RecoveryCorps Celebrate MLK with Day of Service

On January 18, 2021, AmeriCorps members across the state and around the world celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, joining in the national day of service through community engagement activities and education events. 

Here in Maine, Healthy Acadia's RecoveryCorps members participated in a Front Porch Food Drive. In collaboration with the Move for Hunger campaign, members reached out to community members by delivering food drive collection bags and flyers describing the campaign to front porches across the region. Individuals and families who chose to participate filled their bags with nonperishable food items. The filled bags were later collected by members and delivered directly to local food pantries to further serve other community members in need. 

According to Good Shepherd Food Bank, "Hunger across Maine is climbing due to the economic impacts of COVID-19. According to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap study, which uses the most recent data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Census Bureau, food insecurity levels in Maine could increase by as much as 40 percent in 2021, depending on the sustained growth in rates of unemployment and poverty." 

Other Maine RecoveryCorps members took to their various social media platforms in a coordinated effort to raise awareness about substance use disorders and effective harm reduction tools offered by Healthy Acadia, including Fentanyl test strips, Narcan, and recovery coaching services. 

The day-long social media campaign coordinated by our dedicated RecoveryCorps team generated many productive conversations around the seriousness of substance use disorders. We also saw a five-fold increase in requests for Fentanyl test strips and Narcan, which Healthy Acadia currently offers at no cost to community members who wish to carry these harm reduction tools. Learn more about the danger posed by Fentanyl here and request harm reduction tools here.

Maine RecoveryCorps members are honored to serve with Healthy Acadia and partner organizations doing impactful work in our communities, serving one and all around this great state. “Serving the people in my community in any capacity makes me feel like I am a part of something bigger," offered one member. "Even I alone can make a difference.”