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Maine Resiliency Center outlines longterm needs; Lewiston administration to pursue MOU
Summary
The Maine Resiliency Center described two years of supports for victims and survivors of the Oct. 25, 2023 mass shooting and asked the city to develop a memorandum of understanding to coordinate outreach and long‑term services; council directed administration to begin MOU talks and return with an agreement for approval.
The Maine Resiliency Center (MRC) told Lewiston city council on March 17 that it has served more than 900 people since opening in the wake of the Oct. 25, 2023 mass shooting and now faces a funding cliff without clearer local coordination.
“We opened the Maine resiliency center 19 days after the shooting,” Danielle Parent, director of the MRC operated by Community Concepts, said in a 45‑minute presentation. Parent described a rapid response of volunteers, victim advocates and federal partners and said the center has provided thousands of contacts, more than 320 support‑group sessions and 133 community events during the recovery period.
Parent said the center’s current operating funding is predominantly an Anti‑Terrorism Emergency Assistance Program (AEAP) grant from the U.S. Department of Justice that was extended through 2027, and that additional state and federal mechanisms — including victims compensation (a state program with a $15,000 cap) and a Mass Violence Care Fund established by the state — will provide different types of aid at different times. The Mass Violence Care Fund is a $5 million endowment; Parent said interest from that fund will become available in October 2026 and should generate roughly $200,000 per year thereafter.
Parent urged the city to partner on a needs survey and on outreach to people who have not accessed the center’s services. “There are plenty of people who are impacted that don’t access the center,” she said, and recommended a low‑cost needs assessment to better identify gaps in long‑term supports.
State Sen. Peggy Rotundo, who chairs the oversight group for the state fund, told the council that the $5 million was intended as a permanent endowment to generate ongoing assistance for medical and counseling needs.
Councilors repeatedly praised the MRC’s work and asked how the city could formalize a relationship that preserves confidentiality while improving outreach. After discussion, the council unanimously directed city administration to begin drafting an MOU between the city and the MRC to define coordination, referral pathways and any shared responsibilities and to return the MOU for formal council action.
What happens next: Administration will meet with MRC leadership to scope an MOU and return to council with proposed language and an implementation timeline. Parent said the MRC will conduct its own needs survey regardless and welcomed city participation in outreach design.
