Penquis is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1967 to alleviate and eliminate the causes and conditions of poverty. Through its programs and subsidiaries, Penquis impacts all of Maine’s sixteen counties, but primarily serves low- and moderate-income individuals in Penobscot, Piscataquis and Knox counties.

Programs We Fund

Success Stories.

Due to the confidential nature of the Penquis CAC, the program is not permitted to discuss specific stories.

A young child was seen at the CAC as there was an allegation of sexual abuse perpetrated by a family friend. During the first forensic interview, the child was reluctant to talk about the abuse and the interview was ended early. The forensic interviewer and the MDT came to the conclusion that another interview would be beneficial to the child. Although a second interview is not offered often, children may be more relaxed when returning to the CAC as they know what the expectations are and have already seen the CAC physical space. The child returned to the CAC a week later and was with the family advocate while waiting for the interview to begin. The child commented that they were still a little nervous about speaking to the interviewer. The family advocate was able to reassure them that it was a safe space to talk. The time arrived for the child to be interviewed. The child was able to provide a very detailed disclosure. Once the child completed the forensic interview, the child returned to the family room and told their non-offending caregiver and the family advocate that they “Did it!” The child happily used their hand print to create their flag to display at the CAC with the other flags. The child also shared that they felt better now that they had told what happened to them to the forensic interviewer.