Support the Maine Solidarity Fund!

Right now, immigrant and Trans Mainers are facing unprecedented threats to their safety, dignity, and basic rights. Families are afraid to leave their homes. People are being detained without due process. Essential healthcare is becoming inaccessible. We must stand together to defend our most vulnerable community members and our collective rights. People are suffering, and government actors are growing more emboldened -- we need to act now.

That's why we created the Maine Solidarity Fund, which provides direct, immediate support when our community members need it most. We need to raise a minimum of $1,000,000 to meet the urgent demand for bail funds, private attorneys, court attendance costs, emergency housing, healthcare costs, and survivor support.

What the Maine Solidarity Fund Covers

The fund will cover bail, bond, and familial support for immigrant neighbors who are detained; increased healthcare costs for Trans community members; and legal support for both communities.

For immigrant community members, this means:

• Bail and bond payments for those unlawfully detained
• Legal representation and defense attorney fees
• Emergency family support when breadwinners are detained

For Trans community members, this means:

• Life-saving gender-affirming healthcare when insurance won't cover it or when federal policies restrict access to care
• Legal support for vital identity document issues
• Emergency assistance during discrimination or harassment cases
• Travel costs to receive necessary care

Maine's immigrant residents contribute $626 million in taxes annually while being denied basic protections. They power our local food system, from raking blueberries and processing shellfish, to working in restaurants and filling vital roles in our healthcare and construction industries that keep Maine running. Meanwhile, our Trans neighbors -- nearly 6,000 strong -- are facing coordinated discrimination and attacks on their right to exist safely in our communities. They bring joy, creativity, and invaluable perspectives that make our state stronger.

Our Maine community is interwoven and interdependent, so these attacks are not only harming our Trans, and Black and Brown immigrant community members, but are harming our communities as a whole. These aren't isolated incidents -- they're part of a systemic effort to terrorize our most vulnerable. When our neighbors are not empowered to safely contribute to our communities and require extra support, we're all strained. But here's what we know: when we take care of each other, we all thrive, not just survive.

How the Maine Solidarity Fund Works

The Maine Solidarity Fund builds on the People's Coalition for Safety & Justice's (PCSJ) proven track record of direct community support. As a collective of frontline organizations with deep community ties, we've supported community members navigating the criminal legal system at both the local and federal levels and in meeting basic needs. Many of those supported have been survivors of sexual and domestic violence and members of the Queer and Trans communities.

We're all local organizations providing zero-barrier monetary support to undocumented community members and other marginalized communities for emergency housing, bail, legal support, medication, and other essential and urgent expenses. We provide support across language and ethnic populations, including Spanish, Lingala, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Swahili, Khmer, Vietnamese, Tagalog, and Thai-speaking communities.

Now, we’re pooling resources to create a fund we can all draw from when our neighbors need help. Instead of scrambling to crowdfund for individual fundraisers every time someone gets detained or faces a medical emergency, we're building a shared resource that we can tap into immediately. No more inequitable funding where the most visible cases get help while others go without. No more wasted time when people need help now.

The Maine Solidarity Fund provides direct, immediate support when our community members need it most.

• Emergency Response: When someone is detained, we act fast to secure legal representation and bail
• Healthcare Access: We cover gender-affirming care costs when insurance fails our Trans neighbors
• Family Stability: We provide support so families can meet basic needs when facing harassment or detention
• Legal Protection: We ensure people have qualified attorneys fighting for their rights
• Essential Needs: Emergency housing, medication, court costs, and survivor support

Maine is one of the few states without established funds for Trans healthcare or immigration bail or bond -- until now.

Beyond Survival: Building the Future

Your support and solidarity help us build the Maine we want to live in: where everyone can thrive, contribute, and belong.

When they come for our neighbors, they come for all of us. When our neighbors cannot safely contribute to our communities and require extra support, we are all strained. But when we stand together, we all rise. When our friends are thriving, we all benefit from collective abundance.

Join us in sending a message that when political winds shift and systems fail us, local communities step up and mutual aid endures. Every dollar makes a difference -- no amount is too small when it comes to showing up for each other.

In Maine, we don't abandon our neighbors.

About People's Coalition for Safety & Justice

The People's Coalition for Safety & Justice (PCSJ) brings together leaders from frontline organizations, cultural anchors, and direct service providers with deep ties to their communities. We are working to:

• End ICE collaboration in Maine through policy change
• Create rapid-response networks for community protection
• Expand legal services and offer detention response for vulnerable populations
• Train community members and allies in Know-Your-Rights and active bystander intervention education
• Build lasting systems of mutual care and support

Our members include:

• Community Organizing Alliance (COA)
• Presente! Maine
• MaineTransNet (MTN)
• Gateway Community Services Maine (GCSM)
• Khmer Maine / SEA (Southeast Asian) Collaborative
• Community Change Inc. (CCI)