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Member FDIC www.barharbor.bank • 888-853-7100 Over 50 locations across northern New England Joe Delano SVP Relationship Manager jdelano@barharbor.bank 207-771-1217 Our Portland-based commercial team can help your business grow. • Loans up to $50 million with flexible terms • Competitive rates tailored to your business needs • Small business and corporate cash management • High-volume transaction tools with leading technology • Personalized service of local banking experts to process this very normal reaction to what we would call an abnormal event, and to truly have a judgment free kind of space for people to go through the steps of processing their trauma and along the way, as people are ready, providing skills and resources," Parent says. "So we opened our center 19 days after the shooting, which was the second fast- est, we believe, in the country. e first fastest resiliency center to open was in Orlando, Fla., and they had help from Disney," she adds. "So, we take a lot of pride in the fact that we were able to at least be a space for people very early, and that was possible because of community partners standing up and stepping into that work with us." Nonprofits and volunteers through- out the state flooded Lewiston offering services and support which was vital in the Resiliency Center's initial stages of development. e American Red Cross, the attorney general and district attor- ney offices, local college students and advocacy groups all came together to build something that the community desperately needed. Initially, the Maine Resiliency Cen- ter was created as a space where people could feel safe but over time it grew to offer services and evolved to suit the needs of participants, especially victim's families and survivors. e center offered support groups, mental health services, interpreters since the tragedy particu- larly impacted the deaf community, and advocacy resources. Community connections Connections to community partners are also key to the Resiliency Center's impact. e sudden loss of loved ones meant that families were left with practical hardships to deal with overnight, such as loss of income, how to maintain their homes with half the income, legal issues, insurance questions and how to handle media requests from reporters. e center worked with professionals such as lawyers, bankers, media experts and advocates to give participants the opportunity to get the information they needed to find some sense of stability. One particularly raw moment occurred when the Resiliency Center helped fami- lies, friends and survivors privately visit the bowling alley and the bar where the tragedy took place. "ere are so many implications that can happen from bringing somebody into a space where they had such a traumatic event. What I really realized is that people were going to do this with or without support, and so we could either show up and tolerate the discomfort or do every- thing to make it the safest experience possible," Parent says. The Maine Resiliency Center has become a second home to those impacted by the loss of Oct. 25, and its resources have rippled out to anyone affected by trauma or violence, such as families of homicide victims, domestic violence survivors, and witnesses of shootings. e center's commitment to commu- nity and understanding is open to anyone who needs their resources. While the nonprofit has made a significant impact on Lewiston, sustainability is a concern. Currently, a federal grant for 27 months ensures that the center has funding until early 2026. Talks with legislators and stakeholders are ongoing to ensure the future of the Maine Resiliency Center. "I think the center gives folks a place to connect to professional staff that have both some lived experience personally and then professional experience to help guide people, and then offers the connection with other individuals that are in the same circumstances. at sort of model of being a community that understands, I think is really meaning- ful," Martin says. Sloane Perron, a Mainebiz freelance writer, can be reached at editorial @ mainebiz.biz PH OTO / C OU R TES Y M AI NE R ES I LI ENC Y C ENTER Danielle Parent, director of the Maine Resiliency Center, says the center was put together quickly to respond as immediately as possible. PH OTO / C OU R TES Y C OM M U NI TY C ONC EPTS I NC . Jim Martin is CEO of Community Concepts Inc. and executive director of Oxford County Mental Health Services.

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