Auction Held for Adults With Intellectual Disabilities in Maine

The second annual online auction to raise money for A House for ME in Kittery, Maine, will start on June 13 and the proceeds will go to support a house for adults with intellectual disabilities.

Dennis Dean, executive director of A House for ME - which fights to open the door to independence for people who have intellectual disabilities - said the organization was founded in 2016 after some local parents reached out for some funding for an adult child after they found out the list for supportive housing in the state of Maine was at about 800 people.

That number has since doubled, Dean said.

"We formed A House for ME and obtained nonprofit status to try and do things in a much different way, and it's working," Dean said.

They do not depend on state or federal dollars, Dean said.

The companion who watches over the two women who live at the first home they created does not pay rent and their main duties are supervision and transportation.

Dean said their system works because the women who live at the house do not need full-time support 24 hours a day.

"We're able to provide the amount of support that the women do need to live safely and successfully, without depending on a funding stream that would provide full-time, around-the-clock capacity," Dean said.

People who are interested in the auction can find out more on A House for ME's Facebook page. Dean said they will have items for sale that range between $10 and $350 in value.

"There's a wide variety, something for everyone," Dean said.

Contact Managing News Editor Kimberley Haas at Kimberley.Haas@townsquaremedia.com.