CAMDEN - Camden National Bank President and CEO Greg Dufour was driving behind a school bus one day last winter when he noticed school children get off at a local motel. In the parking lot, there were multiple cars—unusual for the winter, when occupancy is usually way down. So, he inquired about it and found out that it is where homeless families are often put up temporarily.

Midcoast Hospitality House, which opened a year ago, was responsible for this agreement in order to get families off the streets before their facilities opened. The motel continues to serve as an overflow location for people that Hospitality House is unable to accommodate.

The sight of kids living in motels made an impact on Dufour, who, with his wife, Doreen, have three children of their own. It developed into conversations about what the bank could do, and last month, Camden National Bank launched a new initiative called Hope@Home. In 2015, every time someone finances a home purchase through Camden National Bank, the bank donates $100 to Maine's homeless shelters. 

“It wasn’t just one person who came up with this concept; we really wanted to find one cause that wasn’t really on the radar,” said Dufour. “It really took us some time to understand the root of homelessness in this state. We met with a lot of individuals who spearhead homeless shelters so we could research the best way to serve our homeless populations.”

There are approximately 7,500 people in Maine who are currently homeless, which is up 23 percent from 2013. In Knox County alone, there are nearly 400 people in need of permanent housing.

“We know there is homelessness for all sorts of reasons; it comes from addiction, from domestic violence and from unfortunate life situations,” he said. “But it is not for us worry about how they became homeless, just to know that they are. If we can provide money to shelters, and more importantly, engage Mainers and get them thinking about this issue, that’s what we’re aiming for.”

Given the often negative public perception of homelessness that persists, it is significant that a bank has tackled this particular issue head on. Dufour recalled a meeting he had last week with one of the directors of the Hope House in Bangor, which is the second largest homeless shelter in Maine and the only shelter north of Portland accepting homeless people who engage in substance abuse. “When I was talking with them, they said they take in 60-70 addicts a night,” he said. “I asked if they were in recovery, and they said, no, they were active addicts. But, all of their assigned caseworkers know these 60-70 people personally and they’re trying to get them into recovery programs. So, the way I think about it, our initiative is not just giving them a roof over their head at night, it’s helping to save some of these people’s lives.”

Another reason this was a risky initiative for a bank to take is the fact that a great deal of society is still recovering from the financial crisis of 2007-2008, which came about, in part, to unethical practices made by financial institutions and high-risk mortgages that people could no longer pay.

“The more our team discussed it, we realized there were a lot of reasons why we probably shouldn’t be touching this subject,” he said. “I think that it’s something a bank wouldn’t typically want to get into, and we weren’t really sure how people would react. We could have talked ourselves out of it, but we wanted to take the risk and we wanted to shed light on this issue. So what if we’re having some difficult conversations around it, as long as we’re helping somebody.”

This past week, thanks to the customers who made the choice where to allocate their Hope@Home bonus, Dufour was able to take checks to Midcoast Hospitality House in Rockport and New Hope For Women in Rockland. Dufour said they don’t have any restrictions on the money given, as long as the organization is a nonprofit that deals with homelessness in some way.

Kathleen Morgan, executive director of New Hope For Women said, “Camden National Bank's Hope at Home program is inspired. It is a gift to the community when an institution as important as Camden National Bank takes a leadership role and collaborates with nonprofits to improve the lives of others. All of us at New Hope are grateful for the support we receive from this program.”

Stephanie Primm, director of Hospitality House, also voiced her appreciation. “This initiative is incredible on a number of levels,” she said. “All of the services we offer people to get them back to independent, sustainable and productive lives is very expensive, as you can imagine. So, the funding will support all of that. I just commend them for really launching a campaign that is going to raise awareness to help shed light on the problem and help demystify the perception of homelessness.”

Dufour said feedback from his employees about the initiative has been enthusiastic as well. “I had one of my branch managers email me and tell me she was glad we were doing this,” he said. “She said she’d gone to high school with several classmates, who are now homeless. The other thing is, from a company perspective, our employees volunteer a lot in their communities and with this initiative, they are asking how they do even more to help people who are homeless.”

Dufour is encouraged that this initiative will grow organically within the community. “We think the time is right for the homelessness cause to get a little more visibility,” he said. “Maybe this will even spur more people or other businesses to volunteer or donate on their own,” he added, citing how Darling’s Auto donated a van to Hospitality House in order to get residents to their medical appointments and job interviews.

To see more about this initiative including what organizations are being served statewide visit: Hope@Home

For more information visit Midcoast Hospitality House and New Hope For Women

For more on homeless assistance and families needing help with finding permanent housing visit Maine Housing

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com