Staff Writer
An Aroostook County agency charged with working with low- to moderate-income people to achieve education and training, has received a $375,000 grant to help their aging and disabled clients get the help they need to remain in public housing. The Aroostook Family Investment Center, with offices in Caribou, received the three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to Pat Desjardins, the center’s director.
The grant will help up to 300 elderly and disabled individuals living in public housing in Fort Fairfield, Presque Isle and Van Buren, the only housing authorities in Aroostook County.
According to Desjardins, the grant money will help those targeted clients, who volunteer for the program, to receive the services needed to remain in their own homes instead of moving to a nursing or boarding home. The program is voluntary, Desjardins explained.
A case manager will meet with clients and assess the needs, which could range from housekeeping to personal care. To achieve those goals, the agency plans to form partnerships with the Maine Bureau of Adult Services, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and the Loring Job Corps Center.
The Family Investment Center was founded in 1995 with a $1 million grant to help families in public housing in Caribou, Presque Isle, Fort Fairfield and Van Buren. It has two employees and plans to hire a part-time bookkeeper with the receipt of the new grant, Desjardins said.
