CONNECT Outreach Van coming to Portland, Maine [Video]

Funding, including a two-year $500,000 American Rescue Plan Act grant provided by the City of Portland is powering the clinic.

The mobile unit is called the Community Outreach Network Navigation Evidence-based Care and Treatment van or the CONNECT Outreach Van.

“Individuals who are literally sleeping outside, in a vehicle, or in a building that is not meant for human habitation, that’s our priority population that we want to reach,” CONNECT Outreach Van lead clinician, Malia Haddock said.

Haddock said the goal is to meet people where they physically are and where they are in terms of their own health care.

“We’re going to take care of them whether that’s a full psychiatric evaluation or helping them with basic needs,” Haddock explained. “When insurance comes into play, it’s when we’re prescribing medication.”

If someone ends up in the MaineHealth …