Miscellaneous
US Citizenship and Immigration Services
2-1-1
Statewide Service Directory
(877) 463-6207
General Assistance
196 Lancaster Street
(207) 775-7911
Department of Health and Human Services
151 Jetport Blvd., South Portland
(207) 822-2000
ProsperityME
309 Cumberland Avenue, #205
(207) 797-7890
Courses, workshops, and counseling
Safelink
Free cell phone and service for those who are income eligible
Preble Street Resource Center
5 Portland Street
(207) 775-0026
Showers, laundry, case management, emergency food, mailing address
Laundry Love (Trinity Episcopal Church)
Wash Tub 2 at 449 Forest Ave, Portland (behind Burger King)
(207) 772-7421
Free Washing, Drying, Detergent and dryer sheets!
NOTE: The dates and times are potentially not consistent. As of this writing, there is one scheduled for Weds, Feb 9th, 2022 and it’s not clear if there are others.
The Opportunity Alliance
50 Lydia Lane, South Portland
(207) 523-5049
Case management and crisis intervention and prevention
Family Crisis Services
(207) 874-1973 or 1-800-537-6066
Intercultural Community Center
After school and summer enrichment programs for students in grades 3-8.
Below are additional links to provide you with information to help your mentees with their new life in Maine:
Eligibility for public benefits – MEJP Note: once asylum seekers have applied for asylum and received notice, they are eligible for food stamps and TANF until their employment authorization comes through, about 6 months.
Mentor Self Care
Recently, a WTS mentor sent the following note to our mailing list voicing a common theme:
Subject: Feeling overwhelmed
Has anyone else ever felt this way? I feel like I’m just not doing a good job. How do you put things in perspective?
Several people answered the message and those responses are compiled and condensed in this document. Some topics are boundaries, limits, self-compassion and burnout.
General Assistance
Overview
This document from Family Promise provides an excellent overview of General Assistance.
2019 – Notice to Appear Rule
The Governor of Maine announced a new rule about General Assistance (GA) on July 18, 2019. This new rule means that you are eligible for GA if you have:
a Notice to Appear (NTA) from immigration saying you will need to go to immigration court AND
are planning on applying for asylum.
Complete Flyer
DHHS – Communicating with
When to call
If you’ve called DHHS, you’ve noticed that the wait times are crazy (1 to 2 hours). We recommend that you call first thing in the morning, not on a Monday or beginning of the month.
Release Authorization
While it’s not a necessity, if you are willing to contact DHHS on behalf of your mentee (without your mentee being present), you will want and need to fill out the DHHS Authorization to Release Information form. Note: The Authorized Representative Release Form is supposedly only needed if you are going to actually sign documents and approve changes.
Here is the full process for the release authorization:
Fill out the DHHS Authorization to Release Information form. Here is an example of one that was filled out with made-up data.
Email it to farmington.dhhs@maine.gov.
Wait at least 3 days and call DHHS to make sure the form was scanned into your mentee’s file. Sadly, I sent it twice and both times it was completely ignored. Luckily the DHHS person on the phone was nice, apologetic and understanding, so she gave me her email address and I sent it to her while I was on the phone with her. I strongly suggest you ask or beg for their direct email if they fail to read the form into your mentee’s file.
Make a note in your calendar to renew/redo the form annually!
Benefits w/o Work Authorization
Benefits for Asylum Seekers Who are Waiting for a Work Permit
If you have applied for asylum and have a receipt from the federal government (USCIS) with your A number,
OR
If you had a work permit, that work permit has expired, and you are waiting for a new work permit to be issued, then you may be eligible for the following benefits:
Aspire Sanctions
ASPIRE is the education, training, and work program that most parents getting TANF must do. Fedcap is the organization that runs ASPIRE in Maine.
What is a sanction?
A sanction means that Fedcap thinks you have failed to follow their rules. Getting a sanction means your TANF or Food Supplement benefits could get cut or end.
You could get sanctioned for things like missing an appointment or not doing what is in your Family Contract.