Tuesday, March 26, 2024 Kennebec Sentinel B2 LOCAL MAINE SUN JOURNAL Staff report WALTHAM, Mass The Sun Journal, Kennebec Journal and Morning Sen- tinel were awarded three awards from the New En- gland Newspaper and Press Association on Saturday for last collaborative Homeless in Maine series. The awards were present- ed at the professional asso- annual New En- gland Newspaper Press Association Convention. The papers placed first in reporting and won a first place special recognition award for best solutions journalism project, which recognizes excellence in a solutions, evidence-based journalism project that in- cludes coverage of a widely shared problem, as well as evidence-based solutions reporting with a newswor- thy response. The same project won a third place award for excel- lence in newsroom collab- oration and partnerships, which honors newsrooms that have formed partner- ships or collaborations to cover a topic or story. journalists who The worked on that project, from the Sun Journal, were Man- aging Mark Mogensen, Web Editor Carl Natale, Audience Engage- ment Editor Nina Mahaler- is, staff writers Chris Whee- lock, Emily Bader, Vanessa Paolella, Steve Collins and Mark LaFlamme, and pho- tographers Andree Kehn, Russ Dillingham and Daryn Slover.
Journalists at Central Maine Sunday were Man- aging Editor Scott Monroe, former Kennebec Journal City Editor Meg Robbins, former Morning Sentinel City Editor David War- ren, reporters Amy Calder, Emily Duggan and Keith Edwards, former photog- rapher Mike Seamans, web Ben Pin- ette and graphic artist Sha- ron Wood. According to Judith Mey- er, who is the executive editor of the three newspa- pers, the project originat- ed in the fall of 2021 when journalists from all three newsrooms were covering a number of police actions to clear homeless encamp- ments in their re- spective coverage areas, which a general conversation about the ris- ing homeless population in Maine and we wondered where people were going to find housing as the tem- perature She said, in Maine can be a harsh environment even for those who have homes, warm clothing and access to regular meals. For those who have no- where to go and not much to eat, it can be positively so the newspapers decided to collaborate on a six-month project looking at the homeless challenges, what govern- ment was doing (and defi- nitely not doing) to establish shelters and boost services, and what possible solutions may already exist or may be implemented to provide safe shelter and support for those in That investigation ulti- mate became a five-part series titled in In part one, published De- cember 4, 2022, the papers framed the scope of this problem through data col- lected from local and state governments. learned very quickly that there is no accurate count of the homeless population, and not a whole lot of interest by public officials to track this Meyer said. advocates told us the number of adults, fami- lies and child experiencing homelessness has rapidly increased in the past year as housing crisis persists, something we ab- solutely saw on city streets and in neighborhood parks as homeless encampments popped but there is no official number of homeless in Maine, a number that can be hard to track because the population is so fluid.
The second installment of the project looked at the working homeless, people who held full-time jobs but still make enough to pay for housing, and the challenges and dangers they face on the street. Part three examined the rising number of teens who are homeless, and what schools are doing to support their education and what social services are available to help them. According to Meyer, found that in too many cases, teens were becoming homeless as they struggled with gender identity and parents kicked them out of their family In part four the newspa- pers focused on how the homeless population is po- liced, and what ordinances govern shelters and en- campments in Maine, and part five examined success- ful programs set up to help the homeless and possible future solutions to reduce the size of this population. are very proud of our work on this very human Meyer said, and af- ter each of the reports were published heard from dozens and dozens of read- ers how much the reporting was Sun Journal Staff Writ- er Mark LaFlamme won a first place and second place award in crime and courts reporting for his reports tale of two looking at Poland murder suspect Justin Butterfield who friends de- scribed as a loving father and brother and who was in and out of mental health facilities for years prior to being charged with kill- ing his older brother on Thanksgiving Day 2021, and for we having a crime wave in Lewiston and a story that was prompted by recent episodes of gun violence and rising community fear about a crime wave, in- cluding a double murder in Auburn and a fatal shoot- ing in Lewiston in 2022. The report revealed that while there was a public perception that crime was rising, an examination of statistics provided by the Lewiston and Auburn po- lice departments showed crime was actually down in most areas.
Staff writer Andrew Rice and former staff writer Vanessa Paolella won a first place award in racial, ethnic or gender issue coverage for their report resolution on diver- sity draws backlash, con- which explored the move by two Lewiston city councilors who wrote a resolution condemning op- tional diversity talks in the Lewiston Public Schools. Several councilors and the mayor only saw the resolution after the Sun Journal conducted a Free- dom of Access Act request, prompting ethical ques- tions about the content of the resolution along with questions from the may- or, from councilors, and from school officials about how it was drafted outside council bounds. That res- olution ultimately failed and 10 days later the City Council adopted a more inclusive resolution based on value and respect to all members of the communi- ty. The Sun Journal staff won a second place in- novator award for work recognizing its 175th an- niversary celebration in 2022. The innovator award is one of special recognition awards that go to the best new idea (or unique twist or a not- so-new idea) used to grow engage a newspa- audience.
Staff writer Christopher Wheelock won a second place award for economic reporting for his report farming in Maine is on the fringe of being a multi-million dol- lar a story about a Livermore Falls couple who started farming this unique mushroom that grows in birch trees. And, LaFlamme won a second place award in spot news for his reporting on three separate breaking news events on Thanksgiv- ing Day 2022, including the stabbing death of Gabriel Damour at the hands of his brother Justin Butterfield, the death of Lewiston School Committee candidate Jason Lavoie following a fall from an apartment building and a fire in Canton that damaged a family home. The New England News- paper Press Association is the professional trade organization for newspa- pers in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hamp- shire, Vermont, Maine and Rhode Island, representing more than 450 daily, weekly and specialty newspapers throughout the six-state re- gion. in project gets recognition Screenshot photos The Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel and Sun Journal have won three NENPA awards for last collaborative Homeless in Maine series. The Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel and Sun Journal have won three NENPA awards for last collaborative Homeless in Maine series.
Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel and Sun Journal win multiple awards to help residents find new homes. When a facility closes in Maine, the program is no- tified by the Department of Health and Human Ser- vices, and the Ombudsman Program works with the long-term care staff members and the res- families to find the best possible placement that adheres to their needs and locations. The Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement Monday the agency was of the closure and plans to help residents find a new place to It was not clear Mon- day where the Heritage Rehabilitation and Living residents and em- ployees will go, but Rich- ards said North Country Associates has more than 20 locations across Maine, including the Russell Park Rehabilitation Living Center in Lewiston, the Sar- ah Frye Home in Auburn, Klearview Manor Nursing Home in Fairfield and other facilities in or near central Maine. a facility closes, really difficult for resi- Gallant said. they move out of their home into the long-term care fa- cility, that becomes home.
They get to know the staff and they have routines, and any destruction of that can be very stressful. Our job is to answer questions and know that we can support them through the The Heritage Rehabilita- tion and Living Center was listed in 2022 as a focus by the U.S. Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services after two patients had wandered away in 2021. One of the pa- tients was hit and killed by a vehicle. Being a focus fa- means it has been subjected to additional in- spections and could have faced penalties had it not improved its performance.
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