CAMDEN — The MidCoast Regional Housing Trust (MCRHT) has named Camden resident Mary Beth Leone Thomas to its Board of Directors. MCRHT, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, was established earlier this year to develop and steward permanent year-round workforce housing in Knox County and neighboring towns. 

Thomas is a licensed clinical social worker/certified drug and alcohol counselor and systems consultant who has retired after working for 35 years in the mental health sector. As clinical lead for a group of federally qualified healthcare centers), she supervised 30 psychotherapists, wrote and managed a million-dollar National Institutes of Health grant for treating opioid addiction, and developed high-level skills in systems theory for creating functional working groups.

Having lived in Camden for 40 years and seen the cost of housing outpace the incomes of many working professionals and tradespeople, Mary Beth aims to promote the economic diversity of the region’s neighborhoods and to ensure that the skilled caregivers and other providers of services to an aging population will be able to live within reach of their clients.

“Mary Beth is deeply concerned about maintaining the economic diversity of local communities,” said MCRHT President Jonathan Goss, in a news release. “We welcome her advocacy of long-term measures that enable middle-income households to live, work, raise families, and thrive economically despite dramatically increased housing costs.” 

Stephanie Smith, Steve Matteo, Pinny Beebe-Center, Martin Cates, Amy Hinkley and Tony Peterman serve with Thomas and Goss on MCRHT’s board, bringing expertise in real estate, project development, finance, architecture, and nonprofit governance.

MCRHT advances permanent year-round workforce housing in Knox County and neighboring towns to promote vibrant communities with economically diverse residents who want to live, work, and retire in the region. Its efforts focus on the “missing middle” of the local workforce, including educators, emergency services personnel, nurses, skilled tradespeople, and others who earn too much to qualify for direct assistance but cannot afford the soaring cost of housing in the local area. Visit www.mchrt.org for more information.