2025 – 2026 Community Report
Your Impact in Southern Maine
This Report Includes
Affordable food, rent, transportation, child care, prescriptions, healthcare: these are the basics needed to thrive. Too many people in Southern Maine are finding life unaffordable. Across Southern Maine, 37% of households struggle to afford the basics. Among these are ALICE® (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) households. ALICE workers keep our economy running but still cannot keep up with the cost of living.
Nearly 10 years ago, United Way held a series of listening sessions to hear directly from our neighbors and learn what challenges they faced and what would make their lives better. Many shared that even though they had one or more jobs, they struggled with the cost of living. We didn’t have a word for it then, but we do now: ALICE.
Those voices shaped Thrive2027 and continue to guide our work today as we bring partners together to create lasting solutions that advance youth opportunity, financial security, and health. As Thrive2027 comes to a close, we are listening again. Community insight continues to fuel our work as United Way of Southern Maine brings the right people together to solve problems and help ALICE families reach stable ground.
Our vision for a thriving community is a Southern Maine where families can access nutritious food and healthcare, live in safe, stable housing, and have affordable child care and quality learning opportunities for their children.
Together, we can bring that vision to life. United is the way to a thriving Southern Maine.
STRENGTHENING
THE ALICE WORKFORCE
ALICE workers face real barriers to financial stability, from unpredictable schedules and income to rising housing, child care, and transportation costs. These challenges affect not only families, but employers as well, contributing to turnover, burnout, and staffing gaps.
When employers adopt ALICE‑friendly policies, they are better positioned to attract, retain, and support talent. United Way brings employers together to share practical, business‑smart solutions that help ALICE workers thrive.
ALICE Employer Toolkit and Employer Summit
This year, United Way of Southern Maine launched the ALICE Employer Toolkit, a growing collection of tested strategies developed by local human resource professionals to support ALICE workers across industries. More than 80 leaders from 40 employers deepened this work at our Support Beyond the Paycheck: Strengthening Your ALICE Workforce summit, where employers shared actionable approaches to improve retention, satisfaction, and workplace stability.
youth opportunity
Helping young people realize their full potential.
United Way breaks down barriers to youth success by ensuring all children have access to quality care and education at every age.
IMPACT IN FOCUS
Child Care
What We’re Seeing
Families need child care to thrive, yet in Southern Maine it can cost more than a mortgage—placing high‑quality care out of reach for many ALICE families. At the same time, the child care workforce is under strain, with providers operating on tight margins and struggling to hire and retain staff.
What We’re Doing
United Way is strengthening Southern Maine’s child care system through a coordinated approach: creating job pathways for educators, investing in high‑quality child care centers, and expanding capacity by helping open two United 4 Child Care locations. This work addresses immediate challenges while building long‑term system resilience.
spotlight on innovation
Opening doors for Educators
Maine needs more child care educators and providers, but the path to the profession can be challenging. United Way’s Early Childhood Education Workforce Continuum supports aspiring educators at every stage, from exploring the profession and earning certifications to overcoming barriers to employment and business ownership.
Erika learned about United Way’s program for future early child care educators while living with her children in a hotel in Saco. The program provided essential training, transportation, and translation services, removing barriers that often prevent talented educators from moving forward. When Erika was ready to interview, United Way connected her with Youth and Family Outreach (YFO), a community partner. Though no positions were open, YFO invited Erika for a practice interview and quickly recognized her warmth and experience. She was hired on the spot.
When educators are supported and providers have strong staff, families and children get the care they need to thrive.
United Way in Action
Youth Opportunity
Connected volunteers with schools to mentor struggling readers.
Empowered Emerging Leaders United members to invest in youth mentorship, academic support, and mental health programs.
Launched United 4 Child Care, expanding access to affordable child care.
Financial Security
Creating a stronger financial future for every generation.
United Way is creating pathways to opportunity so hard-working families can build savings.
IMPACT IN FOCUS
ALICE
What We’re Seeing
Too many people in Southern Maine are struggling to stay afloat because of the gap between what they earn and the cost of living. When your focus is on paying for the daily essentials, you cannot save for emergencies or invest in a brighter future through education or home ownership. The impact extends far into the future, making it more difficult for the next generation to build their own financial security and future.
What We’re Doing
United Way helps hard‑working families strengthen their financial future by connecting them with education, tax and savings opportunities, and job training. We also partner with employers to promote ALICE‑friendly workplace practices that support and retain workers. When we give families the right tools and support, we open pathways to financial security that have long-lasting benefits for our entire community.
spotlight on innovation
CA$H Greater Portland
When families keep more of what they earn, they can better plan for the future.
CA$H Greater Portland helps ALICE families file their taxes for free with support from IRS-certified Volunteer Tax Preparers, ensuring that they claim every eligible credit to maximize their refund. In 2025, CA$H served more than 850 households, returned $1.4 million to the community in refunds, and saved families $202,000 in tax preparation fees. Tax filers are also connected with an Opportunity Guide, who share local financial tools and resources to support long‑term stability.
For Dora, a young mom and preschool educator in Portland, filing taxes felt confusing and overwhelming. A CA$H volunteer helped her understand what credits were available to her and made a stressful process feel easy and empowering. She has returned to CA$H for nearly 20 years and now encourages coworkers and first‑time filers to do the same.
United Way in Action
Financial Security
Continued advocating for LD 641, a bill to increase funding for housing services to keep people in their homes.
Empowered employers to adopt business practices to support, attract, and retain international talent.
Ensured that over 800 Maine families could stay warm in their homes through Keep ME Warm.
healthy community
Improving health and wellbeing for all.
United Way increases access to health care so individuals can live longer, better lives.
IMPACT IN FOCUS
Mental Health
What We’re Seeing
ALICE families face barriers to healthy living, including financial stress, food insecurity, and lack of access to health care. Without early support, mental health challenges, especially among youth, can have lifelong consequences.
What We’re Doing
United Way strengthens access to health care across Southern Maine, investing in mental health support, substance use prevention and treatment, and programs that connect youth and families to care when and where they need it.
spotlight on innovation
read away
One in 13 Maine children has an incarcerated parent — the highest rate in New England. The emotional toll can be profound, often disrupting family bonds at a critical time in a child’s development. Read Away helps reduce trauma by keeping families connected during incarceration.
Each month, incarcerated mothers and grandmothers record themselves reading a children’s book. United Way staff and volunteers deliver the recording, the book, and educational materials directly to the child—supporting literacy, strengthening relationships, and easing isolation for both children and parents.
Read Away outcomes this year include:
- Callie, who reconnected with her grandchildren and is now in frequent contact with her family.
- Jolene, who reads to her fiancé’s daughter to build their relationship while incarcerated.
- Sarah, a participating mother preparing to enter law school following re‑entry.
Participant names are pseudonyms to protect confidentiality.
United Way in Action
health community
Connected 211 callers to mental health care or substance use treatment.
Provided overdose prevention training and tools in rural Maine.
Increased access to nutritious food for youth and families.
impact by the numbers
Your giving goes farther with United Way of Southern Maine.
Unrestricted contributions enable us to address urgent community needs, develop innovative programs, and bring together multiple partners across Southern Maine to better serve our community as needs change.
Each impact number reflects the combined impact of several United Way–supported programs and partners aligned around the same community challenge.
3,778
children
and their families received vital food assistance.
950
neighbors
joined or stayed in the workforce by accessing critical child care, transportation, or financial supports.
1,629
individuals
accessed life-saving tools and harm reduction strategies to prevent overdose deaths.
375
parents
implemented strategies to reduce exposure to Adverse Childhood Experiences, traumatic events in childhood affecting lifelong health.
1,075
kids
met significant milestones for social-emotional development.
376
households
moved from homelessness to safe, secure housing.
828
youth
gained access to books and tools that inspired a love of reading beyond school.
Thrive2027
A DECADE OF COMMUNITY-DRIVEN IMPACT
Nearly ten years ago, thousands of Southern Maine residents shared their hopes and challenges through community listening sessions. Their voices shaped Thrive2027, a shared vision with three community-wide goals: give kids a strong start, help neighbors thrive—not just survive—and create healthier lives for all. Over the past decade, these goals guided coordinated action across United Way, nonprofits, schools, businesses, and government.
Together, we expanded access to child care, strengthened pathways to financial stability, and increased access to mental health support and healthy food. As Thrive2027 sunsets next year, we reflect with gratitude on the partnerships, learning, and momentum built. While the initiative concludes, the impact continues and the insights gained will shape how United Way shows up for Southern Maine in the years ahead.
Goal 1: GIVE OUR KIDS A STRONG START
Goal 2: EMPOWER NEIGHBORS TO THRIVE – NOT JUST SURVIVE
Goal 3: HELP US ALL LIVE LONGER, HEALTHIER LIVES
