Spotlight Issue: One organization making a big difference in Lewiston

This month, Acent is trying something different. Instead of featuring seven charities, we're spotlighting one local organization that's doing exceptional work right here in Lewiston. Sometimes the best way to make an impact is to go deep with one cause that matters.

Spotlight Issue: One organization making a big difference in Lewiston

Location: Lewiston, Maine

The Full Story:

Tree Street Youth represents something unique in Lewiston: a community organization built by and for the people it serves, where young people from immigrant and refugee families work alongside adult allies to create programming that reflects their actual experiences and aspirations. Rather than imposing external solutions on community challenges, Tree Street Youth operates on the principle that the people most affected by issues are also the most qualified to develop responses that work.

What makes them different: Most youth organizations are run by adults who design programs they think young people need. Tree Street Youth flips this model. Young people ages 4-24 are genuine co-creators of programming, with decision-making power over everything from daily activities to organizational direction. This approach recognizes that immigrant and refugee youth bring tremendous strengths, cultural knowledge, and leadership capacity that should be centered rather than treated as problems to be solved.

The community they serve: Lewiston has become one of the Northeast's largest refugee resettlement communities, with families arriving from Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Afghanistan, and many other countries. These families bring incredible resilience, skills, and cultural wealth, but they often face systemic barriers including language access, employment discrimination, educational challenges, and social isolation.

Tree Street Youth specifically serves this community while building bridges with longtime Lewiston residents. Their programming creates space for young people to maintain connections to their cultural heritage while developing skills for navigating new systems and opportunities.

What they actually do:

Why this matters to you: As a Bates student, you're part of a community that has been dramatically enriched by immigration and refugee resettlement. Tree Street Youth's work ensures that young people from these families have genuine opportunities to thrive academically, professionally, and socially while contributing their perspectives and talents to the broader community.

Their approach challenges common narratives about immigrant and refugee communities. Rather than focusing on deficits or problems, Tree Street Youth highlights the leadership, creativity, and resilience that young people bring to addressing community challenges. This strength-based model creates more effective programming while building genuine community power.

The partnership approach: Tree Street Youth has developed meaningful partnerships with organizations like The Nature Conservancy, providing outdoor leadership development opportunities that connect environmental education with youth empowerment. These partnerships demonstrate how effective collaboration can create programming that serves multiple goals while keeping community voices central.

The Bates connection: Many Bates students engage with Tree Street Youth through community engagement courses, individual volunteering, and collaborative projects. The organization offers genuine partnership opportunities where students can contribute skills while learning from community expertise. This reciprocal approach creates more meaningful relationships than traditional volunteer models.

Bates students have supported Tree Street Youth through everything from grant writing and social media support to participating in community organizing campaigns and cultural events. These partnerships work because they're based on mutual respect and shared commitment to community development rather than one-directional service provision.

Recent impact: Tree Street Youth has grown significantly while maintaining its community-driven approach. Their programming now serves hundreds of young people annually while their advocacy work has influenced local school policies, city budget priorities, and regional conversations about immigration and racial equity.

Their PINE employment program has helped dozens of young people access their first jobs while building workplace skills and professional networks. More importantly, it's created a model where young people support each other's economic development rather than competing for limited opportunities.

The organizing component: Beyond direct programming, Tree Street Youth engages in community organizing that addresses systemic issues affecting immigrant and refugee families in Lewiston. Young people identify priorities like educational equity, housing discrimination, and workplace safety, then develop campaigns that create lasting policy and cultural change.

This organizing work connects individual empowerment to collective power-building. Young people learn that they can influence the systems affecting their lives while building coalitions that strengthen the entire community.

Cultural celebration and bridge-building: Tree Street Youth's cultural programming serves multiple purposes. It provides space for young people to maintain connections to their heritage languages, traditions, and family histories. It also creates opportunities for cross-cultural learning that builds understanding between different community groups.

Their events often bring together longtime Lewiston residents, recent immigrants and refugees, Bates students, and community leaders for celebrations that highlight the cultural wealth different communities bring to the city. These gatherings create social connections that combat isolation while building broader community solidarity.

How to get involved:

The bigger picture: Tree Street Youth demonstrates what becomes possible when communities are supported to develop their own solutions rather than having external programs imposed on them. Their success challenges deficit-based approaches to working with immigrant and refugee communities while providing a model for genuine community development.

Their work connects individual youth empowerment to broader movements for racial equity, immigrant rights, and economic justice. By centering the leadership of young people most affected by systemic inequities, they create programming that addresses root causes while building lasting community power.

Want to learn more or support their work?

Sometimes making a difference means choosing one cause and really understanding how you can help. Tree Street Youth represents the kind of local organization that creates lasting change through community-led programming, youth empowerment, and systemic advocacy.

Every community needs places where young people can develop their leadership while working for collective liberation. In Lewiston, Tree Street Youth provides exactly that.