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Central Lincoln County YMCA says navigator program is expanding with county support
Summary
The Central Lincoln County YMCA updated commissioners on its community navigation program, which helps residents access services. County ARPA funds currently fully underwrite the positions; staff reported rising caseloads and upcoming outreach events.
Lincoln County commissioners heard an update from the Central Lincoln County YMCA on June 17 about its community navigation program, which connects residents to benefits, services and local resources.
The YMCA’s community navigator, Mark Heimbaugh, and CEO Casey Clark Kelly told the board the program performs comprehensive intakes, accepts referrals from 211, town offices, law enforcement and school counselors, and uses a small discretionary debit account for limited needs when no other funding is available. “We want to be a single point of contact for people in need,” Mark Heimbaugh said.
The program covers all of Lincoln County except Boothbay, where the Community Resource Council runs its own navigator. The YMCA said the county partnership provides the program’s primary funding: “The partnership with the county fully funds this program,” Heimbaugh said, adding the county’s ARPA commitment funds the positions through next year.
Commissioners were given quarterly statistics showing service growth. The YMCA reported about 50 new households assisted per quarter and a rise in active assistance cases — first-quarter client counts increased from 384 to 731 year-over-year in the most recent filing. Casey Clark Kelly said the YMCA tracks new households so repeat clients are not double-counted.
Program activities described to the board include a Fill the Y Bus food drive, monthly distributions at Main Street Grocery in Damariscotta, a quarterly site at Rising Tide, and an annual back-to-school event (planned this year for Aug. 13) that has in past years supplied 150–200 backpacks, provided some eye exams and free haircuts.
Heimbaugh said navigators execute releases of information to enable warm handoffs to other agencies, and that the YMCA is not a licensed crisis-response case-management service. “We’re not emergency. We’re not crisis. We’re not licensed case managers,” he said, noting the program sometimes partners with police or EMS when in-person contact is needed.
The YMCA described a forthcoming strategic planning process tied to its organizational plan, including a community needs forum and a stakeholder survey to refine services. Commissioners asked about local partnerships — Heimbaugh said outreach to Westport Island Helping Hands had been intermittent but that the YMCA would continue to pursue connections with local select boards.
The presentation closed with an invitation to commissioners to participate in the YMCA’s community needs forum and a reminder that the county’s ARPA-funded support is intended to continue for the duration of the county commitment.
The board took no formal vote on the presentation; staff said regular quarterly reports will continue to be provided.
