HAND IN HAND MANO EN MANO

Our vision is, “A stronger, more inclusive Downeast Maine where the contributions of diverse communities are welcomed, access to essential services, education, and housing are ensured, and social justice and equity are embraced.” This vision of opportunity and equity requires us to be both highly-intentional and relationship-based. It is based on the premise that se hace camino al andar (we make the road by walking) in that we are constantly working with the community to implement programs and services that benefit these individuals and families and at the same time, and to develop a model by which our programs are continuously being evaluated and improved.

Ultimately, our vision is to shift power dynamics so that immigrants and farmworkers are not only welcomed, but given an equal seat at the table; that as a wider community, we begin to actively and collectively address the ways in which health disparities are directly related to race, language, and income; and that the communities we work with have the opportunity to raise healthy families in healthy communities as a matter of basic human rights and dignity and not because an organization is advocating on their behalf.

Specific 2017-2020 goals developed by community, board, staff, and partner organization members include:

1. Support immigration in Downeast Maine by serving as a welcome center for immigrants and farmworkers; working with Maine Mobile Health and others to support new immigrant communities (such as Haitian farmworkers); and working with the Sunrise County Economic Council and employers to communicate the economic importance of immigrants in rural Maine.

2. Ensure access to health, social, and other community organizations through language services and by increasing access to safe, decent, and affordable housing.

3. Increase educational and economic opportunity by partnering with the Department of Education to deliver instructional and advocacy services to migrant children/youth; expanding educational opportunities for bilingual children/youth; explore interests and develop partnerships to assist community members with career advancement, business development, and financial planning.

4. Foster community leadership, social justice, and equity by continuing to support and partner with Nuestra Voz; increase community events, partnerships, and bridges; provide access to equity training; inform public policy using data to tell the story of farmworkers and immigrants in rural Maine; and take a leadership role in statewide advocacy groups such as the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition.

Our strategy is based on the belief that the community we work with has the solutions for their collective liberation. We will strategically think about power alongside of them and support their vision for change.

ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL SERVICES

Through this program, we empower community members to access resources and navigate complex and fractured social service systems, while tackling barriers such as discrimination, economic or language access, transportation, complicated qualification requirements, immigration status, and more. We provide this support when and where community members need it through a combination of drop-in, home- and community-based approaches that center the dignity, respect, and decision-making power in those we serve.

ADVOCACY

Mano en Mano’s Advocacy Program ensures that community members have a voice in transforming systems of oppression that so often silence them. We develop leadership, political consciousness, and capacity in order to create of the kind of community that individuals and families want to collectively thrive in.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

The lack of clean, adequate, safe, and non-employer housing for farmworkers in Washington County led to the construction of Hand in Hand Apartments. This six-unit multi-family apartment building is the first of its kind in Maine and ensures that farmworkers have a healthy place to raise their families. In addition, by ensuring that rents are affordable (they are subsidized to 30% of family income), we ensure that farmworkers can use limited financial resources to prioritize things such as food, medicine, education, and employment.

MIGRANT EDUCATION

Mano en Mano ensures that migrant students across Maine have access to supplemental instructional and support services that directly impact students and families. Through this program, we also provide a three-week summer school called the Blueberry Harvest School.

-- Approach: We value and invest deeply in consistently connecting with our communities. Our outreach differs greatly from other organizations. We also uphold a community-led approach that keeps decision-making power and organizational leadership in the hands of those who are most affected.
-- Communities Served: While there are many organizations in Maine that focus on serving immigrants and refugees, there are very few that focus on migrant farmworkers and Latinx communities, and fewer that focus on these communities in rural parts of Maine. The communities that we serve are a growing part of Maine’s population and economy.
-- Rural and Collaborative Focus: The communities Mano en Mano works with offer an alternative narrative on immigration, race, and rural Maine. We offer a unique way for community-led organizations to expand their collaborations beyond Maine’s urban centers as well as effective models of addressing health disparities due to race, ethnicity, and language in a coordinated manner despite geographic isolation. This geographic isolation allowed us to hone our ability to work collaboratively with a variety of institutions and organizations across lines of difference, power, and geography including: other community-based organizations, state agencies, economic development organizations, municipalities, Federal agencies, religious organizations, and national networks and consultants.
-- Anti-Racism Framework: We challenge ourselves to directly address racism internally as an organization, externally with partner organizations, and within the wider community.
-- Community and Data-Based Decision-Making: Mano en Mano ensures that our decision-making and data collection processes are centered in the voices of community members.
-- Growth: Mano en Mano has experience raising resources from a variety of sources including transitioning from a smaller organization to one that maintains its grassroots focus but effectively operates with individual contributions, foundation grants, as well as state and Federal funding (and compliance). This diverse framework allows us to offer comprehensive supports to community members.

In the late 1990s, the small coastal town of Milbridge, Maine experienced a rapid influx of Latinx farmworkers who decided to leave the “migrant stream” and settle here Downeast Maine. Mano en Mano was founded through a combination of grassroots organizing and municipal leadership to create a stronger and more inclusive community by building bridges of understanding, fostering leadership within and beyond the community we serve, and standing for social justice, equity, and self-determination.

Mano en Mano’s mission is to work with farmworkers and immigrants so that they may settle and thrive in Maine. For us, this means not only meeting needs of community members today, such as healthcare, social services, housing, employment assistance, and education; but also challenging the reasons why those needs exist in the first place. Mano en Mano ensures that a vulnerable yet increasingly stable immigrant community in Washington County has the opportunity to succeed and has an active voice in changing systems that produce disparities for immigrants and racial minorities.

Key accomplishments over the past several years include: completion of Hand in Hand Apartments (Maine’s first affordable housing project for farmworkers); playing a leadership role in statewide services and advocacy for migrant children/youth; continued development of a group of residence leaders called Nuestra Voz en la Comunidad (Our Voice in the Community), a group of resident leaders who have met with legislators in Augusta; and a Board of Directors that is increasingly representative of the communities we serve.