Photo / Courtesy Hope Acts
Martha Stein, Hope Acts
December 19, 2024
Portland nonprofit Hope Acts responds to need for services for New Mainers, asylum-seekers
Photo / Courtesy Hope Acts
A work permit clinic at Hope Acts has been expanding due to growing need.
The flagging pool of workers in Maine got a boost in 2023 from the Maine Department of Labor with a $276,000 grant to Hope Acts to expand the tools New Mainers and asylum-seekers need to become eligible for work sooner.
The Portland nonprofit expanded its work permit clinic, adding new staff and interpreters and aiming to support 1,000 work authorization applications in 2024 and 2025.
In the past year, Hope Acts, led by Martha Stein, submitted work permit applications for 1,200 people.
The effort comes as the federal government this month said it would permanently increase an automatic extension to expiring work authorizations for eligible non-citizen for immigrants and asylum seekers, from 180 days to up to 540 days.
Located at 14 Sherman St., with 14 employees, Hope Acts provides transitional housing, English language classes, a work permit clinic, asylum application resources, a walk-in asylum seeker assistance program and housing education, assistance, placement and support. [See sidebar.]
Mainebiz asked Stein about the need for services overall and the work permit clinic specifically. Here’s an edited transcript.
Mainebiz: How did Hope Acts get started and how did it unfold since then?
Martha Stein: Hope Acts started in 2012 when Portland's Hope Gateway faith community sought to deepen their work with people in need in Greater Portland. They formed a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Hope Acts. Our services focus on the needs of asylum seekers who are new to the U.S. We are most widely known for our transitional apartment building for asylum seekers, Hope House, which opened in 2013.
MB: How many clients does Hope Acts have?
MS: We had over 4,000 clients in 2024. Our staff conducted over 6,200 client meetings in 12 months.
MB: How pressing is the need for your services?
MS: Hope Acts has grown steadily as high numbers of asylum seekers continue to come to Maine. Client needs are very high. Asylum seekers are not allowed to legally work in the U.S. until they obtain a federal work permit. They must apply for asylum, then wait at least 150 days to apply for a work permit. It is so important that people don't rush their asylum applications because they want to work. The affordable housing crisis is very real for our clients; we meet so many of them when they are homeless.
MB: Could you give an example of how Hope Acts works with clients?
MS: It varies by person and family. Most of the people we work with, when we first meet them, either live in a city shelter or are staying with somebody. A first step is making sure they have their address updated with the post office and with the immigration system, because they need to be able to receive mail — that’s a huge issue. If they have reporting requirements, they have to know that.
We have a large need for housing. We have a pretty robust housing program but we can only help a small fraction of the people who actually need housing help. If we can house them, we do that and we continue to support them. We make sure they get signed up for whatever benefits there’re eligible for. Getting people into language classes and vocational training is really important. They want to work, so they need to be as prepared as they can be to join the labor force.
Once they’re working, some people are completely self-sufficient and we never see them again. Other people come back because they encounter a problem somewhere in the system. They’re generally living in poverty, even if they’re working, because of the high cost of housing, food, transportation, etc. They also have to look for and pay for immigration attorneys, which is very expensive.
MB: How is Hope Acts funded?
MS: Like many nonprofits, the need there is growing. A lot of our growth came through COVID era funding. That’s ending, so we are ramping up our fundraising. A lot of people are coming forward to donate and to volunteer and to say, “How can I help?”
MB: How many volunteers do you have?
MS: Around 70, many of them retirees. Our English language program is all volunteer, except for the manager who runs it. Some volunteers have been with us five years or more. A lot of asylum-seekers volunteer with us. These are people with a really strong work ethic and want to volunteer with us because we helped them and we continue to help them. Half of our staff is from the immigrant community.
Photo / Courtesy Hope Acts
Hope Acts provides a number of services for New Mainers and asylum-seekers.
MB: What’s the status of the work permit clinic?
MS: This year we’re on track to meet or exceed our record last year of 1,200 work permit applications submitted. We do renewals, and also parents use work permits for their children as a means of getting a social security number for their children.
MB: What else would you like people to know?
MS: The immigrant community is really important for bringing new workers into our economy. Employers can’t find employees, and yet we have a lot of people looking for work. They range from people who do housekeeping and washing dishes and caregiving, to people with college degrees and a high level of experience and skills. So I encourage anyone who is looking for employees to call us. We would love to talk with them. And we always welcome visitors. We run public programs at the Portland Public Library and we encourage people who are interested to reach out.
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