Children in Avesta homes are learning math skills and boosting their chances of academic success thanks to a new partnership between Avesta Housing and a Maine nonprofit. Presented by the Early Math and Language Initiative (EMLI), the Family Math program teaches pre-K children in under-resourced communities through a combination of storytelling, group activities, and one-on-one
When a community garden was proposed for Jordan Bay Place, an Avesta Housing affordable housing community for older adults in Raymond, Maine, Benny Beard was one of the first people to sign up. He organized volunteers, planned what should be planted and where, gathered soil and seaweed for fertilizer, and lovingly nurtured everything from corn
For Katherine and her younger brother Charles, living at Snow School Apartments is truly like going home again: They attended the building’s namesake, the Charles A. Snow School, in the 1960s. After the school was closed in 2017, the site was sold to Avesta Housing for the purpose of building safe, quality, affordable homes for
Shelby and her son moved into an Avesta home in May 2024. Before the move, the pair had been living with Shelby’s parents in Biddeford. “I’m grateful to my parents, but we needed a place of our own,” she says.] Shelby chose to live in an Avesta home for several reasons, “I knew Avesta had
Marny Smith, second from left, at the Maine Health Care Association “Remember ME” ceremony in Augusta, Maine, with (L-R) daughter Jen; Katy Smith, vice president of assisted living for Avesta Housing; and son Ed. Marny Smith, a resident of 75 State Street, was one of 32 people honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the
Helen Burns is a resident of Thomas Heights, an Avesta Housing affordable housing development in Portland. She volunteers to teach free sewing classes at The Root Cellar, a Portland-based nonprofit. Helen’s mother was a seamstress who taught her four daughters to make their own clothes “out of necessity” — skills that Helen now passes on
Deedee Garcia organizes the food pantry at Woodsedge, an Avesta community for older adults and people with disabilities in Alfred, Maine. It began when she visited the food pantry in town once or twice a month to pick up a box of groceries for herself and donated $10 to $20 for a second box, which
Jan Troisi, left, and Sylvia Archer display their scarecrow at The Common in Hampton Falls, N.H. Sylvia Archer and Jan Troisi are residents of The Meadows, an Avesta Housing development for older adults in Hampton Falls, N.H. They give back to the community as volunteer members of the Town of Hampton Falls Recreation Commission, a
The site of a former elementary school has found a new purpose as housing for older adults in Fryeburg, Maine. The new Snow School Apartments is a prime example of how unused public property can be turned into an essential community resource, according to developer Avesta Housing, the largest nonprofit affordable housing provider in Northern
The Oxford County town of Fryeburg will soon get an infusion of 28 apartments for seniors. Avesta Housing said it will cut the ribbon Oct. 23 on Snow School Apartments, which are affordable units designated for residents age 55-plus. Located at 11 Pine St., Snow School Apartments demonstrates that unused public property can be repurposed to
