November 1, 2005

Dear Portland Connections Reader:

Amistad has been publishing a version of Portland Connections for more than 4 years.

It has taken on several forms. We were blessed in the beginning with the very hard work and vision of Karen Evans, and for the last two years, the calendar has been the product of the hard work of Christine Bishop.

When the work began, we saw a huge need for the publication of a low cost recreational events guide. Happily, it appears that other organizations are now doing a terrific job of publishing similar information (the Thursday Go section of the Portland Press Herald for example).

The current state of Mental Health services has increasingly reduced services available to individuals without a defined payment source, such as MaineCare. We have witnessed increasing numbers of Amistad members who are not receiving services from the formal system.

The Board of Amistad, in recognition of this trend, has agreed to re-direct the resources previously spent on Portland Connections and commit these resources to supplement the salary of our outreach coordinator, Alex Myhaver, so that he can begin work full time.

We have appreciated the opportunity to share Portland Connections with you. We are sad that we do not have sufficient resources to do everything we would like – but we believe firmly that this decision is the best use of our resources for the foreseeable future.

Peter Driscoll

Executive Director