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After muggy week, we've earned some clearer, drier and above all cooler weather this weekend in western Maine. It's a good time to take a trip to the beach, de-weed the garden or just take a walk — anything to get outside. It's why we live here.

For some folks, however, even a couple hours away from home can be difficult to come by. In West Paris, Kristy Basso sets a timer any time she does a chore outside the house. She's the primary caregiver for her 77-year-old mother, who has dementia, and is worried about leaving her alone for too long.

A grant program called Respite for ME allows Basso to pay a temporary caregiver to stay with her mother for a few hours every other week; a welcome break that gives Basso the freedom to do something many of us do all the time.

The two-year pilot program is set to end this fall, however, leaving Basso “dreading” the loss of help.

You can read more in Rose Lundy's report for The Maine Monitor below.

A grant program offers caregivers something hard to come by: a break

Respite for ME was funded through Gov. Janet Mills’ Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, using $5.1 million in American Rescue Plan funds, and began enrolling caregivers in October 2022.

The two-year program offers grants up to $5,171 to those providing care to a loved one at home. In addition to paying for temporary caregivers, the funds can be used for counseling, training, financial guidance and assistive technology.

At least 23 nursing homes in Maine have closed over the past decade, and concerns about the quality of care at assisted-living facilities have grown. As the state’s population — the oldest in the nation — continues to age, the responsibility to care for older adults could increasingly fall on family caregivers.

Read this story by Rose Lundy of The Maine Monitor.

While The Maine Monitor does not place its content behind paywalls, some newsrooms we link to in this newsletter may. 

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Two town buildings in Wilton were closed this week in an effort to get rid of some unwanted guests: an infestation of fleas. | Sun Journal

The town of Rangeley has a new police chief, hiring the head of Jay's department to fill the open position. Rangeley is advertising three open positions in its department, with Franklin County Sheriff's Office deputies currently patrolling the town. | Rangeley Highlander

The remains of Hurricane Beryl dumped inches of rain over western Maine last weekend, flooding and washing out roads in Bethel, Rangeley and Eustis. | WGME

The fire chief in Manchester has been placed on paid leave after he received a summons for impersonating a law enforcement officer last month. | Kennebec Journal

Norway residents expressed concerns with a new, 17-unit affordable housing development. | Advertiser Democrat

Ed Swain operates perhaps the last of the island farms on the Androscoggin River, despite rising costs and complications. | Bethel Citizen

A 75-year-old man who had been missing for four days was found alive in a bog in Weld by a game warden K9 last week. | Daily Bulldog

Know of a story that we should be digging into? Send it to our newsroom. 

The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization that produces investigative journalism. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support.