HARRINGTON, Maine — As Maine inches closer to colder months, many around the state are preparing their homes to keep the freezing weather out.
To make sure everyone can stay warm, Maine Seacoast Mission and Downeast Community Partners have been working alongside each other to repair homes that need help.
"We actually physically go to each home as a team and collaborate on the work scope and the repairs needed for weatherization," Downeast Community Partnership Housing Director Dale Basher said.
It all started after Downeast Community Partners recognized an increase in deferral rates in order to qualify for weatherization, made available by a grant from the C.F. Adams Foundation.
"We go out and help update anything in the homeowner's area that they can't and then in partnership with DCP, they come in and weatherize it to make homes more efficient," Jenny Jones, interim Downeast director of Maine Seacoast Mission, explained.
Every summer, hundreds of volunteers for Maine Seacoast Mission head to the pine tree state for the summer to repair the homes. This past summer, 182 volunteers from Ohio, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Southern Maine repaired 14 homes, according to Maine Seacoast Mission.
Downeast Community Partnership says 10 houses are in the process of weatherization.
"It's really fantastic to see two organizations to be able to pull together resources to make such an effort in people's lives," Basher stated.