Affordable Housing
Mano en Mano seeks to unite people in Washington county and Eastern Hancock counties with affordable housing opportunities and rental assistance. We assist clients in filling out rental applications and organizing their documents when applying for a lease. Mano en Mano’s affordable housing project–Hand in Hand Apartments–is now home for 6 families.
Mano en Mano’s affordable housing project,
Hand in Hand Apartments, provides farm workers
with the opportunity to live somewhere that is safe
decent, and designed with their needs in mind.
FEATURED PROJECT
Hand in Hand Apartments
In the early 1990s, Milbridge experienced a rapid influx of migrant farm workers who decided to leave the “migrant stream” and settle in Downeast Maine. In 2006, Anais Tomezsko, Mano en Mano’s previous Executive Director, met with representatives from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to talk about issues related to farm worker housing, and Hand in Hand Apartments began to take shape.
Trees, blueberries, and marine life are abundant natural resources in Washington County and represent that foundation of the economy. However, farm workers are often not paid to allow their families to thrive in this area and still work the land and sea. Offering affordable housing options to local families who choose to make some of their annual income from working on a lobster boat, on the blueberry barrens, or in the clam flats helps keep these workers in the area as they support our resource-based economy. For many workers, moving out of employer-provided housing means an opportunity to better their career prospects and open new doors for their children.
Most recently, a playground and garden plots were installed for the use of the tenants and their families. Mano en Mano piloted a new program, Kids Can Grow!, in partnership with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, providing gardening education to children living in and nearby the building.
Click here to view time lapse photos of construction.
Hand in Hand Apartments is open to permanent residents of U.S. citizens who earn a substantial portion of their annual income from agriculture or aquaculture work. Rent is subsidized at 30% of income, which includes utilities and an electricity allowance.
This institution is an equal opportunity provider. To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call (800) 795-3272 (voice) or (202) 720-3682 (TDD).