- Toll-free Crisis Hotline 24/7
1-800-522-3304
If you are in immediate danger, please call 911
New Hope's services are free and confidential. Wheelchair accessible sites available with advance notice.
New Hope for Women was founded in 1981 and is the only agency providing services to battered women and their children, families, friends and communities in Lincoln, Knox, and Waldo counties. These services include a 24-hour crisis intervention hotline, emergency shelter, court and systems advocacy, legal information and referrals, support groups for survivors, prevention groups and outreach programs in schools, and community education and response trainings. We opened two units of transitional housing in Knox County in 1997, two units in Waldo County in 1998, and two units in Lincoln County in 2006. Outreach offices are located in Damariscotta, Belfast, and Boothbay Harbor. All these services are free.
New Hope's tri-county coverage area includes six islands with year-round populations, three district courts with seven court days, thirteen high schools, two colleges, four hospitals, nine police departments, and three sheriff departments. At present we have twenty-four positions, fifteen of which are full-time. During our last fiscal year (October 2007 – September 2008), we provided 4,137 hours of service, including 756 hours of service from our on-staff attorney, to 828 individuals. We provided 64 safe home nights to 16 individuals. Volunteers provided 2,570 hours of coverage on our 24-hour hotline. Our community educators and youth educators offered 6,200 hours of community education.
New Hope delivers services directly to individuals affected by domestic or dating violence through our hotline, in our offices, and in court. Additionally, we facilitate weekly support groups. We also maintain a safe home network throughout our tri-county area. At present eight families are providing this service.
New Hope's Community Response Program works with our communities in two ways: providing education on domestic violence and the needs of those using our services, and working with institutions to ensure a consistent and helpful response to those needs. Groups we have worked with include child-care workers, clergy, counselors, doctors, legal advocates, mental health workers, hairdressers, dental assistants, and nurses. We frequently address service clubs and organizations. We operate a certified batterer intervention program, Time for Change, and work closely with local law enforcement agencies. New Hope is also involved with the Domestic Violence Task Forces in Knox, Waldo, and Lincoln Counties that are focused on improving services for victims and abusers, specifically increased arrests for domestic violence assaults and more successful prosecution.
We run a school outreach program because we believe that prevention is the most certain route to ending domestic violence. This program provides information on dating violence, healthy relationships, and domestic violence to young people in middle schools, high schools and colleges. In the fall of 1999 New Hope began a Peer Education Program. This program focuses on training high school students to create and deliver prevention presentations to their peers in area schools. This program evolved from a commitment to youth empowerment as well as the knowledge that young people are more likely to alter social behaviors after being educated by their peers.
