Health and Wellness Mini-Award Announcement

The Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations is thrilled to announce the recipients of our Health and Wellness Mini-Award! Focused on new collaborations, this initiative supports Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in developing programs that support creative approaches to improving overall health and wellness in Maine for historically marginalized communities. Congratulations to the nine organizations and thanks to all who applied! Check out the exciting projects that these organizations are working on! 

• La Finca: Addressing food insecurity by increasing access to healthy, local produce for under-resourced urban families by delivering food from their rural farm.
• United Youth Empowerment (UnitedYes): Providing Somali-Bantu youth with mindfulness workshops and culturally relevant healing circles to address mental health, stress management, and community healing. 
• Maine Association of New Americans: Continues and scales programming that provides support for immigrant and older women in Southern Maine through multilingual workshops sharing wellness strategies, retreats promoting physical activity and mental health, and hosting recovery nature walks for older women.
• Fitness Bridge: Supports wellness activities through group fitness classes, educational workshops, and providing sports recreational activities for Muslim young adults in the Greater Portland Area.
• Tree Street Youth: Addressing gun violence in Lewiston through mentoring services and social-emotional group support pairing community leaders with at-risk Black male youth.
• Boys and Girls Club of Maliseet: Providing Indigenous youth with culturally relevant physical, emotional, and mental health activities and recreational trips to promote active lifestyles and cultural connections.
• Seeing for Ourselves and Generational Noor: Collaboratively working together to support immigrant and refugee populations in Lewiston and Auburn area to train them in participatory photography sharing stories about Maine’s vibrant and resilient immigrant communities through a short film and an open gallery exhibit. 
• Gateway Community Services Maine: Creating a support group for asylum seekers in transitional housing dealing with mental health challenges and social isolation to engage in breathwork, yoga, and journaling exercises while building social connections.
• YWCA Central Maine: Builds on a successful pilot to expand access to culturally appropriate swimming lessons and water safety training for youth from the New Mainer community in Androscoggin County.