our history

1972

ROADS Group Home (initially known as Huckleberry House, the Little Brothers Group Home) is established as a home for hard-to-place boys. Administrative offices for Little Brothers are located in the group home's garage.

1976

The Cumberland County Child Abuse & Neglect Council (The Council) is convened by volunteer providers in the community to promote the prevention of child abuse and neglect. Until 1997, it was an autonomous organization.

1977

The Emergency Shelter for Boys is founded. It becomes the only highly-structured shelter for boys in southern Maine.

1982

Therapeutic Foster Care is created, operating under the name Community Care.

1983

The Outreach Family Counseling program is founded, operating under the Emergency Shelter for Boys. In-home counseling was offered to families whose children had been in the shelter to improve family relationships and prevent a child's return to the shelter.

1986

The agency grows and its focus expands to serve entire families. To reflect this, Little Brothers, Inc., changes its name to Youth Alternatives of Southern Maine.

1988

Outreach Family Counseling leaves the shelter for a home with the agency's foster care program.

1989

The agency's third residential program, Brentwood Group Home, opens in Portland, serving boys in state custody. Michael J. Tarpinian becomes the agency's fourth President.

1990

The Family Mediation program, which uses community volunteers to support family communication, is launched.

1992

Youth Alternatives of Southern Maine celebrates its 20th anniversary, and changes its name to Youth Alternatives to reflect its statewide impact.

1993

Intensive Supervision Services (ISS), a jail diversion program for juveniles, is created. ISS begins the agency's commitment to the needs of juvenile offenders.

Outreach Family Counseling, now called Family Outreach Services, expands and becomes its own program.

The first Baseball Dinner and Memorabilia Auction with the Portland Sea Dogs and the Sea Dogs Welcome Back are held. The Welcome Back will become a major tradition for YA and the community.

1994

Bass House opens as a transitional, short-term group home offering a next step for boys housed at the Emergency Shelter for Boys.

1995

YA moves its administrative offices and community-based programs from Lancaster Street to 400 Congress Street, affectionately called "the big house", or "headquarters."

1996

Heritage House, the state's first transitional residence for female juvenile offenders, opens. This program is groundbreaking and the cornerstone of the agency's commitment to gender-specific programming for girls. Brentwood Group Home closes.

The agency's first benefit Golf Tournament is held.

1997

YA celebrates its silver anniversary on May 30.

On July 17, the agency merges with the Council, marking a significant movement into prevention programming and Advocacy.

A centralized intake office is established to handle referrals.

The Emergency Shelter for Boys opens an attendant care program, used to house juvenile offenders with high supervision needs who are waiting for court appearances.

Former Board of Directors chair Lee Perry dies.  The agency establishes the Lee Perry Memorial Fund to honor his contribution to Maine's youth.

1998

The Council launches Healthy Families Cumberland County, a parenting outreach initiative on Portland's East End. It is a collaborative of area service providers led by the Council.

YA gains national accreditation from the Council on Accreditation of Services for Families and Children.

The Child Welfare League of America, of which the agency is a member, honors Lee Perry posthumously with its Board Leadership Award.

YA is awarded a community intervention program grant in York and Cumberland counties by DHHS. The grant establishes Family Intervention Services to provide case management and assess the safety of families reported to DHHS.

1999

The agency creates Advocacy & Prevention Services, which includes the Council. APS expands the agency's advocacy efforts and places greater emphasis on public policy initiatives.

Perry's Place, a bridge home for children just entering state custody, is opened in Bowdoinham and named in honor of Lee Perry.

The Council, once housed in the "little house" at Franklin Towers, moves into headquarters.

The first Passport to Our Future fundraising event is held. YA experiences tremendous growth, adding almost 50 new employees.

2000

The Emergency Shelter for Boys gets a new home, a new name and new tools. Operating in a new facility, Reardon's Place opens in April and expands supports to include mental health services.

Homeless Youth Services is founded to provide case management services to homeless youth in Cumberland and York counties.

Through a partnership with the Department of Corrections, the agency convenes the Portland Girls Collaborative to engage the community in meeting the unique needs of female juvenile offenders.

The agency formulates short- and long-range goals, known as the 2003 Strategic Imperatives for Youth Alternatives.

YA President's Council and YA Incorporators are formed.

2001

YA launches Substance Abuse Services.

Healthy Families Partnership receives a new $2 million contract from Maine's Department of Human Services allowing Healthy Families Partnership to expand its home visitation and parent education services into the Lakes Region of Cumberland County.

YA is adopted as the Maine charity for Coldwell Banker Cares (formerly DeWolfe Cares), the charitable division of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, the largest home ownership company in New England.   Coldwell Banker Cares assumes leadership for the yearly golf tournament to benefit YA.

Lucky Hollander, Vice President of Advocacy & Prevention at YA, visits Jordan in September 2001 as the guest of Queen Rania to provide guidance on child abuse prevention. On September 11, she is able to see firsthand the outpouring of sympathy and support for America in both Jordan and Egypt. Her online diary can be accessed here.

The Cumberland County Child Abuse and Neglect Council celebrates 25 years of ensuring child and family safety in southern Maine on November 13 - 16, 2001.  This community-wide celebration includes a Family Fun Day at the Maine Mall, a parade, a family brunch and educational visits to local schools from super heroes Spider Man and his daughter, Spider Girl. Festivities culminate in an evening gala event with a keynote by U.S. Rep. Tom Allen.

2002

As part of its groundbreaking cross-community work, the Girls Collaborative issues a comprehensive and well-received report on the well-being of girls in Maine's juvenile justice system.

Future Maine Governor John Baldacci makes a special stop on the campaign trail to talk about youth issues with the girls of YA Heritage House and YA President Michael J. Tarpinian at YA headquarters in Portland, Maine.

YA inaugurates its Training and Symposium Series with a yearlong focus on Substance Abuse and Mental Health. These YA-sponsored trainings raise awareness, encourage dialogue and partnerships and ensure best practices in Maine's communities.

2003

YA launches the YA Girls Transitional Program.  This important resource was formerly run by the YWCA of Greater Portland as the Fair Harbor Emergency Shelter.

Lucky Hollander, Vice President of Advocacy & Prevention at YA, receives the Donna J. Stone Memorial Award for her work in protecting children across the state.  She was nominated by Prevent Child Abuse Maine.

YA Healthy Families Partnership is awarded another grant to continue its partnership with the Maine Department of Human Services, Bureau of Health to provide home visiting and parenting education in Cumberland County. In July 2003, DHHS awards YA Healthy Families Partnership more than $2 million in a three-year contract for services to be provided in collaboration with the City of Portland's Maternal and Child Health Program and the YWCA of Greater Portland.

2004

The agency formulates short- and long-range goals, known as the Youth Alternatives 2004-2006 Strategic Imperatives.

2005

2006

2007

The Kresge Foundation presents a prestigious $250,000 challenge grant to support the construction of The Youth Alternatives Family Center, which will bring all of YA's vital services for children, youth and families under one roof.

The agency receives a ‘Wraparound Maine’ Grant as part of its continued efforts to keep children safe and at home, and assumes a lead role in implementing the new wraparound model to strengthen at-risk and stressed families in Cumberland county.

In April, the agency moves into The Family Center and begins offering expanded mental health, prevention, education, and support services to families in need.

1967

Ingraham has its roots in a U.S. Department of Labor grant to increase the employability of troubled girls. The project was housed in the historic home of Judge Ingraham on High Street in Portland.  A group of eighteen women, donating their services, supported the girls and became known to the community as the “Ingraham Volunteers.”

1969

Federal funding expired yet the Ingraham Volunteers continued providing services to the community.

1970

The hotline (774-HELP) opened and was advertised as a crisis line for women, operating from the kitchen of its founder, Helen Winslow Ray.

1972

The hotline offered crisis intervention, information and referral, and emergency food and shelter assistance for both men and women and was incorporated as Ingraham Volunteers. Seven women served on the original Board of Directors.

1975-1980

The first paid staff, Executive Director Neva Cram, was hired in 1975.

Ingraham Volunteers expanded its crisis services to include a linking point between the hearing and the deaf world through the Dial for the DEAF program, making it possible for deaf persons to use the telephone to access emergency assistance, contact employers and arrange for transportation.

In addition, Ingraham Volunteers:

·         Became the first contact for battered women and their families seeking shelter

·         Provided the check-in service for the first YWCA street program

·         Housed the first AIDS hotline

·         Became licensed by the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation

·         Began working with adolescents at risk with funds from the corrections system

·         Moved to its first rented office, at 142 High Street. 

1980s

Dial Kids (774-TALK), a peer counseling help-line staffed by trained area high school students supervised by licensed social workers, was established in response to a United Way Needs Assessment identifying a lack of volunteer opportunities for adolescents. 

Ingraham became a recognized contact point for many self-help groups and service providers needing an after-hours entry point to emergency services.

1987

As an overwhelming need emerged for emergency shelter for individuals with mental illness, Ingraham Volunteers created its first residential program, The Bridge.

1988

Jane Morrison begins her long tenure as Executive Director at Ingraham. At the time, the agency had four discrete programs, 17 paid employees and 70 volunteers.

1990-1993

In the first three years of the 1990s, Ingraham Volunteers:

·         Took over and renovated a permanent residence for adults with chronic mental illness — The Helen Winslow Ray House

·         Won a $1.4 million HUD grant for an innovative transitional housing and treatment program for homeless adults with dual diagnoses ¾ Randall Place

·         Initiated a consumer-run, chemical free, shared apartment program ¾ The Foundation for Community Support Services

·         Received accreditation by the American Association of Suicidology

1993-1998

• After a comprehensive assessment process, Ingraham Volunteers changed its name to Ingraham.
• Developed MaineStay (August 1996) with a HUD grant to develop a transitional housing and treatment program for homeless youth in collaboration with other area youth service providers
• Won a Department of Human Services grant to construct a permanent residence ¾ Gordon Green ¾ for adults with a combination of deficits including mental illness and impairments related to age or physical impairments, October 1996)
• Participated in the formation of the Maine Association of Mental Health Services and the Behavioral Health Network of Maine
• Completely computerized 774-HELP hotline services
• Acquired Office of Substance Abuse licensing
• Printed the first edition of the Teen Yellow Pages

1997

Ingraham was awarded the contract by the State of Maine to provide the comprehensive crisis system in Cumberland County and added mobile outreach services.

At the same time, Ingraham added Portland police mental health liaison, crisis home support services, acute care services, and the crisis stabilization unit to the already existing 774-HELP program. The program was re-named Cumberland County Crisis Response. 

1999

Broadway Crossings was built to house the crisis stabilization unit, a short-term therapeutic alternative to hospitalization for adults experiencing a mental health crisis.

2001

In response to the need to help adolescents being sent out of state for treatment, Ingraham partnered with the Department of Human Services and opened Edgewood ¾ a transitional program for youth aged 16-20. 

2002

Realizing that  the agency’s hardbound Resource Guide to Health and Human Services was “the” printed reference for accessing community resources, Ingraham decided to take the product to a new level and Resource Link was born in 2002. Community members could access Resource Link on the Web and a print version is also available. 

2003

Cumberland County Crisis Response ¾ Ingraham crisis services ¾  grows to include the hotline, mobile outreach teams, psychiatry, crisis home supports, a crisis stabilization unit, and short-term follow-up counseling.

Ingraham residential programs and Community Support Services expand to a full range of transitional and permanent residential options, treatment planning, psychosocial rehabilitation, intensive case management and in-home support services to youth and adults who are homeless and have emotional disorders or mental illness that may be complicated by substance abuse or other problems.

The Teen Yellow Pages grew to six published editions for distribution throughout the state.

2005

On January 1, 2005, Ingraham launched a $750,000 major gifts initiative to purchased and renovate a new home office at 50 Monument Square in Portland. This move provided Ingraham with much needed space to unite its crisis, outpatient, acute care, and administrative services under one roof and control housing costs.

2006

In collaboration with United Ways across Maine and state agencies, Ingraham launches 2-1-1 Maine, a single-source solution that dramatically simplifies how individuals access more than 5,000 health and human service resources across the state and in their communities. Finding the answers to health and human services information and resources becomes as quick and easy as dialing 2-1-1 or logging onto 211maine.org.

In September the 2-1-1 Maine Call Center provided assistance to its 10,000th caller.