HOUSING CHANGES LIVES
A LONG-TERM SOLUTION TO HOMELESSNESS ANNUAL REPORT 2024
Permanent, affordable housing is the solution to ending homelessness.
Founded in 1998, Fair Tide is a leader in tackling affordable housing and homelessness in the Seacoast Region of Maine and New Hampshire. Our multi-pronged approach focuses on creating deeply affordable housing opportunities, preventing homelessness, and ensuring long-term stability for the households we serve Thank you for being a part of our journey to create a strong, healthy, and vibrant Seacoast community.
Our Mission
The mission of Fair Tide is to reduce homelessness by providing housing and supportive services to individuals and families in the Seacoast.
We envision a time when everyone has access to safe, stable, and affordable housing. Our Vision
Our Impact
Fair Tide is committed to agency and system-level solutions that promote affordable housing opportunities, mitigate the impacts of poverty and create strong, healthy, and vibrant communities.
Moving to Mainspring
Fair Tide is a co-founder of the new social service resource hub named Mainspring. This collaborative model is designed to break the cycle of poverty and reduce many of the barriers people face when accessing services. With over a dozen programs and services under one roof, community members will walk through one door and know that all the resources and support needed are within reach
Once Mainspring opens in early 2025, Fair Tide’s Housing and Case Management staff, administrative team, and thrift store will move to the new building, located at 22 Shapleigh Road Kittery, ME. Learn more at www mainspringcollective org
Give the Gift of Home
Stable housing is foundational to one’s health and well-being. Make a gift today to help provide affordable housing for our Seacoast community
A word from our Executive Director
Dear Friends,
Despite working in the social service sector for 18 years, I still come across statistics that shock me. The one that recently brought my jaw to the floor comes from United Way’s ALICE report (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed), which looks at the number of households unable to meet their basic needs. According to data for Southern Maine, about 40% of households living in York County can’t make ends meet. 40%! That’s a huge segment of our community who wake up every day worried about how they are going to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads (if, in fact, they still have a roof to live under). Odds are, you know one of these “ALICE” households. Or, maybe you are one of them. Either way, Fair Tide’s steady growth and innovation are driven by the staggering number of our neighbors who are struggling and deserve better.
We are extremely proud of the impact we are making here in the Seacoast Region and the milestones achieved in 2024. The six-unit permanent supportive housing development on Shapleigh Road in Kittery welcomed tenants home this month. These are folks who were previously living in their cars, or in shelters, and now have a new lease on life. We have 12 more units that will be underway early next year and a third housing project in the works.
This year was also significant for the growth of our social service offerings. We hired a second case manager, adding Melissa Schott to the team and doubling our capacity to provide critical supports for homelessness prevention and longterm success in housing.
And finally, we are wrapping up an extremely successful year of construction, fundraising and partnership building as we prepare to open the doors to Mainspring in early 2025. The hard work put into this journey and the magnitude of this accomplishment cannot be overstated. We are anxious to get into the new building with our partners and implement the truly collaborative elements of this model that will help move the needle on poverty.
The achievements outlined in this annual report are thanks in large part to you, our great community of supporters. As you read on, we hope you share in our pride and excitement. We look forward to seeing what more we can accomplish together and can’t wait to invite you into our new home at Mainspring next year!
Emily Flinkstrom
EMILY FLINKSTROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Expanding Programs and Services
In 2023, we set three overarching goals for our organization to create a deeper impact and guide our work with more efficiency. These goals build on the strong foundation we have in place and set us up for five-years of calculated growth.
GOAL ONE
Fair Tide is the leader in developing affordable, supportive housing in the Seacoast Region.
GOAL TWO
GOAL THREE
Fair Tide’s internal capacity is strengthened to meet community needs and long-term sustainability. Mainspring is created and fully operational, providing easily accessible services for individuals and families in the Seacoast Region.
Goal One
Fair Tide is the leader in developing affordable, supportive housing in the Seacoast Region.
Fair Tide creates affordable housing opportunities through partnerships with landlords and the development of new units. All housing is paired with supportive services to ensure long-term success.
Landlord Engagement Initiative
Our Landlord Engagement Initiative (LEI) creates affordable housing opportunities in our community by offering landlords incentives in exchange for renting to a household with a voucher. In 2024, Fair Tide and York Community Service Association received a third year of funding through MaineHousing to expand our collaborative efforts in this arena. This allowed our jointly hired Landlord Engagement Specialist to continue her great work educating and engaging additional landlord partners.
Fair Tide has given us an opportunity to feel secure and grounded in a safe location.
- Fair Tide Client
LEI allows Fair Tide to find immediate housing placements for individuals and families while we engage in the more lengthy work of developing new units of housing.
Affordable Housing Developments
Founders’ House - Five Units
Fair Tide’s first housing development opened in 2003 as transitional housing. In 2018 we adopted the Housing First approach and converted the five units into permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness. Tenants pay 30 percent of their income and renew their lease annually.
Thaxter House - Six Units
Completed this November, these six units in Kittery are targeted for individuals and couples who have experienced homelessness. Residents have easy access to a variety of services at neighboring Mainspring, in addition to Fair Tide’s oneon-one case management.
Old Post Road - 12 Units (Proposed)
With land donated by the town of Kittery through a competitive RFP process, this project is a true public-private collaboration. Two six-unit houses will offer permanent supportive housing for individuals and families. Applications for funding from MaineHousing and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston are pending, and we hope to start construction in the Spring of 2025.
Recovery House in Dover, NH
Fair Tide is exploring a partnership with the Dover Housing Authority and SOS Recovery to build a Recovery House in Dover, NH Fair Tide would develop the property, with SOS providing services and the Housing Authority owning the building. We're thrilled to work with both organizations on this much-needed type of housing.
Case Management Support
Fair Tide’s Case Managers work one-onone with the clients in Fair Tide’s units, and those of our landlord partners, tailoring their support to the unique, individual needs of each household member and always with a primary focus of preventing any relapse into homelessness.
General Assistance - New Program!
This year, Fair Tide’s service portfolio expanded as we assumed the role of General Assistance Administrator for the towns of Kittery and Eliot. General Assistance (also referred to as “welfare”) is a locally administered, statewide resource designed to assist eligible residents with basic necessities. Fair Tide’s case managers take on this work, administering the program as part of their larger role of helping households find stability and preventing homelessness. We are one of only a few organizations in Maine partnering with municipalities in this unique way to improve this critical service.
Homelessness Prevention
The town of Kittery is excited to partner with Fair Tide in administering General Assistance, as Fair Tide understands the complex challenges facing families today, and provides access to other services and programs for a more holistic approach to helping people in need of emergency assistance.
-Kendra Amaral, Kittery Town Manager
Fair Tide provides information, referrals, and short-term guidance to individuals and families seeking assistance in meeting basic needs
Fair Tide is beyond fantastic I can’t find good enough words to describe Fair Tide. I’ve never had anything like this in my life I am very grateful!”
-Dale Keller, Client and Board Member
So far this year, our case managers have fielded over 250 requests for assistance. We also operate a Client Emergency Fund that offers flexible dollars to help households stay up-to-date on their bills. These supports prevent households from falling into homelessness at a time when it is incredibly difficult to attain affordable housing.
Goal Two
Fair Tide’s internal capacity is strengthened to meet community needs and long-term sustainability.
The team members we added in 2023 continue to offer tremendous value to Fair Tide’s mission. This year, we welcomed a second Case Manager, Melissa Schott, who is instrumental in handling our growing caseload and expanded services and who will play a critical role in the new collaborative care offered at Mainspring. We are looking to enhance our organizational chart even further by adding administrative and operational support in 2025.
Goal Three
“No one is able to make it through this world alone. I feel so fortunate to help my neighbors find safe and healthy homes.”
-Melissa, Case Manager
Mainspring is created and fully operational, providing easily accessible services for individuals and families in the Seacoast Region.
Mainspring is a collective of social service agencies working collaboratively under one roof to help households navigate the pathway out of poverty As co-founding partners, Fair Tide and Footprints Food Pantry are developing and implementing this research-based model. This year, our team brought new partners to the table, raised millions of dollars, and shepherded the construction of this beautiful new building We are so excited to move into the facility in early 2025 and deepen the impact of our programs and services.
Partners and Programs at Mainspring
Adult Education - Daytime classes & HiSET
Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault
Resources
Fair Tide - Housing assistance, short and long-term case management, a flexible emergency needs fund, and our thrift store with low-cost clothing and housewares
Footprints - New market-model food pantry, prepared meals, cooking/nutrition classes, culinary job training, weekly community supper, home delivery, pet food pantry, spice shelf program, community support fund, off-site pantries, and refrigerated lockers for after-hour services
Fuel and Utility Assistance
General Assistance - Funding for emergency needs, administered by Fair Tide
Lighthouse Credit Union - Financial literacy and coaching
MaineHealth - Prescription assistance, connections to free/low-cost medical care and health insurance navigation
Medical Services
Mental and Behavioral HealthCounseling, resources, and referrals
Pine Tree Legal Assistance
Seacoast Outright - LGBTQ+ programming
Southern Maine Agency on Aging
Table of Plenty - Weekly hot meals
Tax Preparation Assistance
Triangle Club - Peer-driven recovery support
Volunteers of America - Veterans services
York County Community ActionOutreach worker and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program
Community Garden
Computer, Printer, and Internet Use
Day-Time Warming and Cooling Center
Shower Facilities
Community Meeting Space
Fair Tide's impact is lifelong and multi-generational
I attribute so much of my success to that time in Fair Tide. The case manager, staff, counseling, and advice was incredible for weighing decisions to get back to my life.
-Former Fair Tide Client
Ways to Give
Cash, Check, or Stock
Make a donation via cash, check, or credit card online or through the mail
Set up a recurring donation
Give a gift of stock
Recommend Fair Tide/List as Your Beneficiary
Recommend Fair Tide through your donor-advised fund
Make a qualified charitable distribution through your IRA
List “Fair Tide” as the beneficiary in your will
Thrift Store Involvement
Donate and/or shop at our thrift store
Volunteer at our thrift store
Fair Tide 15 State Road Kittery, ME 03904
EIN: 01-0525140 www fairtide org/donate
Fair Tide’s Thrift Store
Net proceeds from Fair Tide’s Thrift Store serve as a critical source of unrestricted funding for our housing programs and services, while offering low-cost clothing, housewares, books, and more to our entire community. The thrift store will be moving to the Mainspring facility to operate out of a space that is much more conducive to the growing level of donations and
customers we are lucky to welcome on a daily basis. In order to prepare for the transition, our thrift store is currently accepting limited, smaller donations and inviting folks to make an appointment to drop off larger donations in mid-January. We have plenty of inventory to sell before the move, so stop in by December 18th for some deep discounts on great items! For questions or to schedule an appointment in the new year, please contact thriftstore@fairtide.org.
Our Team
Executive Director
Emily Flinkstrom
Director of Housing
Hershey Hirschkop
Director of Social Entrepreneurship
Barbara McGaughey
Bookkeeper
Pam Smith
Case Managers
Kerry Brent
Melissa Schott Development Coordinator
Taylor Johnson
Thrift Store Sales Associates
Gail Burton
Delia Hartley
Deb Morrison
Mary Oplinger
Colleen Periera
Aberash Robinson
Amy Kelly (also our Online Sales Coordinator)
Fair Tide staff and volunteers at Mainspring groundbreaking, does not include full team
Our Board
Chair
Ali Goodwin
Vice Chair
Ryan Pope
Treasurer
Steven Epstein
Secretary
George Dow
Members
Aaron Awbrey
Bill Dignan
Tom Emerson
Dale Keller
Our Financials
July 1,2023 - June 30, 2024
Financials are reflective of Fair Tide’s operating budget only and do not include Mainspring or housing development revenue & expenses.
Fair Tide’s Board of Directors, missing Tom Emerson
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