Maine Coalition for Housing and Quality Services
Meeting Agenda
January 12, 2026 12:00-2:00pm
Meeting participants can connect to the meeting via Zoom in their homes or offices as applicable.
You can obtain the Zoom link by contacting Vickey Merrill at least two hours prior to the start of the meeting at [email protected].
Meeting Agenda
January 12, 2026 12:00-2:00pm
Meeting participants can connect to the meeting via Zoom in their homes or offices as applicable.
You can obtain the Zoom link by contacting Vickey Merrill at least two hours prior to the start of the meeting at [email protected].
1. 12:00pm – Welcome
The Coalition is designed to be an open and inclusive clearinghouse of information. All are welcome.
This meeting will continue a broad discussion, including context, of how we came to this crisis of current and impending waitlists for services and lack of affordable supportive housing in Maine, and what parents, relatives, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, advocates, service providers, DHHS, Special Education, and the experts on Transition can and are doing about it. The major focus will be information sharing and discussion about services that work, housing, transition, employment, the state and federal budgets, advocacy, and resources. This meeting will also focus on seeing through the implementation of a Continuum of Care and Blueprint for Effective Transition so that housing and service needs are met for everyone, and true community inclusion occurs.
2. Review agenda, review/accept minutes, introductions
3. Featured Speaker: Pamela Seetoo, Associate Director, and Matthew Nguyen, Education Specialist, the Keystone Institute-Keystone Human Services. Topic: Fire Through Dry Grass film screening with discussion to follow (click here for discussion questions).
At the recommendation of Rachel Dyer of the Maine Developmental Disability Council, the meeting will feature a film about challenges faced at an institution during the Covid pandemic, highlighting shortcomings in institutional settings that can continue to create vulnerabilities. It should be thought provoking and powerful and as such, we will reserve time in the last half hour for processing, with a truncation of our regular updates, having those updates be reserved for the minutes for the most part instead.
The film will run for 90 minutes and is expected to begin by 12:15. Our guest will provide some background on the film and then begin the screening. We will take a 5-minute break and then have more than 30 minutes reserved for discussion. This will mean the meeting will be extended to 2:30. People can leave at 2 but additional time will be allocated in case people need it.
4. Brief Updates (if any) on the following:
a. Services:
b. Advocacy:
c. Housing and Federal Funding
d. State Legislature – MACSP and Legislators in attendance
e. Other business:
Next meeting: TBD.
Featured Speaker and Topic: TBD.
*Until further notice meetings will be held solely via Zoom*
The Maine Coalition for Housing and Quality Services provides equal opportunity for meeting participation. If you wish to attend but require an interpreter or other accommodation, please forward your request two weeks prior to the monthly meeting to [email protected].
The Coalition is designed to be an open and inclusive clearinghouse of information. All are welcome.
This meeting will continue a broad discussion, including context, of how we came to this crisis of current and impending waitlists for services and lack of affordable supportive housing in Maine, and what parents, relatives, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, advocates, service providers, DHHS, Special Education, and the experts on Transition can and are doing about it. The major focus will be information sharing and discussion about services that work, housing, transition, employment, the state and federal budgets, advocacy, and resources. This meeting will also focus on seeing through the implementation of a Continuum of Care and Blueprint for Effective Transition so that housing and service needs are met for everyone, and true community inclusion occurs.
2. Review agenda, review/accept minutes, introductions
3. Featured Speaker: Pamela Seetoo, Associate Director, and Matthew Nguyen, Education Specialist, the Keystone Institute-Keystone Human Services. Topic: Fire Through Dry Grass film screening with discussion to follow (click here for discussion questions).
At the recommendation of Rachel Dyer of the Maine Developmental Disability Council, the meeting will feature a film about challenges faced at an institution during the Covid pandemic, highlighting shortcomings in institutional settings that can continue to create vulnerabilities. It should be thought provoking and powerful and as such, we will reserve time in the last half hour for processing, with a truncation of our regular updates, having those updates be reserved for the minutes for the most part instead.
The film will run for 90 minutes and is expected to begin by 12:15. Our guest will provide some background on the film and then begin the screening. We will take a 5-minute break and then have more than 30 minutes reserved for discussion. This will mean the meeting will be extended to 2:30. People can leave at 2 but additional time will be allocated in case people need it.
4. Brief Updates (if any) on the following:
a. Services:
- DHHS, Office of Aging and Disability Services (OADS) – Derek Fales
- DHHS, Children’s Behavioral Health Services, Office of Behavioral Health (OBH)
- DOL, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation – Libby Stone-Sterling
- DOE, Office of Special Services and Inclusive Education (OSSIE) – Sandy Flacke and/or Tracy Whitlock
b. Advocacy:
- Disability Rights Maine (DRM) – Lucas Cuellar and/or Staci Converse
c. Housing and Federal Funding
- Federal funding update
- Section 8 Update
- HUD Section 811 Update
d. State Legislature – MACSP and Legislators in attendance
e. Other business:
- Coalition Website Update – www.maineparentcoalition.org
- Other updates, announcements, and Agenda for next Coalition meeting
Next meeting: TBD.
Featured Speaker and Topic: TBD.
*Until further notice meetings will be held solely via Zoom*
The Maine Coalition for Housing and Quality Services provides equal opportunity for meeting participation. If you wish to attend but require an interpreter or other accommodation, please forward your request two weeks prior to the monthly meeting to [email protected].