Archives reveal 120 years of charity

The world is a much more sophisticated place today than it was in 1883. Computers have replaced pencil and paper, and SUVs now travel where horses and buggies once ruled the roads.

But many of the health and social service issues faced by the people, families and children of Maine are rooted in the issues faced by folks more than a century ago.

Alcoholism, death of a loved one, the consequences of divorce and separation, child care, and basic health care all were concerns that forced many families to seek help beyond the walls of their own homes.

As Community Health and Counseling Services observes its 120th anniversary in 2003, we take a look at agency archives of the late 1800s and early 1900s. They reveal some of the cases dealt with by Associated Charities, a Bangor-area coalition of church and voluntary charitable organizations that provided support for people needing help – the organization that evolved into what CHCS is today:

. 44-year-old man, a widower with 5 children. Mrs. died Sept. [18]85. The oldest girl is 14 years old, is keeping home and doing the best she can to keep the family together.

. John, aged 34, wife and 4 children. Husband lacks ability to support his family. Wife and children worthy of charity, not helped by the city since 1883.

. Mrs. aged 38 with 2 children 12 and 10. This woman’s husband is in the Insane Hospital. The city furnishes the family $4.00 per month and wood. A worthy family …

. Mrs. lives near Stillwater Avenue and Elm Street. Three in family, mother and two daughters – one an invalid and the other works and earns five dollars per week, which constitutes the support of the family. Mrs. has received ten dollars from the Wakefield fund but hopes to get along with the daughter’s earnings. They are represented as being a worthy family.

Associated Charities was just that, a charity organization that provided various sorts of relief to people in need. That spirit of caring remains at the forefront of CHCS work today.

One hundred twenty years later, CHCS is one of the largest providers of home health care, children’s services and adult mental health services in New England. Its coverage area is eight counties, spanning 22,000 square miles in northern, eastern and central Maine.

Since taking the name Community Health and Counseling Services in 1980, the agency has expanded its mental health and home health services. Children’s Services includes treatment foster care, diagnostic and assessment services, group homes, education and day treatment, and outpatient therapy. Adult Mental Health Services offers group homes and transitional housing, outpatient therapy, community living services, intensive case management and assertive community treatment.

Bringing traditional health care to the home has been a constant throughout CHCS’ 120-year history, and that continues to be a focal through the Health Services department. In addition to specialized nursing care, home health aides and homemaker services, Health Services provides specialized programs, including cardiac rehabilitation, medical social work and medical hospice care.

As Associated Charities grew in response to community needs at the turn of the century, today’s CHCS is committed to addressing the ever-changing needs of communities and individuals in Maine.

It’s a commitment more than a century old, in good times and bad. A Nov. 17, 1917, letter to the agency from a local official reflects that commitment:

“Your association, as is the case with organizations in most cities, is feeling the effects of the war, and it would seem that there is likely to be a great deal of extra work because of conditions as they are today, and as they will be later.

“The reflections of the war are seen in the extra burdens placed upon families because of higher prices of foodstuffs, fuel, wearing apparel and other necessities …

“It is not out of place, it seems, to urge a continuation of interest in relief work at home. It is only natural that the big work of the war should overshadow the more prosaic home duties, but can we forget entirely the calls from our own people? Lack of ordinary comforts and perhaps real suffering because of lack of food and fuel is a breeder of discontent and it is vital to preserve the morale of communities large and small …”

One hundred twenty years later, little has changed.

Diane Nelson is the manager of community relations and communications at Community Health and Counseling Services. For information on CHCS programs, call (800) 924-0366.