Joyce was expecting her third child. She had endured trauma at her workplace and was unable to return to work. The family eventually fell behind in rent and was on the verge of losing their housing.

As winter set in, Debra lived in a mobile home in Waldoboro with no heat, running water or electricity. She was able to secure a site where she could move her trailer that had the necessary hook-ups for the utilities. She had exhausted her savings and had no money to hire somebody to move the trailer.

Lisa and her husband, Ray, raised their granddaughter. Ray worked as chef, and they were able to make ends meet. Unfortunately, Ray was diagnosed with cancer, and for a period of time his hours were reduced, and the family began to struggle financially. As he recovered from his first bout of cancer, the couple opened up a food truck to generate extra income. Ultimately the cancer returned, and Ray had to resume chemo and radiation therapy. Ray stopped working and the loss of income put their housing in jeopardy.

In each of these stories from Lincoln County, assistance was provided through Tedford Housing’s Homeless Prevention Program. In Joyce’s situation, Tedford was able to provide critically needed rental assistance and the family was able to avoid eviction. In Debra’s case, Tedford helped to find a local mover, and, using diversion resources from Maine Housing, was able to get the mobile home to the site where she had running water, electricity and heat. Tedford coordinated with other community resources and provided Lisa and Ray with rental assistance that allowed them to remain in their home and have the stability to continue to raise their granddaughter.

Tedford Housing is often known through the adult and family emergency housing facilities it operates in Brunswick. But in its effort to end and prevent homelessness, another key strategy is to prevent an individual or family from falling into homelessness. Homeless Prevention can provide short term case management, and, sometimes working in collaboration with other agencies and providers – and as resources are available, rental assistance and security deposits. Tedford’s service area for its emergency housing and homeless prevention extends from Brunswick, Harpswell and the surrounding communities through Sagadahoc and Lincoln Counties. Last year, 145 household members were served through homeless prevention, with 30 of those from Lincoln County.

For the last ten years, on Tuesday mornings, you’ll find Tedford Housing’s homeless prevention coordinator at the food pantry in the Second Congregational Church in New Castle. There, working closely with a dedicated core group of volunteers from the Ecumenical Council for Homeless Prevention (ECHP) that staff the help desk, the coordinator is available to assist people who have run into difficulty with their housing. The problems range from people being doubled up, who have had their electricity shut off, living in a car, or otherwise in very temporary living situations. Many have been living on the margins or have been just getting by – only to have experienced that one catastrophic circumstance that has pushed them to the brink of homelessness. Last year ECHP served 27 households in a variety of ways through direct assistance with utilities, partnering with other organizations to make small repairs so families could remain in their homes, and keeping households warm during the cold weather months.

Tedford was able to provide some of its resources to help with rental assistance and security deposits and greatly values this collaboration as a way to stretch community resources and reach more people.

Tiffany Bain recently came on board as Tedford’s homeless prevention coordinator. She provided some of her early impressions from her first few weeks at the food pantry and working alongside the volunteers at the help desk. “There are a lot of folks in really dire situations in Lincoln County – living in campers and other precarious situations. There is a constant need, but I’ve been really impressed by the generous spirit of the community. The calls and emails go out from ECHP and there are always a lot of responses and people willing to help.” Tedford Housing remains committed to the homeless prevention work it provides in Lincoln County and elsewhere in its effort to help Mainers from falling into homelessness.

Giving Voice is a weekly collaboration among four local non-profit service agencies to share information and stories about their work in the community.