Transition house seeking home in Millinocket

MILLINOCKET – The Katahdin Area Response Effort and Penquis want to use part of a three-year $254,700 grant to open a transition house in town for victims and survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking or dating violence.

All they need, Penquis attorney Tamar Mathieu says, is the house.

“We just haven’t found one in the community,” Mathieu told the Town Council during a meeting Thursday night.

Ideally, Penquis and KARE would buy and renovate a four-family house, with three units for clients and a fourth space for an office. That house would be close to police and fire services the house would need. In lieu of that, proponents are considering buying a smaller property as a start.

But the transitional house, KARE member Sally Danforth said, “is not a shelter, safe house, or emergency housing.”

Rather, it is a house for people past the need for emergency care who are looking to regain their independence. While the house will have some security measures, and its location will not be publicly disclosed, the likelihood of confrontation between ex-victims and ex-spouses will be slim, Mathieu said.

The council seemed receptive.

“It’s sad that we need this, but I am glad that we have the opportunity to support it,” Chairman Wallace Paul said.

If Penquis and KARE find a suitable house, it will be the only transitional residence between the Katahdin region and Bangor.

Penquis Development Inc., a subsidiary of the social service agency, will purchase and renovate the house with proceeds from a $15,000 grant from TD Banknorth and a $2,500 grant from Bangor Hydro-Electric Co.

Spruce Run Association Northern Penobscot transitional housing coordinator Suzie Boutilier said she has been hired as a full-time case manager and will relocate to the area.

Residents might stay at the home for as long as two years.

The project will have several public benefits. Besides helping people in need, it will be a place where residents and community organizations can learn more about domestic violence.

No one, Boutilier and Mathieu said, knows exactly how many Katahdin residents need or might directly benefit from the transitional house, but its proponents are eager to get started as soon as possible.

nsambides@bangordailynews.net

794-8215