Days with activities for kids will be Saturdays July 18th & August 8th. Drive up access available for people with limited mobility. Learn more here. Download a poster to share.
June 12th, 2-3 pm at Sunrise County Economic Council, 7 Ames Way, Machias: Volunteer Maine invites you to share your perspective on community needs and volunteerism at this listening session. You may already be familiar with Volunteer Maine through AmeriCorps programs, Climate Corps, and volunteer initiatives across the state. For those unfamiliar, Volunteer Maine is the state service commission. We build volunteer capacity by funding service programs, developing volunteer managers and service-learning practitioners, and raising awareness of the scope and impact of the volunteer sector (see infographic). This listening session will directly inform Volunteer Maine’s 2027–2030 State Service Strategy — a statewide plan that shapes how Maine invests in and supports service and volunteerism for years to come. The session will be facilitated by Maureen Kendzierski, Volunteer Services Coordinator at Volunteer Maine. We also welcome participation from community members your organization serves who could offer insight into receiving volunteer-supported services. Please RSVP to Maria Millard at maria.millard+volunteermaine@gmail.com.
June 17th, 11 am — 12 pm, virtual, free: It’s no secret that people spend hours everyday on their phones and on social media. If you’re not capturing at least some of their attention, that means they’re engaging with someone else’s brand instead of yours. The content you post on social media has the power to bring more attention to your brand and turn your followers into loyal customers. This kind of impact only comes from having a solid social media content strategy. CEI, funded in part through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration. Learn more here.
and Bibliotherapy for Healing
June 20th, 9 am – 4:30 pm, 471 Gin Cove Road, Perry: Moving Stories® is an integrated play therapy approach developed by Dr. Sue Carroll Duffy that integrates play, story and sandtray to safely and creatively teach and heal. In play therapy, the approach can be used from a range of theoretical perspectives, and with clients across the lifespan. In this in-person workshop, participants will experience the power of Moving Stories in play therapy. With Moving Stories, therapists communicate powerful therapeutic metaphors and stories, and then deeply listen to the response told by their clients in the theater of the sandtray or other expressive medium. Learn more here.
Saturday, June 20th, 3-5 pm: Growing and Harvesting Root Vegetables, with farmers Felicia Newman (Three Dog Fahm, Lubec) and Lucy Zwigard (Downeast Restorative Harvest, Machias), presented in partnership with the Lubec Garden Club. Learn more and register here. Download a flyer to share.
Caregiver Training Services in Practice
June 24th, 1 -2 pm, Virtual: Medicare’s Caregiver Training Services (CTS) reimburse certain providers for delivering structured training and education to family caregivers when those skills are necessary for the patient’s treatment plan. These codes represent a new avenue for caregiver support and are beginning to be implemented across healthcare systems. This session will examine how these efforts are emerging and what early adopters are learning. Featuring national insights from organizations advancing awareness and advocacy around CTS codes, along with perspectives from healthcare providers integrating the CTS codes into practice, the webinar will offer a clear look at both the policy landscape and on the ground implementation. Participants will gain practical resources and strategies to strengthen caregiver engagement and embed caregiver support within existing care models. Register here.
Register for MPHA’s 2026 Annual Conference
Registration has officially opened for MPHA’s 2026 Annual Conference, October 1st at the Augusta Civic Center, with Early Bird pricing available for members through June 30. Discounts can be accessed through your member portal. If you are not yet a member, you save money by joining MPHA and registering at the member rate, vs. registering as a non-member, so join today! We are also excited to announce our Keynote Speaker: Shelley Hearne, DrPH, MPH! Read more about her keynote presentation here. If you have any questions, please reach out via email.
Practice in Behavioral Health
June 30th, 1 – 3 pm, Virtual: Join the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and Cantata Health Solutions for a timely webinar, From Curious to Capable: AI’s Impact on Organizational Culture and Practice in Behavioral Health. In just a few short years, behavioral health organizations have moved from adopting telehealth and basic digital tools to exploring more advanced AI-driven solutions. What once felt like “too much, too fast” is now becoming a critical pathway to innovation, efficiency and expanded access to care. Learn more here.
In-person Certificate Course
July 13th-15th, 10 am — 4 pm, 471 Gin Cove Road, Perry, presented by Dr. Sue Carroll Duffy: Experience the power of story, symbols and sand to teach. Participants will learn to guide the 9-step Moving Stories journey, moving from selecting and telling the story, to deeply listening and attuning to the creative response to the story, and finally to closing the experience for individuals and groups. Moving Stories can be used across the lifespan. This workshop fullfills the workshop requirements for becoming a certified Moving Storyteller. It is designed for playful healing people by nature who may be therapists, teachers, paraprofessionals, parents, teens, or friendly neighbors. Learn more here.
Schoodic Food Pantry’s Chinese Auction
Saturday, July 18th, 8 am — 1 pm at the Gouldsboro Recreation Center: The Schoodic Food Pantry invites everyone to their Third Annual Chinese Auction. Proceeds go right back into the community by helping to stock the shelves at the pantry. Last year, we provided food and support to 450 families. This year, to date, we serve 680 families who are struggling to make ends meet and provide food for themselves and their families. Learn more here.
Healthy Acadia invites local farmers and growers to partner with the Downeast Gleaning Initiative to help reduce food waste and increase access to fresh, local food across our communities. Through the initiative, Healthy Acadia coordinates gleaning opportunities that collect surplus produce from farms, farmers’ markets, and farm stands, and redistributes it to food pantries and free meal sites throughout Hancock and Washington counties. Learn more.
The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s (DACF) Maine Senior FarmShare Program (MSFP) has begun enrolling participants for the 2026 season. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Maine Senior FarmShare Program, which has helped connect older adults with fresh Maine-grown produce, cut herbs, and honey while supporting local farms across the state. Enrollment for the 2026 season opened on June 1, 2026. Interested older adults may complete an online application on the MSFP website. Participants who do not have access to a computer, smartphone, tablet, or other internet-capable device are encouraged to identify a proxy with a computer and email address who can enroll on their behalf. A proxy can be a relative, friend, neighbor, or caseworker. Participants who do not have access to technology or need further enrollment support may contact program staff by phone at (207) 287-3491. It is important to note that an email address is NOT required to use the online application. For more information about MSFP, visit the DACF website or contact MSFP by email at seniorfarmshare.agr@maine.gov or by phone at (207) 287-3491.
If you missed any part of the Caregiver Action Network’s Planning for Care webinar series or want to revisit the conversations, all replays are now available to watch on demand. This series includes insights from Andrew Kantor at Kantor & Kantor, Ileana Gonzalez at Heritage Wealth Group, Jeff Aidikoff at Bedsore Law, and Caregiver Action Network’s Amera Bilal. Watch the full series here.
Last Tuesday of the month from 6-7pm, Women for Healthy Rural Living, 87 Main St, Milbridge: You are not alone! If you are feeling frustrated or uncertain about the changes your body is undergoing, join the circle to feel supported and understood. Facilitated by Nicole French, a Registered Nurse and Menopause Coaching Specialist, this group meets monthly to share the menopause experience. Learn more here.
as They Contribute to The Island Reader
Healthy Starts: A New SAMHSA Case Study Guide
SAMHSA has issued a new case study guide, Healthy Starts: Postpartum OUD Care Transitions for Mother and Infant. The postpartum period is a critical time for connecting mothers, parents, and caregivers with services and supports that promote bonding, well-being, and healthy outcomes for families. The first postpartum year is an especially high-risk period for women with an opioid use disorder. Evidence-based treatment options, such as medication for opioid use disorder, can help reduce these risks. This publication summarizes information about the postpartum period, presents an innovative program as a case study, and offers practical advice for care teams on comprehensive, collaborative perinatal care.
The CCC is pausing the Hope and Dream funds, which are accessed using the CCC Flexible Support Funds application form, until October 1st . Any application you are currently working on should be submitted by Monday, June 15th. We will be reviewing the impact of awards made over the last six months and working on sustainability for flexible support funds overall. We will update you as we prepare to re-open these funds in the fall with any changes to these programs or how they are accessed.