Priscilla Doel - Maine SAFE


Priscilla Doel's efforts to organize a statewide network to assist migrant, seasonal and guest worker populations in Maine under the aegis of a new non-profit organization, Maine Service Advocates in Foreign Languages and English (S.A.F.E.) have been featured in Colby Magazine's "A Voice in the Wilderness" and Gerry Boyle's article in the November 29, 1998 issue of the Morning Sentinel.

Four years ago, identifying the urgent need for an advocacy group to help Spanish speaking migrant workers in Maine navigate the complexities of our systems, Priscilla founded Maine Service Advocates in Foreign Languages and English (Maine SAFE). Priscilla serves as President and Executive Director of this small non-profit group whose mission it is to facilitate clear and professional communication to people requiring help in understanding one another.
Maine SAFE works closely with many local, state and federal agencies. Maine SAFE has offered services in the areas of health (Red Cross courses, Maine Red Cross HIV/AIDS brochure in Spanish, Maine SAFE health clinics in Jackman, Maine); education (Conversational Spanish for Adults, Medical Spanish for Health and Human Service Providers), and the well-being of people and systems (translation and interpreting services for attorneys, the Courts, area hospitals, Workers' Compensation, businesses, individuals for whom English is not their first language).

Priscilla's contacts via Maine SAFE and her position at Colby allow her to bring special programs to Colby and to Maine. She has organized two special programs at Colby for Latino Heritage month: Blueberries, Broccoli and Brushcutting; The Long Road to Maine. In both of these programs, Spanish-speaking migrant and immigrant workers have spoken (in English) to Colby students and faculty, sharing their experiences and thoughts.

Professor Doel addressed the issue of Maine's "hidden" Hispanic population in a lecture given at Colby's Pugh Center. This special program included the unveiling of the new Cinco de Mayo stamp issued by the U.S. Postal Service.


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