NADO Impact & Excellence Awards Story Map: EMDC Featured as only New England Awardee

This Story Map features projects awarded through NADO’s 2020 Aliceann Wohlbruck NADO Impact Awards and the Excellence in Regional Transportation Awards. The Impact Awards program honors NADO members for their creative approaches to advancing regional economic development and improved quality of life. The Excellence Awards recognizes noteworthy transportation, mobility, and goods movement projects in rural and small metropolitan regions. Click here to learn more. Story Map by CivicLens

In 2019, Eastern Maine Development Corporation was asked to partner with Maine’s Department of Labor in creating a workforce-centered initiative to address the state’s serious opioid crisis and seek federal funds from the U.S. Department of Labor to implement it. EMDC provided extensive research and writing for the proposal, which was submitted in the fall of last year. The grant was awarded in February and EMDC is now actively implementing Maine’s Connecting with Opportunities Initiative in several Maine counties and providing support to similar workforce development agencies engaged in this work in other regions of the state. EMDC has hired three Peer Connectors and is actively enrolling participants in the initiative. The initative is addressing the opioid use disorder (OUD) epidemic through creative, comprehensive approaches. Three strategies are being utilized: hiring individuals with lived experience in recovery from OUD to promote the initiative and support participants; meeting the educational, employment, social, and healthcare needs of many others impacted by OUD; and bolstering medical/recovery fields necessary to aid people seeking treatment.

Click here to view the story map.