One of Natasha Turcotte’s jobs is to prevent Lewiston students from becoming homeless. She says it’s been a very busy year.

As part of a federal program aimed at keeping students in school, Turcotte assists families on a regular basis to help meet their most basic needs. She fields phone calls daily.

Some families call Turcotte about a potential eviction notice. Some call about losing their hot water, or having their electricity turned off. 

Through the Homeless Student Prevention Pilot — a collaborative program between the Lewiston Public Schools and Community Concepts funded by MaineHousing — families have been receiving critical assistance.

In its first year, the program served at least 138 students and their families. 

“Most families are living paycheck to paycheck,” Turcotte said. “They have to choose between electricity, heat, or food.”

MaineHousing awarded $2 million last January to five school districts in the state to prevent student homelessness. Lewiston received $169,882, which allowed the school department to hire a full-time housing navigator through Community Concepts. Other districts included Portland and Biddeford.

Community Concepts is a nonprofit community action organization that helps provide pathways for those impacted by inequities in western Maine. 

Turcotte is the McKinney-Vento liaison to Lewiston schools. The McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act was passed by Congress to help youth experiencing homelessness or at risk of it.

When Turcotte identifies a student and their family as being in need, she connects them with Kim Fogg from Community Concepts, who is able to provide assistance, either financially or through counseling to explore other options, including applying for jobs with higher pay.

“Community Concepts is a counseling agency, so we can provide financial budgeting help and help in ways to improve credit scores and identify money leaks in budgets,” said Melissa Green, the director of customer and preventive services at Community Concepts. 

Studies show that students perform better at school when they have stable housing environments. Lewiston Superintendent Jake Langlais said he’s seen improvements with student attendance and learning when stable housing is in place. 

“Sometimes people just need a little help getting settled,” Langlais said. 

The MaineHousing grant with Community Concepts runs through June, but student and family needs do not stop then, Green said.

Green and school officials plan to look for additional funding sources to continue the program. It was originally estimated that Lewiston’s grant could help 400 to 500 families, but because families needed a higher level of assistance than expected, the grant didn’t go as far.

“MaineHousing is grateful it was able to award funds to the school systems as they look to reduce and prevent homelessness among their students,” MaineHousing Director Dan Brennan said.

“Unfortunately, demand for these valuable state resources far outstripped the available funds, and as with all pilot programs, we look forward to learning all we can — in this case, to better prevent homelessness for students in the future.”