The American Rescue plan act 

The problems in Penobscot County are numerous, deadly serious and mounting: 

• An overdose crisis with the second highest percentage of deaths among all counties in 2021 and twice as many per capita as Cumberland County; 

• Waiting lists for mental health care and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, and a significant need for more peer support services; 

• Shelters at capacity and a substantial lack of affordable housing; and 

• A chronically overcrowded jail. 

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Sadly, these distressing realities are not new. They have been known to us for years. They’re growing worse. They cry out for focused attention and substantial investments in healing and wellness. 

September is National Recovery Month. It highlights the hope and promise of recovery for individuals experiencing mental health disorders and substance use challenges. This year’s theme—Recovery is for Everyone: Every Person, Every Family, Every Community—is a call to action. 

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This month is an opportune time to pause and consider how our communities and county can do considerably more to support individuals in need and solve more of our collective problems. 

With unprecedented sums of federal money available to Penobscot County and its municipalities, including more than $60 million in American Rescue Act Plan (ARPA) funds for Penobscot County, the City of Bangor and surrounding municipalities, we urge you to create a public process to discuss community needs and ways to better address them. 

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Those ARPA dollars, combined with other resources and leveraged to secure additional funding, can change—even save—countless lives and make our communities healthier, safer and much more livable. 

Before any action is taken to allocate federal funding to specific purposes, we ask for time to consider the brighter future possible for all of our neighbors—including the most vulnerable—and how our communities and county can benefit substantially in the long-term. Let’s have a meaningful conversation.

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Below you can find the collaborative’s initial public statement, with signers (please note: signing on to this statement is not necessarily an endorsement of every action of the individual and collective groups).