Mission

MANA promotes social & personal empowerment of immigrants and addresses racial equity and health disparities in Maine through: 

• Raising awareness of individual and collective trauma among immigrants;

• Providing trauma-aware and multilingual transportation to zero/low income families to address racial and social inequalities in accessing healthcare, social services and other related services;

•  Connecting immigrants with their peers across cultures and to the resources.

History

MANA was founded in 2012 with vision to empower immigrants in Maine. The main purpose at that time was to unite professionals and leaders from different backgrounds and across communities to establish channels for peer support and cultivate resilience-building strategies through “MANA Mingle” events and more. By holding safe space to talk about integration and professional challenges, immigration trauma and toxic stress were identified as the top barriers to personal and professional advancement.

In 2019, the MANA board voted to make its primary focus addressing trauma and toxic stress among immigrants, their families, and communities at large. MANA started coordinating multilingual and multicultural programming for first and second generation immigrants to raise awareness and reduce stigma toward mental health. In 2021, using Intentional Peer Support model, MANA Staff began offering one-on-one and group peer support. Since 2022, this approach has been coupled with wellness programs that include outdoor and indoor activities across age, gender, offering culturally appropriate orientation programs for new immigrants and more.