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LEWISTON — The Center for Wisdom’s Women has launched a $700,000 fundraising campaign to transform the former St. Patrick’s convent into a long-term residential recovery community for women.
More than $199,750 has been raised, including a significant lead gift from the Sisters of Charity, organizers said.
The leaders of this effort, a five-member Campaign Cabinet and a 12-member honorary Campaign Council, recently gathered at the Nutrition Center, adjacent to the former convent at 143 Blake St. Campaign co-chairs Audrey Chapman and Mike Carey told those assembled that “supporting the women, who will be living at Sophia’s House, will make our entire community stronger.”
“Our goal is to raise the balance by the end of this year so we can begin renovations in January and have eleven women living there by the end of 2019,” added Klara Tammany, executive director. “Not only are we renovating an historic structure in the middle of Lewiston, but women will again be living in a building that originally provided community living for women,” she said.
The building, donated to The Center for Wisdom’s Women by St. Mary’s Health System, has been vacant for 16 years. The total cost of renovations and repairs will exceed $1.6 million. Two-thirds of the cost is already funded by a combination of historic tax credits, a grant from FHLBB under Norway Savings Bank’s sponsorship, and a Community Development Block Grant from the city. The $700,000 in private gifts will make up the remainder
Sophia’s House will serve survivors of addiction, incarceration and trafficking, with an innovative program modeled on Thistle Farms in Nashville, Tenn. Of those entering their program, 84 percent complete it and of those, two-thirds remain sober and financially stable long-term. With a 20-year history of success, Thistle Farms also runs the largest survivor-run social enterprise in the US while spreading the truth that “love heals.”
Maine’s opioid epidemic and rising rates of trafficking and incarceration make this project critical.
“Sophia’s House will help individuals break cycles of trauma using a model that’s been proven to work. This project will empower women to be their best selves and have a positive impact on the life of our community,” said Kristen Cloutier, Lewiston’s City Council president and member of the Sophia’s House steering committee.
Those on the two boards include Cathy Carey, Mike Carey, Cloutier, Eliza Madden, Sue Sproul, Kate Marble, Peg Hoffman, John Emmerson, Bruce King, Shawn Yardley, Julia Harper, Judy Maloney, Luanne Rhoades, Lee Myles, Janice deLima, Klara Tammany, Sarah Barton (kneeling); center left, Sarah Strong, Hannah Quimby, Karen Krzywda, Chapman, Barbara Trafton, Paula Marcus-Plat, Lindsay Gannon, Gabriella Russell, Elizabeth Keene, Katy Sperl, Tanya Sadler, Peggy Rotundo, Anne Auer, Carl Lakari, Tom Platz and Gary Friedmann.
For more information or to contribute, contact Tammany at 207-513-3922 or visit wisdomswomen.org.
PHOTO: Members of the Sophia’s House cabinet, honorary council, advisory board and The Center for Women’s Wisdom board of directors gathered to launch a $700,000 fundraising campaign to transform the former St. Patrick’s convent into transitional housing for local women. (Submitted photo)
