Lewiston’s new Jubilee Center will expand space for critical community services

PHOTO / TINA FISCHER Lewiston's new Jubilee Center is under construction at 123 Bates St.

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The Jubilee Center in Lewiston's Trinity Church, which has been providing essential support services to lower-income residents for 30 years, has outgrown its rented space in the Episcopal church’s basement at 247 Bates St. and now has under construction a much larger facility at 123 Bates St.

Hebert Construction, which is based in Lewiston and which has in its portfolio a long list of projects in its hometown, expects to complete the 10,000-square-foot center by November, Simon Hebert told Mainebiz.

The current center is open six days a week and serves more than 1,000 people weekly through its soup kitchen and food pantry, day shelter, refugee integration program and job-resource center. A free medical clinic is open one day a week.

But the current space has its limitations. It is not accessible for those with mobility challenges. The day shelter often has to turn people away when the room reaches capacity and the soup kitchen distributions have to be held outdoors, year-round.

“The requests for help are always increasing. We have so many people coming in for help with resume-writing and job applications that we've had a two-week wait all year," said Erin Reed, executive director.

“We're also seeing more elderly and disabled people in our shelter because housing costs keep going up and they can't make ends meet anymore.”

New site

The new facility will more than quadruple existing space and will allow the soup kitchen and food pantry to move indoors into a large room that can also be used for workshops and classes. The addition of a walk-in refrigerator and freezer will facilitate more food storage and distribution.

The medical clinic will expand dedicated space to include private rooms for client meetings with case managers and counselors, and the day shelter will add a shower and laundry facilities.

More work stations will be added to the office to assist more people with job applications.

Reed said the nonprofit center, which is independent of the church, has raised 95% of the project’s $5.13 million budget, including a $2 million federal award, with $230,000 left to raise.

Major donors include Spectrum Healthcare, Norway Savings Bank, Androscoggin Bank and Maine Community Bank.