BATH

With an issue as complex as mental health, it’s OK not to have all the answers.

That’s one of the core insights of the Midcoast Community Alliance, a group founded in July 2016 in Bath to address suicide among Midcoast youth. In the nearly two years since, the group has ballooned into an organization representing a broad cross section of the community — at any one meeting you could see representatives from the schools, Bath Police, the Sagadahoc County Sheriff ’s office, Mid Coast Hospital, Sweetser and active community members.

“The thing for us is to utilize the power that’s sitting in this room, know what each organization offers and be able to be a bridge for the community to know, ‘hey, if you need X,Y or Z, this is who you need to speak with,’” said Jamie Dorr, president of the Bath Youth Meetinghouse & Skate Park and de facto leader of the alliance. “We don’t want to reinvent the wheel. If someone’s already doing it, we want to support and amplify what they’re doing so that people know what’s in the area.”

In many ways, the group’s growth over the brief two years since it was founded is representative of its ability to learn from each other and adapt to the needs of the community.

The alliance was formed in the wake of a tragedy.

“When we formed in 2016, it was due to yet another suicide loss in our community of a young person,” said Dorr.

With the goal of creating a suicide-free community, Dorr pulled together a few organizations to simply discuss how to prevent suicide. That initial meeting led to the formation of the alliance, which snowballed into a series of monthly meetings with an ever growing membership.

But as it turns out, it’s difficult to address suicide prevention without addressing the many factors that can lead to that ultimate decision.

“We can talk about suicide prevention, but suicide is such a complex thing, and there’s so many other different things that go along, whether it’s abuse or substance abuse or domestic violence,” said Dorr. “I mean, there’s so many different layers, and so we’re always going to be focused on being suicide-free, but recognizing that we might have to address substance use and recognizing that we have to address a young person who has grown up in a home where they’ve been assaulted.

“You never know what could lead to that final decision of taking their own life,” she added.

With that knowledge, the alliance’s work broadly falls into two camps. It’s first role is acting as a clearinghouse, connecting groups with the resources they need but maybe aren’t aware of. At the group’s monthly meetings, dozens of organizations, nonprofits, and mental health experts are assembled who can quickly determine whether there’s a need they can fill, or if not, connect that person with someone who can.

“That’s what I hope the alliance can do, is sort of be a bridge but also be a support for our schools,” said Dorr. “But if there is a need, they have someone that they can call and say: ‘Hey, this is something that we’re dealing with, how can you help?’”

The alliance’s second role is service provider. One benefit of gathering a number of experts and organizations together is that it can quickly become apparent where gaps are. While half of the alliance’s work is to connect needs with possible solutions, the other half is finding out what needs to be done that no one is working on yet. Then it’s a matter of deciding what the best way to tackle that problem is, and who the best person or organization to handle it is.

One simple way the group is addressing this issue is through its You Matter events. The concept is simply for community members to go to an area school as students are arriving for the day and let them know they matter.

“You Matter is just one of the things — I think we have a real opportunity to do something with bullying,” said Dorr. “I think we could really make a difference there and I don’t know anyone in the are that is currently focused on that.”

The alliance has done a few events — a millennial night, You Matter events, and “A Call to Action for Suicide Prevention” last spring. But the group is more ambitious, and is preparing to take the next step to be able to provide more services the community needs. At its last monthly meeting, the group voted overwhelmingly in favor of pursuing becoming a nonprofit. That will give them tax exempt status, allow them to take tax deductible donations, and perhaps most importantly, give them a better chance of pulling in grant funding.

Dorr said that more funding will allow the alliance to have paid staff dedicated to addressing mental health issues in the Midcoast.

But while that process is in the works, the group is continuing to meet on a monthly basis to pursue the goal of a suicide-free community. Dorr said the best way to help is to simply show up and be a part of the conversation.

“Everybody has some way that they can contribute, and coming to a meeting and say: Hey, I can fill that need — I can help with that,” said Dorr. “Or they could provide a really good idea that no one else has thought of.”

For more information about the group and to find out how to attend the next meeting, visit mcamaine.org.

nstrout@timesrecord.com

• Monday: Introducing Health in Our Schools

• Tuesday: School Nurses on the Front Lines

• Today: What is Midcoast Community Alliance?

• Thursday: Focusing on Mental Health

• Friday: Handling Substance Abuse