FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 5, 2026
CONTACT: Meg McCroskey Blum, mblum@evernorthus.org
Lewiston, Maine – Evernorth Rural Ventures closed a $6.8 million allocation of New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs) for the construction of a new 11,000 square foot facility to enhance and expand the Trinity Jubilee Center’s community impact. The new space will grow Jubilee’s ability to meet community needs for food and resource security, shower and laundry facilities, and other essential services, allowing Jubilee to serve more clients than ever before.
Founded in 1991 as a soup kitchen, programs provided by the Center have steadily expanded over the past three decades to address growing community needs. The Center serves over 1,000 adults and children each day through its day shelter, soup kitchen, food pantry, diaper bank, and resource center. Its rented basement space at the Trinity Episcopal Church could no longer keep up and limits their ability to serve clients efficiently and with dignity.
The new building is more than four times larger than the former space and includes expanded area for food distribution, two medical exam rooms, a waiting room, private rooms for on-site mental health and substance misuse services, an upgraded kitchen, walk-in refrigerator and freezer, workstations for job placement services, and space for partners to host workshops.
“This purpose-built facility will enable Trinity Jubilee to expand its capacity by approximately 10%, allowing it to serve more than 5,000 people each year and markedly improve the quality and impact of the essential community services it provides,” said Beth Boutin, Vice President of Community Investments at Evernorth. “Evernorth is proud to be providing NMTC financing that will help close the remaining gap needed to make this project possible and allow the nonprofit to expand its impact in the heart of Lewiston and the Tree Streets Neighborhood.”
The project represents a transformative next chapter for The Trinity Jubilee Center. With widespread support from private and corporate donors, philanthropic foundations, and a $2 million federal grant awarded as congressionally directed spending, this earmark reflects strong recognition of the project’s impact and significance to the community. The Center has successfully raised $4.77 million to date.
“We are thrilled to be opening the doors to the new facility,” said Erin Reed, Trinity Jubilee Center’s Executive Director. “We are fortunate to have so many dedicated partners and greatly appreciate the Evernorth Rural Ventures investment that allowed us to expand our impact for our neighbors in Lewiston.”
Lewiston, Maine’s second largest city, is among the most economically disadvantaged in Maine. The poverty rate is well above the state average, and the median household income is lower than the statewide median. Economic hardship in Lewiston is linked to broader social and health issues. In the 2025 Androscoggin Community Health Needs Assessment, residents identified housing, access to health care, and poverty as central issues.
In the last five years Evernorth, through its Low-Income Housing Tax Credit syndication work, has invested more than $52 million of equity into affordable housing development in Lewiston. Most recently, two investments totaling $29.7 million are a result of a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Choice Neighborhood Implementation award, bringing $30 million in federal grant dollars to revitalize and reimagine the Tree Streets Neighborhood, where the Trinity Jubilee Center is located.
Construction began in December 2024 and move in started this week.
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Evernorth is a nonprofit organization serving the low- and moderate-income people of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont with affordable housing and community investments. Evernorth has raised and deployed over $1.6 billion in equity capital for affordable housing and built more than 17,000 affordable homes and apartments for low- and moderate-income people across northern New England. www.evernorthus.org
Evernorth Rural Ventures, a subsidiary of Evernorth, is a qualified rural Community Development Entity that uses its New Markets Tax Credit resources to support investment in the economic, environmental, and social well-being of northern New England communities and its regional economies. Funds are used to retain and create quality jobs and expand essential goods and services by financing key community developments in downtown and village centers and in other concerted community efforts that demonstrate positive impacts to low-income persons and communities. Learn more about Evernorth Rural Ventures at www.evernorthus.org/financing-and-investing/evernorth-rural-ventures
