Our Mission
Sanctuary is a vision to create a safe space for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) youth. To create a stable home environment so that our kids can succeed. This concept arose as our founder came out. She was a homeless transgender youth with no where to turn and nothing to her name but determination, and an incredible amount of luck when she found a couple willing to take a chance on her and create the safe supportive environment needed to succeed. This is the source of our vision. Our mission is to create the safe space where our LGBT kids who have no where to go, can live and succeed.
The Plan
This home that we are creating isn’t going to happen overnight, but with your support and the dedication of our team it will happen. At this time the project is being split up into three main phases as follows.
Phase I
Phase I focuses on purchasing the land, we already have the land in mind, 71 acres in southern Maine. This large tract of land will provide the space for the halfway house, the farm, and the horses, with some left over for the kids and community to enjoy in their spare time. The goal for phase I is $30,000 that's about 20% the cost of the land, the founder, Karren Seely, plans to finance the rest of it herself as it will also be her home. However, this ensures that the land will always be available to Sanctuary with no concerns about renting/leasing the land or space. Which means future funding can go towards helping the kids succeed and staffing Sanctuary.
Phase II
This involves clearing sections of the land so that farming/crops can be started, creating pastures and riding rings for the horses. Storage structures for farm equipment and stables for horses and other livestock. While this work is being done we will begin looking for staff to help get this project fully realized. This includes beginning to look for base staff for Sanctuary i.e. Editor, Web designer, Financial advisor, Horse Trainer, Horse Therapist and housing staff. This will be time intensive and will likely take 2-3 years to complete at best all of the initial work at best, with room for continued growth down as time progresses and funding allows.
Phase III
Building the halfway house itself is Phase III and should occur while phase II is in its on going process. The house will start on the small side with the ability to house 12 residents, and expectations for future expansion. The building and its construction will be financed entirely through fundraising and donation. We will also start hiring staff that we started looking for in phase II to help manage the facility and help our kids on their road to success.