Multicultural Resources

Employment Services

Maine Department of Labor
Division of Migrant and Immigrant Services
Juan Perez-Febles, Migrant and Immigrant Services Director, Departmnet of Labor
45 Commerce Center
Augusta, ME 04333
Phone: (207) 623-7971
Hotline for Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers: 1-888-307-9800
TTY: 1-800-794-1110
Fax: (207) 822-0221
E-mail: juan.perez-febles@maine.gov

The Division shall monitor workforce activities to identify pockets of immigrant and migrant workers throughout the state of Maine. Through proactive efforts, the Division will assist these workers in procuring employment and social services available to them by coordinating with employers, other employees, labor unions, non-profit organizations and federal and state agencies. The Division, through its outreach efforts into the LEP community, is willing to act as the primary coordinating body for migrant and immigrant issues in Maine.

Some of the specialized services for the LEP population include:

  • Advocacy
  • Employment opportunities and referrals
  • Health and human services referrals
  • Training opportunities

See Also: Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices

New American Sustainable Agriculture Project
Cultivating Community
Craig Lapine, Executive Director
52 Mayo Street
PO Box 3792
Portland, ME 04104
Phone:  (207) 761-4769
E-mail: craig@cultivatingcommunity.org

Overall project goals:

  1. Create viable and sustainable farming opportunities and businesses with recent immigrants to Lewiston, ME.
  2. Increase the capacity of these immigrants to provide for their own food needs and the food needs of the larger community.
  3. Preserve farms and farmland in area in and around Lewiston.
  4. Expand markets for locally grown produce in Maine and New England.

Planning goals:

  1. Identify people from immigrant communities who have the desire, experience and ability to become farmers while building strong reciprocal relationships between community members and support professionals.
  2. Identify other opportunities such as unmet demand for culturally preferred food, land availability, markets, potential for value-added processing, development of Halaal processing facilities that will increase the capacity of the community to provide for their own food needs and lead to sustainable farms and farmland preservation.
  3. Working closely with recent immigrants, identify, develop, implement, and evaluate opportunities for learning and training that will build individual skills and strengthen the community. Pilot a training module that can be used in developing future project participants and shared with other immigrant agriculture projects.

StartSmart
Coastal Enterprises, Inc.
Contacts: Jennifer Sporzynski, Director, Microenterprise Policy & Development
John Scribner, Business Counselor
2 Portland Fish Pier, Suite 201
Portland, Maine 04101
Phone: (207) 775-1894 or 775-1984
Fax: (207) 772-5503
E-mail: startsmart@ceimaine.org
Website: www.ceimaine.org

Free business development program that provides literacy-sensitive 1:1 business coaching as well as business classes to refugees, immigrants, and naturalized citizens, exploring, starting, or expanding small businesses throughout Maine.

Eastern Maine Development Corporation
Contact: Chris Huh, Farmworker Jobs Program Manager
248 State Street, Suite 15A
Ellsworth, Maine 04065
Phone: (207) 610-1521
Fax: (207) 610-1531
E-mail: chuh@emdc.org

Northern Maine:
Wendy Lord, Career Advisor
Presque Isle Career Center
66 Spruce Street
Presque Isle, Maine
Phone: (207)760-6333
E-mail: wlord@emdc.org

Eligible migrant and seasonal farm-workers receive career planning and guidance. EMDC can provide financial support for educational courses, tuition, books and tools. Supportive services are also available for transportation and childcare. Customers get the support they need to break the seasonal survival cycle and dependence on subsidized assistance.