Southport Central School’s guidance counselor Meredith Fowlie believes helping children grow academically requires helping them meet their emotional needs outside the classroom as well, so she does regular “check in” meetings with all her students. In one such meeting with an 11-year-old student, Fowlie discovered a pressing need and decided to dig deeper.
She discovered the trailer home where the child lived with her parents and little brother was too small for a family of four and in a state of disrepair that was both uncomfortable and unsafe. The family simply couldn’t afford to repair the trailer so, after talking with the child’s parents, Fowlie contacted Rebuilding Together-Lincoln County (RT-LC) to see if the local home repair nonprofit could help.
In mid-March, Fowlie spoke with Stephanie Hawke, a board member at RT-LC, and got an application which she helped the family complete and submit. After reviewing the paperwork, RT-LC’s operations manager, Richard Green, went to the home to review the scope of work.
“The trailer was at least 50 years old,” said Green, “and a one-bedroom model housing a family of four. Windows were broken, the floor was sagging, interior doors were gone, the exterior door wouldn’t close, and the roof leaked. There was also a mold problem inside and out that was causing health issues for the mother and daughter.” Simply put, the trailer was too far gone.
Coincidentally, Green and his wife had been investigating the purchase of a newer three-bedroom trailer for sale in Boothbay Harbor so Green suggested RT-LC buy that trailer to replace the one in Southport.
After a purchase price for the trailer was negotiated and additional costs for removing the dilapidated trailer and relocating the new trailer to the Southport family’s lot were gathered, the RT-LC board concluded the total cost of the project exceeded the organization’s authority to finance it alone. The board felt strongly this family needed help, so building a coalition of local nonprofits to share the cost was proposed.
While RT-LC board members reached out to their contacts, Lisa Clarke, the Southport School principal, wrote letters to Southport organizations and individuals, and in short order commitments to join RT-LC in this effort came in from the Rotary Club of Boothbay Harbor, the Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor, Southport United Methodist Women, and the Southport School, as well as from individuals including Kim Burnham, Andrea Elwell, Jennifer McIvor and others. The two largest donations from individuals were made anonymously. In addition, new furniture items and bedding were donated by Fowlie, Hawke, Clarke, and Eileen Higgins.
With the project funded, RT-LC kicked into high gear. The new trailer was purchased, GEO & Sons from Benton, Maine contracted to move the new trailer, and Pat Farrin & Sons hired, at a greatly reduced price, to demolish and remove the old trailer and prepare a new pad.
On Monday, June 15, Farrin’s crew removed the old trailer and prepped the pad, and on Friday, June 19, accompanied by a police escort donated by the Boothbay Harbor Police Department, GEO & Sons moved the new trailer from Boothbay Harbor onto the Southport lot. In an all day flurry of activity, volunteers from RT-LC and the Southport community got the trailer and site ready for the family to move in.
“From my first meeting with Stephanie Hawke to the installation of the new trailer, a little over three months passed,” said Fowlie. “It was a remarkably fast response, especially since the coronavirus pandemic really got going just as we were getting things started.”
The vastly improved condition and additional space afforded by the new trailer has been life changing for the Southport family. “We just didn’t have the wherewithal to fix our old trailer or get a new one,” said the mother, “and we’re so grateful to Rebuilding Together and everyone who donated money and time. It’s made a huge difference in our lives.”
From a teacher recognizing a student’s needs outside the classroom to a community working together to help a family in need, this is a story of challenges acknowledged and confronted. For a little girl and her brother in Southport, it’s a story about finally having their own rooms in the comfort and safety of a healthy home.
