Welcome Home, DeAngelis Family
Mano en Mano is excited to welcome the DeAngelis family to the Downeast community through our housing subsidiary, Welcome Home Downeast LLC.
Please help us welcome the DeAngelis family!
Shelby DeAngelis, mother of four, has been coming to Maine for the past 7 years to take part in the blueberry harvest and wreath making season. Originally from Southern Maine, Shelby moved to Florida and has been coming back to Maine to take part in seasonal work (blueberry harvesting/processing and wreath making), and spend time with family and friends in the Downeast area.
Shelby says,
“I was born in Southern Maine and I have grandparents that live in Milbridge. When I had my first child we moved to Florida, but have been coming up to Maine every summer to work during the blueberry harvest and then wreaths. Once the wreath season finishes in January, we head back to Florida and return in August.”
DeAngelis's first experience with Mano en Mano was in 2014 during the blueberry harvest. Since then, her children have attended the Blueberry Harvest School each year, and her youngest goes to Rayitos de Sol Bilingual Childcare.
Her main motivations for planting roots in Downeast Maine are her children, family and community that make the area unique. Shelby shares,
“My main motivation for staying in Maine is definitely my kids. It was really hard for my kids to start school here in Maine, and then leave for Florida and finish the year there. I started to notice they were falling behind.
Another factor is that I have my family and their support here. My kids have cousins their age and the community is smaller including the schools. People and teachers care about your kids and how well they’re doing.”
This November the DeAngelis family officially became the newest residents of Harrington, Maine. They moved into the first property purchased and renovated by Welcome Home Downeast LLC- a newly renovated home located less than two miles from the local elementary and high schools.
Welcome Home Downeast LLC is a subsidiary of Mano en Mano formed through a partnership with Sunrise County Economic Council (SCEC). The overarching vision of Welcome Home Downeast is to address the shortage of affordable, safe rental housing and provide a pathway to home ownership while simultaneously revitalizing residential town centers. The DeAngelis’s new home is the first of 7 homes that will be available for rent for families that have been part of the seasonal workforce. The families will have the option to purchase the home they are renting within 5 years.
All members of the DeAngelis family are excited about their new home. Shelby shares
“I love the house and the kids do too. My oldest daughter, Isa, actually told me that all she wanted for Christmas was to stay in Maine! This morning she said ‘oh my goodness, mom, this is our new house?!..I love it. I'm so happy.’ ”
Seasonal workers and community members in the Downeast area have continually voiced their concerns about the lack of affordable housing. Many families interested in living in the Downeast are simply unable to stay in the area because the housing available is either too expensive or does not meet their needs. Welcome Home Downeast LLC believes for communities to be vibrant and thrive, people need to be able to put down roots and make this area their home.
Shelby is excited to embark on her homeownership journey. She shares,
“Even before I knew about this program I had started organizing myself and saving so I could get to the point of owning a home. It takes time, and what is great about this is that you have support and five years to work towards officially buying the home. I honestly feel like I won the lottery, and I am excited to see the program grow and for more families to have this opportunity”
As a new year approaches, Shelby and her family are thinking about what is ahead. She says,
“What I am most excited about this house is that we have the opportunity to make it into what we want it to be. I've rented before, but I never felt like those places were my home, but this place feels different. I am excited to start traditions and build a future for my kids where they feel like this is their home- that they belong…
We also get to start making memories in the house! This will be our first Christmas, and birthdays there so we have lots of exciting things ahead.”
Mano en Mano is excited to be the first to say,
“Welcome Home DeAngelis family!”
Help us continue our work and support communities to thrive across Maine
Welcome Home Downeast LLC is in the process of identifying additional properties for rehabilitation and development. If you have a property WHD might be interested in acquiring or to learn more about the program, please contact Shirley Erickson, The Christopher Group, LLC, 1-877-350-4409, ext. 5.
Disclosure Regarding Securities
This article does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy securities of Welcome Home Downeast, LLC. Such offers and sales, if any, will be made only to “Accredited Investors,” as defined in Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, pursuant to separate agreements to be negotiated by the parties.
