2-1-1 Maine joins the efforts of The Maine Military & Community Network (MaineMCN), a collaborative effort by Maine organizations, volunteers, and others, to raise awareness about the challenges service members, veterans, and their families face.Across the state, Mainers are working together to help connect service and family members to resources in their communities.Together we can help ensure that no matter whom a military service or family member turns to, he or she will find the assistance they need.
This Network is a community effort to understand, prevent, and help deal with the lingering aftereffects of war on service members, their families, and their communities. Together, we work to raise awareness about:
• Challenges faced by service members and their families
• Resources that exist to help them
• How we can help connect service members and their families to their Maine communities
The Maine Military & Community Network was created in early 2009 to address the needs of military families and returning service members. It started as an Inter-Service Family Assistance Committee (ISFAC) and today has grown into a full-blown statewide collaborative Network. Working collaboratively, the Military Family Assistance Centers, the Togus VA and Vet Centers, the Maine National Guard (Army and Air, leadership, Deployment Cycle Support, Family Program), the Bureau of Maine Veterans Services, Maine state health services, and many other community members are creating a safety network. This group is working to spread the word about the challenges that exist for service members, veterans and their families, as well as what resources exist to help. To this end, the Network facilitates communication and sponsors training and educational events for all members of the community.
The Maine Military & Community Network has partnered with 2-1-1 Maine to help ensure that Service Members, Veterans, and their families can easily access important resources. Just dial 2-1-1 from anywhere in Maine to get personal assistance to find the resources you need.
Mainers want to take care of their own, and many services and resources already exist in Maine: groups who work to help veterans, service members, and military families directly or by training providers who work with them. What is needed is more effective communication, both to those in need about the resources and services available and the fact that they are not alone, and among providers who assist them–so that regardless of which door someone walks through, he or she will find appropriate support and assistance.
The Website www.mainemcn.org is the core of the communication structure to fill this need. In addition, the Network was officially launched via a kickoff conference at Colby College on June 11, 2009. Almost 200 community members attended. Regional groups were subsequently started across the state in Portland, Lewiston, Bangor, Belfast, Sanford, Augusta, Caribou, and Houlton.
The Network has no direct financial support. Funding to begin this effort came from a Department of Defense grant. The grant provides funding to measure the effectiveness of this network in creating greater awareness across the community about the issues and challenges faced by service members and their families and the resources and services available. The Maine network is built on a model developed in Vermont (www.vtmfcn.org) and a handful of other states across the US (e.g. RI, OH, NC, WA, NY). A similar network has been in existence in Vermont since 2005.
