The idea of offering multiple social services in the same location for easier access isn't new. But the creators of an initiative underway in Kittery called Mainspring say they are taking the concept a step further, in a way that's designed to help more vulnerable Mainers to lift themselves out of poverty.
Mainers like 38-year-old Teri Hoxie, a single mom who now has hope for a brighter future after years of struggle.
Hoxie demonstrated an online "computer assisted design" course that she's taking, paid for by a federal grant that covers the $4,000 to $5,000 tuition. She said if all goes according to plan she will be CAD-certified at the end of August.
"I should leave here ready for any manufacturing environment. It's very exciting to have opportunities. I just don't know which direction to take them in," Hoxie said.
She now has a sunny York apartment to live in but said for three years she lived in her car, which she needed to do to visit a son she had with an estranged partner.
Then Hoxie had a baby girl with another partner, who stayed home so she could work. But the relationship ended, and Hoxie said as a single mom with a baby to feed she needed help, and went to the Foot Prints food pantry in Kittery. That's where she met the program's director Megan Shapiro-Ross.
"I finally went there. Oh my goodness, and you were there. You were there with your institution, your kindness, your generosity. Not being worried about being hungry when you're poor all the time and what I went through, I can finally work on my problems and not be in survival mode. That was so impactful," she said.
Hoxie credits Shapiro-Ross with directing her to York County Community Action where she accessed the workforce training grant and other benefits that she couldn't have found on her own.
Shapiro-Ross said the food pantry serves hundreds of clients who, like Hoxie, struggle to access basics like food, affordable housing and medical care as they travel from service to service.
"The majority of individuals are working full time, raising kids, getting their kids to soccer practice, and then trying to access social services, which is exhausting," said Shapiro-Ross. "If we can share that with the individuals we can move the needle together instead of siloed."
That's when Shapiro-Ross and Emily Flinkstrom, Executive Director of Fair Tides housing assistance agency, came up with Mainspring, a one stop shop for multiple social services.
The building is now under construction in Kittery. Flinkstrom said it will be home to an array of service agencies.
"We're working on centralized intake and assessment, shared data, case conferencing, all the things that are the system changing. It's what sets us apart," Flinkstrom said.
Flinkstrom said shared offices will allow additional services to periodically come onsite, and that talks are underway with public transportation officials to bring a bus stop to the campus.
"Those are the difficult pieces that we are tackling together as a group of agencies and are going to be what makes a difference in these households," Flinkstrom added.
When the facility is completed it will have outdoor refrigerated lockers, the first in the state, that will store groceries that clients can access any time.
Hoxie said Mainspring will be a lifeline for so many other people who, like her, cannot juggle everything on their own.
"The person's arriving with so many problems. You can't wrap your head around it, how to solve it. So you're arriving overwhelmed," Hoxie said. "How good to have any help but how amazing to have knowledgeable people to help steer you right off the bat. Talk about having somebody in your corner."
The project has raised $5.3 million so far. Another million is needed to complete the facility by the end of the year.