John T. Gorman board and staff members on a recent tour of York County partner sites. Photo: Courtesy John T. Gorman Foundation
By Kendra Williams
Three Sanford nonprofits are among 70 organizations statewide receiving funding through the John T. Gorman Foundation’s 2026 Direct Services Grant Program, which awarded $1.2 million to organizations providing food and shelter services to Mainers in need.
“Food and housing are foundational to the health and well-being of our communities, but as costs continue to rise and assistance is cut, these essentials are becoming increasingly out of reach for many Maine people,” said President and CEO Nicole Witherbee.
Caring Unlimited, York County’s domestic violence resource center, will receive $30,000 to help with deferred maintenance on their transitional housing properties and for direct emergency assistance to clients.
According to Director of Development and Community Engagement Emily Gormley, Caring Unlimited operates 11 transitional housing units where survivors of domestic abuse and their eligible children can live for up to two years. They range from one to three bedrooms to accommodate different family sizes.
“We need these apartments and properties to be safe, comfortable and welcoming,” said Gormley. “Over time, some bigger maintenance projects get deferred that at this point need to be tended to.”
The remaining funding will provide emergency assistance to help families establish safety and maintain stable housing. This could include preventing homelessness, securing permanent housing, replacing identification documents, paying housing application fees or meeting personal care needs. “It kind of runs the gamut in terms of what kind of support that might be,” said Gormley.
Rising living expenses can create significant barriers for people trying to leave abusive relationships and establish financial independence. Gormley explained that economic abuse is a major factor for many survivors, making financial assistance an important part of helping them rebuild their lives.
The Backpack Program, which provides food to Sanford students each week during the school year, will receive $15,000 to supplement the $40,000 the program spends annually on food. At an estimated cost of $7 per bag, the grant funding is equivalent to more than 2,000 bags of food.
According to Ayn Hanselmann, a founding board member, food is distributed weekly at every school site, with the approach varying by grade level. Younger students receive bags of food to take home, while older students have access to a self-choice model that allows them to select items, including fresh produce.
The grant helps close a gap in the program’s annual budget at a time when growing food insecurity has made community fundraising more difficult. The funding will help maintain weekly distributions without placing additional demands on local families and donors.
“In an especially tough economy it allows some flexibility where parents with very tight budgets can use the money that would have been used to buy those food items to pay for oil or to fill their gas tank,” said Hanselmann.
St. George’s Episcopal Church will receive $7,500 to support its Community Outreach Ministry which works in partnership with It Takes a Village 207, to assist people experiencing hunger, homelessness or housing instability.
The ministry serves a free meal to an average of 70 people every Wednesday from 2 to 4 pm, providing not only food but also a gathering place where individuals can connect with agencies offering case management, housing coordination, wound care, limited emergency shelter and other assistance. An on-site food pantry, stocked four times a week, is also available without eligibility requirements.
Linda Samia, a St. George’s parishioner and primary author of the grant application, said the funding is to expand services currently made possible by the churches, private donations and investments.
The grant will help provide short-term emergency housing, meals and pantry supplies, gas and food gift cards, and take-home bags containing basic personal care items. “The focus is on providing a safe space and to really foster relationships and trust so people can have support and access resources as necessary,” said Samia
Samia credits It Takes a Village 207, which has established relationships with people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, for helping the ministry develop its outreach efforts. She also emphasized the importance of partnerships with other churches and service providers, saying that without them, “this wouldn’t work.”
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