Commentary: Mainspring: Envisioning the positive outcomes we can achieve together
Collaborative, comprehensive, holistic. Outcome-driven, effective, and efficient. Grounded in respect, human dignity, and individual empowerment. These are several of the core principles – all tightly intertwined – behind Mainspring, the new social services collective coming to Kittery next year and aiming to serve southern Maine, Portsmouth, and the greater Seacoast region.
The United Nations, in 2015, committed to seventeen landmark international development goals and a fifteen-year plan to achieve them. The initiative was unanimously adopted by all 193 member nations. At the top of the list was (and is) eradicating poverty, eliminating hunger, adequate housing for all, and an array of health-related goals. We are now more than halfway to the 2030 deadline and progress has been, at best, disheartening – globally, throughout the US, and here on the Seacoast. Food insecurity, the housing crisis, access to affordable healthcare, poverty and related problems have only grown chronic. We offered an array of alarming statistics in our prior commentaries. It’s clear we have to do better – and we must think differently. We believe, based on sound research, that Mainspring is what our community needs.
Anchored by Fair Tide’s affordable housing programs and thrift store, the Footprints Food Pantry, and an array of other agencies and programs (York County Community Action, WIC, municipal general assistance programs, mental, behavioral, and physical healthcare, substance misuse recovery, Table of Plenty, adult education classes, veteran services, utility support programs, shower facilities, daytime warming and cooling centers, legal aid and tax return assistance – among other prospective services), Mainspring will serve as a hub for coordinated and comprehensive support for individuals and families in need. Through agency collaboration, a shared data system, and in partnership with our clients, we will tailor the full spectrum of necessary services on a case-by-case basis – always with an eye toward independence and a personalized plan leading out of poverty, crisis, or need.
The entry/intake process at Mainspring will be streamlined, respectful, and welcoming – with relationship-building starting right at the reception. The Mainspring campus will be warm, inviting, and comfortable – and appropriately designed for its multi-agency missions. We will be fully accessible and centrally located (not hidden away at the edges of our community). Mainspring will be designed and built for environmental sustainability. The food pantry will feel less like a storage room and more like a small grocery store – but without any checkout registers. The thrift store will be thoughtfully designed with inventory for shoppers of all income levels. A multi-purpose room will be available for all sorts of community workshops and gatherings.
Mainspring’s professional staff will each bring their own fields of expertise and their agency’s resources to the case management process – working in genuine partnership with the client or family. Working together under one roof will not only better serve our clients (both short-term and long-term), the more efficient and effective service delivery process will also help reduce staff burnout. Greater professional collaboration will also breed innovation, new ideas, and a more impactful voice in policy matters.
Moving from isolated services to a more coordinated and holistic approach is not just good common sense, it’s already proving successful in other communities. A growing network of nonprofit centers like Mainspring are beginning to turn the tide on the fight against poverty, hunger, and homelessness. We are learning from others and tailoring the model to our community for maximum impact.
We envision a single mom with three children, for example, coming to Mainspring simply seeking food assistance. She comes to know us; we come to know her and her kids. She gets the short-term food assistance she needs. She also enrolls in the WIC program. We help her find affordable housing after her rent is hiked. Her family shops at our thrift store. She takes a nutrition/cooking class at Mainspring. She gets help filing her taxes – and enrolls in a financial literacy workshop. She helps connect a friend with an LGBTQ+ support group, her father with veteran services, and a neighbor with mental health counseling – all offered at Mainspring. Years from now, doing well and her kids grown, she comes back to Mainspring to volunteer and assist others.
It’s pretty easy to envision countless such examples – and the positive outcomes we can achieve together. Collaboratively, comprehensively, and holistically. Guided by sound research. And grounded, always, in respect, human dignity, and individual empowerment. The power of community – and good work, generosity, and clear thinking – cannot be denied. If you’d like to learn more about Mainspring, connect with us, or make a contribution, please visit www.mainspringcollective.org. Though “Giving Tuesday” (an international movement dedicated to a world built upon shared humanity and radical generosity) is just a few days away – on Tuesday, November 28 – we greatly appreciate your support any day of the year.
Emily Flinkstrom, a Kittery resident, is the executive director of Fair Tide. Megan Shapiro-Ross, an Eliot resident, is the executive director of Footprints. They are the co-founders of Mainspring. John Shea, a Kittery resident, is serving as the chair of the Mainspring capital campaign. This is the fourth in a series of five commentaries. Mainspring plans to open at 22 Shapleigh Road in Kittery in September 2024 and is currently in the midst of a $5.45 million campaign.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Commentary: Envisioning the positive outcomes we can achieve together
