The following story was provided by Kennebec Behavioral Health (KBH), a United Way partner. Your United Way donations support this program.

“I am 24 years old and have been homeless since October 2020. My partner and I were connected to Brittney (a homeless outreach case manager) after expressing we were homeless to KBH staff. My partner and I were living in our car with our dog between Waterville and Augusta when we met Brittney and she helped me apply for and obtain MaineCare and food stamps. Brittney also helped me apply for BRAP (housing subsidy), for local jobs and disability benefits as my mental health symptoms have prevented me from keeping a job in the past. My partner and I have obtained a job at DoorDash and I am thankful for the income. We continue to stay in the Augusta area and continue to search for apartments in the Augusta and Waterville area and are hopeful we'll find something soon."

It has been an incredibly difficult year for KBH's Homeless Youth Outreach Program, primarily due to COVID. The normal channels of referrals—schools, alternative schools and primary care provider offices—were so otherwise focused that the outreach staff had very few leads to work with in terms of finding youth experiencing homelessness. As such, the youth outreach worker spent part of her time working with the adult population, and in total KBH was able to serve 55 homeless adults during 2020. Your donations changed their lives.