LEWISTON — The Maine Resiliency Center was formed 19 days after Oct. 25, 2023, to provide support and resources to everyone affected by the mass shooting that day.

Eighteen people were killed and 13 injured in shootings at Schemengees Bar & Grille on Lincoln Street and Just-in-Time Recreation on Mollison Way.

“On our first day, I remember we had eight individuals that day, all from Schemengees,” Danielle Parent, the center’s director, said Friday. “By day four, there was 60 people there. That is not normal for a resiliency center to open and have that influx of people.”

As it moves this month from Main Street to its new home at 581 Sabattus St., the center’s long-term future remains unclear. Funding, which comes through the Antiterrorism and Emergency Assistance Program of the U.S. Department of Justice, will come to a close at the end of 2027.

“Our goal first and foremost is to be accessible and a resource for those impacted by the Oct. 25 shooting,” Parent said. “The center itself was created to support the needs of this unique community. We want to be here as long as we’re needed, but if this community comes to a place that they don’t need it anymore, then maybe we’ve done our jobs.”

Since opening on Main Street in 2023, the Resiliency Center has helped survivors of the shooting, family members of victims, and community members who weren’t at either of the shooting sites but still felt its impact.

Monthly, the center helps about 214 people with its programs and sees roughly 10 new people per week, Parent said. It has also facilitated more than 320 support groups and held 133 community events with the goal of helping people heal.

“The impact was vast in the sense that these were friends and neighbors and people that called these places their third home,” Parent said.

Last year, people who have visited the center told legislators how important it is to them.

Danielle Chabot of Winthrop was at Just-In-Time with her husband the night of the shooting. The center’s group meetings have helped her deal with the trauma.

“If they were to be discontinued, I really am not sure what l would do,” she said at a legislative hearing in May 2025. “Just to know that that group of people is available to us there gives me a sense of security and support that is beyond measure. The relationships that we have formed throughout the different groups have allowed us to realize we aren’t alone.

“Because I’ll tell you, sometimes it feels like it. I live in Winthrop, Maine. How many people around me can relate to being in a mass shooting while out just having fun with their friends?” she asked.

Survivors of the Lewiston shooting will continue to be covered for any medical expenses that have resulted from the shooting. Those eligible can receive funding from the Maine Crime Victims’ Compensation Program through the Office of the Maine Attorney General, getting up to $15,000.

In addition, the state will open its Mass Violence Care Fund in October. The fund is intended to support survivors with any medical expenses once they’ve maxed out the compensation program, Parent said. To begin, $5 million was put into the Mass Violence Care Fund, with the interest accrued — which will be about $200,000 annually — to become available three years after the shooting.

Parent said she is frustrated to hear that some of those directly impacted by the shooting are not having their needs met, and hopes everyone who needs help will reach out to the center.

“We care about each and every person and their struggles and what they are going through on a daily basis,” Parent said. “I know we can’t solve everyone’s needs but I know we can leverage the community and the network of people to see what we can do. No one should be suffering in silence.”

For the past few years, Parent said, officials at the Resiliency Center have been looking to move to a new location that met certain criteria, including an area with less gun violence and access to outdoor activities. On Sabattus Street, they will be on the first floor of the former Holy Family Church and Spurwink School.

While the location means less overall space, it allows the center to not only offer more services but better cater to what the community is looking for.

The Maine Resiliency Center is offering services at 581 Sabattus St. It will hold an open house Thursday, April 2, at 4 p.m.

“Resiliency is about bouncing back and living life again,” Parent said. “If we can offer supports in natural life activities and life and spaces, then we’ll do it. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll find something that will work. We’ll be here for as long as the community has us for.”