New Hope Midcoast is pairing with local healthcare providers for a matching challenge campaign, “Providers Support Survivors.” Local practitioners have donated a total of $3,200. New Hope Midcoast asks that community members match this amount through donations made by April 20. Money generated will be used to further the agency’s wide network of support and advocacy for those affected by domestic abuse, dating violence and stalking including emergency shelter and associated expenses.

During its 2019 fiscal year, the agency provided 203 bed nights. This increased to 3,058 at the height of the pandemic when victims were effectively imprisoned with their abusers giving rise to what many have termed the “shadow pandemic.” The number increased again in 2021 with an unprecedented 3,183 nights of emergency sheltering.

“Our advocates work with healthcare providers at all levels,” states executive director, Rebekah Paredes. “From referrals to and from medical practitioners and mental healthcare providers, to licensure-required trainings for social workers, to the emergent care that Sexual Assault Forensic Exam (SAFE) nurses provide those most intimately affected by domestic abuse, we have an incredible community of medical supports and are thrilled to pair with them for this important matching challenge that provides essential needs.”

Healthcare providers are stepping up to the challenge. Community members can double the impact with their donations in any amount mailed to New Hope Midcoast, P.O. Box A, Rockland, ME 04841 or made online at newhopemidcoast.org.