In the one month of September, five esteemed organizations provided $80,000.00 in grants to Finding Our Voices to brighten the lives and prospects of Maine women domestic abuse survivors and their children as well as to foster healthy relationships among teens, according to the statewide nonprofit.

“It does my heart good,” said Patrisha McLean, CEO and founder of Finding Our Voices, “that in our fifth year as a nonprofit our grassroots, innovative, and survivor-led approach is being increasingly appreciated and valued. The generous collective support of five prestigious Maine organizations on the cusp of October's Domestic Violence Awareness Month will help us continue to provide essential resources and support to our sister survivors in every county in our state, as well as expand our impactful survivor-informed educational program in middle schools and high schools.”

According to McLean, grants that Finding Our Voices received in September of 2026 include $25,000 from the Farsetti Webster Chappell Foundation for its Get Out Stay Out fund and teen dating abuse prevention work in schools; $20,000 from the John T. Gorman Foundation for security deposits for apartments rentals; $20,000 from United Midcoast Charities for general operating support in Knox and Waldo counties; $10,000 from the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation for its groundbreaking Finding Our Smiles program of donated dental care; and a $5,000 Deborah Pulliam Social Justice Grant from the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Castine for programming in rural Maine.

McLean said that the generous grants are especially welcome now, with spiking gas prices and increasingly elusive affordable housing making it extra-difficult for women survivors of domestic abuse to escape danger and provide safety and stability for their children.

In September as well, McLean was named a 2026 Outstanding Woman in Business by Mainebiz.

Finding Our Voices is the grassroots nonprofit breaking the silence and cycle of domestic abuse across Maine, with heart-healing and life-saving resources and support for women survivors and their children. The group is launching Domestic Violence Awareness Month with the North American premiere of a powerful documentary film and post-screening survivor-led discussion Oct. 1, 5:30 p.m. at the Strand Theatre in Rockland; Oct. 2, 6 p.m. at the Portland Museum of Art; and Oct. 3, 2 p.m. at the Maine Film Center in Waterville.

For more information visit https://findingourvoices.net