PORTLAND, ME — Last month brought some dark days to Maine when Lewiston faced the loss of so many lives to a mass shooting. In the days since, the state and the nation has come together in grief, sympathy, help, and hope for the lives lost and the many affected by this tragedy.

One example of the outpouring of support came together around the new Resiliency Center in the Peck Building downtown. Transforming a large, empty former call center into a warm, welcoming space where people can gather, find peer support, seek professional counseling, and get help finding other services took a village, and a village showed up. This project came together in a matter of days before the November 13 opening, thanks to a great group effort led by Community Concepts, Inc., with help from the city of Lewiston, the American Red Cross of Northern New England, Catholic Charities Maine (CCM), volunteers from Central Maine Community College, and the Marden Family, which has donated dozens of pieces of new furniture for the space.

“I know the Marden family is both generous and modest, so I wasn’t sure how they would respond to being a part of such a public project, but they did not hesitate to help and provided sofas, chairs, tables and more – all delivered by their crew,” CCM CEO Steve Letourneau said. “This is something I am very thankful for this Thanksgiving.”

CCM used funding donated from Catholic Charities USA to buy room partitions that provide quiet, private gathering spaces to the large space, and Marden’s offered whatever was needed for each part of the Center, from the public gathering areas to the private rooms.

“This was an easy decision, “Jake Marden said, “We’re proud to be a part of the Lewiston community. We have a warehouse up the street from this Center, so many of our employees live and work here and we wanted to make sure we were here to help.”