HOULTON, Maine — Back in 2009, Tammy Goetsch saw a need in the Houlton area to fill some gaps that weren’t being met by other local agencies.
They included simple things such as providing needy residents with food, furniture and clothing and a phone call or a visit to stem the tide of loneliness that can set in when the elderly are shut in their houses or don’t have many visitors.
That was the impetus for Adopt-a-Block of Aroostook, a nonprofit coalition and partnership of local churches and businesses, town government, service and health agencies, community associations, police and residents who collaborate to restore the town and surrounding communities, block by block.
“We started out just going door to door, meeting our neighbors,” said Goetsch, program director for Adopt-a-Block of Aroostook. “We started shoveling snow, raking leaves, doing other small chores. At first, some of the residents were skeptical, wondering what we were doing. But then once we really started meeting people and getting the program running, people bought into it.”
Adopt-a-Block of Aroostook offers door-to-door visitation on the third Saturday of every month, as well as a free clothing giveaway on the first Saturday of every month. In 2015, 837 adults and 720 children were served. A food pantry is open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday with produce distribution on Tuesdays and Fridays. Last year, Goetsch said, they gave away 13 tons of food.
“We cover six areas in our community with an average of 110 families in those areas,” she said. “We started with one block, and now it has grown to six blocks. We also saw a need for an after-school program, so we started that, too, and we now serve 90 children who come and attend it.”
Another need that was identified was for “positive role models for boys.”
“That was the reason we started the ‘Just 4 Boys Summer Camp,’” she said. “We’ve held that for five summers now, and it has been very successful.”
Trudy Currier, who lives on Park Street, said that she and her two teenage children enjoy volunteering for Adopt-a-Block of Aroostook. She said recently that she and her children help out at the community breakfasts, which are held on the third Saturday of the month from October through April.
“You can meet new people who live on the block, and it is nice to give back to people,” she said. “We usually get approximately 40 to 50 people who attend it each month.”
She said that her family also likes to help put together the annual Thanksgiving baskets, part of an outreach effort that takes place each November, and they also enjoy helping out with the annual Christmas party held on the blocks in December.
Dean Nason, who lives on Randall Street, said that she was homeless with her children when she was first assisted by Adopt-a-Block of Aroostook. She credits the assistance with helping her make a “fresh start” in the community.
“They really helped me and my family initially,” she recalled. “We were living in a hotel room, and they helped me get clothing for my children and more than that, they really offered me moral support, which is what I really needed at a time like that.”
Nason moved into an apartment, and she said that Adopt-a-Block of Aroostook assisted her with securing household items.
“I was struggling with some problems, but they didn’t judge me,” she said. “They were there for me, they supported me, they were people I could call and talk to if I needed to hear a voice on the phone. They were a lifeline.”
Now, Nason is doing a lot better, and she volunteers for Adopt-a-Block of Aroostook when she can.
“Things are going much better for me,” she said. “And it is all because they knocked on the door that day.”
