First ever press Conference
We had a press conference!!!!
On September 2nd, YFO hosted our first ever Press Conference together with Portland Housing Authority to publicly announce our expansion project! It was a wonderful success pulled together with the help of many. This expansion is a long time coming and will allow us to double our enrollment. We’ve partnered with Portland Housing Authority to include affordable housing in the 5 floors above the expanded center. We’ve been quietly fundraising for while now and are happy to share that we are 60% funded! Thank you to everyone who’s helped us get to this point, to everyone involved in the organizing, and to the press attendees!
Channel 13 & Maine Public had news coverage of our event!
Event photography by James Hardman
Here are some highlights of the event…
Camelia Babson-Haley, Executive Diretor of Youth & family Outreach “YFO has intentionally adjusted over the years to fill the emerging service gaps of Portland’s most under- resourced children and families. Pivoting our programming to quickly meet the needs of our neighbors is second nature to YFO, so when we saw the dire need for nearby affordable housing growing along with the need for childcare, we dug in to see how YFO could be a part of the solution.”
Below are renderings of the Youth & Family Outreach lobby entrance and a Preschool room
Cheryl Sessions: Executive Director at Portland Housing Authority
“We are honored to be working with YFO on the housing elements of this project. When we saw their RFP, we were all in…This project will not only be a model of sustainable building design, but also a model for community partners working together to create opportunities for families to live and work just steps away from educational opportunities and quality childcare….Childcare is essential for maintaining employment and the availability of quality affordable childcare is a major factor in deciding to take a job. Workforce housing with quality affordable childcare is a low-income worker’s dream come true. And having where you need it, on peninsular, is even better. Housing and childcare are foundational to family well being”
Annzarh Valantino : Youth & Family Outreach Teacher and past recipient of PHA housing voucher
“With the help from YFO and rental assistance from Portland Housing Authority, it was a great opportunity for me to thrive, manage myself, and save some money. I feel like YFO and Portland Housing Authority were like parents to me, like I was a toddler and they were holding my hand until I could stand up and walk by myself and start running. A few years later I was able to stand on my own. It was a step I needed to be secure and feel comfortable to be ready to open my wings and fly. I am a homeowner now, I have three children who all went to YFO, and I have a degree in my field”
Alumni parent and Campaign Co-Chair Michael Bourque shared how lucky he felt to have his kids come to YFO. As the CEO of, MEMIC, a major Portland Employer, he understands the impact to workforce of dependable quality care and affordable housing. “As a former YFO parent --- who juggled reliable childcare, like so many working families do--- and as an employer, this early education project is part of the critical workforce infrastructure in greater Portland.”
