Resident Services

The Resident Services Department at BangorHousing is dedicated to ensuring that public housing and Section 8 families receive services that will enable them to achieve self-sufficiency. The staff is available and accessible to help families obtain education, job-training, find a job, advance their career, become a homeowner, or improve their quality of life as a senior in one of our communities.

View our New Resident Orientation Video:

Services

Events

We throw many parties and events throughout the year to engage the community and bring everyone together and have a great time. Our events are listed below:

Christmas and Easter Party – these parties have games and prizes, cupcake walks, outside Easter-egg hunt (Easter), different activities, and a chance to meet and get a photo with Santa/Easter Bunny!

Trunk or Treat – each October just before Halloween we hold our Trunk or Treat event in the parking lot where kids can dress in their costumes and Trick-or-Treat from different trunks. These trunks are decorated all kinds of different ways and we strongly encourage our Residents and Community Partners to volunteer and decorate a trunk. We have even held a pretty scary Haunted House each year that tends to bring out a few screams!

Different events throughout the year include Blood drives held right in our gym, spay/neuter clinics, the Good Shepherd Mobile Food Pantry, and Community Cleanups with the Resident Council.

Summer Block Party – This event is in a category of its own! We hold the Block Party each year in the Downeast School Parking lot and there is everything from a rock-climbing wall to an Ice Cream Truck. Other activities include water slides, snow cone and popcorn, hot dog lunch, games with prizes, face painting, and even some bounce houses.

DID WE MENTION ALL OF OUR PARTIES ARE FREE?!?

Youth

Not including our other properties, BangorHousing houses approx. 1,000 children under the age of 18 right here in the Capehart neighborhood (24% of Bangor Schools population).

Kate Garland and the UMaine Cooperative Extension teach kids about gardening, what to look for, how to grow, what to eat and when its ready, and how to make gardening fun. We even have, through a partnership with Kate and her team, a garden of our own right here at BangorHousing!

Each summer in cooperation with Good Shepherd Food Bank we are a site for the Summer Lunch Program. Each day from the end of the school year to the beginning of the next, children under the age of 18 can come to our gym and get free lunch. We also try and make it fun with activities, movies, and other fun!

BangorHousing has a unique partnership with CPPC (Community Partnerships for Protecting Children). Their mission is to keep children and their families safe, engaged, and thriving.

Seniors

We have a fantastic group of Senior Residents and we are here to serve them, just as we are all of our other families. Throughout the year there are various programs and services being offered to our Seniors.

BangorHousing participates in the FarmShare program to partner with a local farm (Caulkin’s Farm in Hampden) to provide Seniors with a stipend that will pay for produce throughout the summer and growing season.

Resident Services work with Eastern Area Agency on Aging to provide the Commodities Supplemental Food Program. The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) works to improve the health of low-income elderly persons, at least 60 years of age, by supplementing their diets with nutritious USDA foods. These monthly food packages include a variety of items such as: milk, juice, canned meat/poultry or fish, oats/ready-to-eat cereal, rice or pasta, peanut butter, dry beans, and canned fruits or vegetables.

Each week we have transportation that provides a trip to Walmart/Hannaford on Tuesday and Friday from 9-11am. If there are ever changes to this schedule, please see the community room bulleting boards for info.

Each year we like to plan a Holiday Party and Senior Trip with our residents. The holiday party takes place around Christmas and is held at Spectacular Events as a chance for everyone to get together and socialize over a nice meal. The trip happens each summer to “get away” for the day. In previous years we have gone to Lincolnville, Bar Harbor, and even took a day ride on the Katahdin Lake Cruise!

Health

We put the health and wellness of our Residents at the top of our priorities list. Here are some of the ways we do this:

Autumn Park West, Crestwood, and Griffin Park all take part in the partnership we have with Food and Medicine to provide community gardens. These gardens offer a chance for Residents to grown their own fruits/veggies for food, not to mention the educational benefits.

Resident Services here at BangorHousing is invested in the health of our Residents, including mental health. We are here to help with things like mental health referrals and are able to link Residents with resources whenever needed.

We provide transportation on a weekly basis to a local food cupboard. This trip takes place each week on Friday morning, leaving from the gym promptly at 9am.

Education

At any given time, there are 2-6% of BangorHousing Residents who are full time college students. If furthering your education is a goal of yours, we would love to help you achieve it!

We partner with Kate Kevit and the Maine Educational Opportunity Center to help adults further, or gain, a higher education. This is a fantastic program that can help with anything from scheduling, applications, and assistance after acceptance.

One of our most utilized community partnerships is our friends at Literacy Volunteers of Bangor. They can help learn to read and speak English, gain Citizenship, earn a GED (HiSET), read and write applications and resumes, and much more. Reach out to us and see how we can set you up with them.

Resident Engagement

Here at BangorHousing, our day-to-day consists of working with the Residents for things like Lease Education, Mediation, Community Service with onsite opportunities, and Advocacy.

BangorHousing formed an award-winning partnership with Penquis to hold meetings right here at each one of our properties so Residents can sign up for the LiHEAP program. To maintain SNAP benefits, recipients must apply for Low Income Heating Assistance (approval or not). Through this partnership we set up times and meetings with Residents to this application isn’t missed by the deadline.

The Resident Council of BangorHousing is a group of Residents who meet to discuss and effect change in the community. They hold and help BangorHousing with events each year, hold monthly meetings, and truly care about the well-being of the community they serve. Visit their Facebook page to get involved!

Click Here to Read the Public Housing Lease