APRIL 2026 newsletter

ACTION ALERT: Clean Slate Maine!

Dear Friends,


April is Second Chance Month. And I’ve been thinking a lot about what that really means, not as a slogan, but as something we live every day inside our community.


In recovery second chances are not abstract. They look like someone walking through the door for the first time after a hard season. They look like someone coming back after a setback. They look like people choosing, again and again, to keep going.

Send a Letter to Your Lawmaker Urging them to Support LD 1911!

Second chances are at the heart of recovery.


And if we believe that, truly believe it, then we have to build systems that reflect it. Not just programs. Not just words. Systems.


Second chances are at the heart of Clean Slate Legislation.

Right now in Maine, thousands of people are doing everything right, working, parenting, showing up, rebuilding their lives, but are still held back by records that follow them long after they’ve earned the chance to move forward. The deserve a second chance.


LD 1911, also known as Clean Slate Maine, would give them that second chance and is expected to hit the Senate and House floors for voting any day now. With only days to go, we need your help to get this across the finish line and enacted into law.


Join us by sending a letter urging your legislators to vote YES on LD 1911!
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And before I close, I want to take a moment to thank the 30+ volunteers who joined us at the Maine State House in early March. You sat down with lawmakers, shared your stories, and made it real. That is how change happens. Thank you.


Now let’s go get Clean Slate legislation across the finish line for all Mainers. 💛


In Relentless Solidarity,

Opioid Settlement Funds

LD 110: Reporting of OSF Expenditures

Last year, we came together and fought hard for opioid settlement fund transparency with the enactment of LD 110. This public law requires all direct share subdivisions that receive opioid settlement funds to submit an annual report to the Maine Attorney General's Office that details the amount of funds received and expended in the prior year with a description of each expenditure.


Below you will find buttons to view the MOSS (Maine Opioid Settlement Support Center) OSF Spending Dashboard and the full report of OSF expenditures for 2025 that was submitted to the Health and Human Services Committee of the Maine State Legislature.

OSF Updates

  • Maine Recovery Council: At its March meeting, the MRC approved $898,163 in one year funding for six Recovery Community Centers not currently funded by the State of Maine, with the intent to help prevent potential closures. In an effort to support ongoing collaboration and strategically leverage OSF, the MRC is working with the Attorney General's office to use a portion of their settlement funds to support a second year of funding, with final details yet to be determined.
  • City of Augusta: The City of Augusta's Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Committee has established an Opioid Settlement Grant Program to support initiatives that address the impacts of the opioid crisis in their community. The Task Force will host an open workshop at Augusta City Hall on April 15th from 5:30pm-6:30pm for applicants to ask clarifying or technical questions. The Grant Application closes on May 8th at 4:30pm
  • .Learn more and access the Augusta OSF Grant Application
  • City of Bangor: City Council recently approved $641,297 in OSF to support 16 local organizations. For more information: March 9, 2026 Bangor City Council Agenda.

ME-RAP Organizer Spotlight!

Merideth (she/her) has been fighting social injustice since she was 10 and discovered that the Cardinal thought girls should not be altar servers. After over 20 years of practicing medicine in Maine, in service of people with big challenges and few resources, she has  become even more passionate about advocacy, particularly around policy related to PWUD and are justice impacted.


In 2017, she offered a low barrier treatment option in her private office which connected people without insurance to medication, counseling referrals and her extensive network of people in long term recovery. 


In her past role as president of the Maine Osteopathic Association (MOA), and currently with ME-RAP, she has given frequent testimony at the state house, most frequently involving legislation relating to drug policy and criminal justice reform. She feels an obligation to use her voice as a physician.


When she is not picking fights with windmills, Merideth lives in Kennebunk with her husband, three adult children, and pet pig.  She is very active in the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church and frequently has invited her activist friends to come and speak at worship. 

What We Are Reading