Liza Fleming-Ives is executive director of the Genesis Community Loan Fund. Ken Schmidt, whose family history on Great Cranberry Island goes back nine generations, is president of Cranberry Isles Realty Trust.

As summer approaches, Maine islands will fill with visitors whose experience of “Vacationland” depends on people who live in island communities year-round.

Yet, because so many homes have shifted to seasonal use only, workers and younger families continue to be priced out. That puts essential services — schools, stores, healthcare, emergency response — at risk.

We were encouraged to see writer and architectural historian Jon Calame, in his recent column for the Portland Press Herald, highlighting these challenges. The more people who understand what is at stake, the better.

At the same time, it is important to recognize that island residents have been organizing for more than two decades to address their housing challenges by advancing practical, island-community-driven solutions. They have been joined by partners like MaineHousing, the Genesis Community Loan Fund, the Island Institute and many other institutions and individuals.  

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to housing challenges — and islanders know that better than anyone. Their communities are showing what’s possible when neighbors come together with the right resources and support.

Across Maine’s unbridged islands, residents have identified housing needs, and have been raising funds, finding sites and navigating the unique logistical challenges of places where access depends on boats and weather. They have been building new homes, rehabilitating existing structures, adapting modular units to fit on ferries and creatively reusing what already exists.

Their results are real and growing. In fact, within the past three years alone, 10 of Maine’s 15 coastal islands with year-round communities have launched or completed affordable housing projects for year-round residents.  

There are new multifamily homes for families on Chebeague Island. On Isle au Haut, a single-family home was converted into a duplex while other homes are being brought up to the standards required for year-round living. Projects are creating additional affordable homes for residents on Peaks Island and Vinalhaven.

For the year-round community on the island of North Haven, North Haven Sustainable Housing has created and sold five affordable homes and developed 10 rental units — including five in just the last three years — with five additional homes for sale and two more rental units underway. The organization also has helped weatherize 50 year-round island homes.  

On Great Cranberry Island and Islesford, Cranberry Isles Realty Trust offers a powerful example of what sustained, community-led effort can achieve.

With support from partners and local donors, CIRT created 10 affordable rental homes and has protected three additional properties for year-round use. The housing now supports one-third of the islands’ year-round population, with homes for teachers, fishermen, artists and families with young children. They keep the elementary school open, businesses running, and community life intact.

An Islesford worker, after years of housing instability, said, “Now, I’ve got a place where I can stay put.” And a dad whose young family applied through CIRT to move to Great Cranberry, said, “On a map, we saw a dot in the ocean. We moved to it, and we are glad we did.”

We know that Maine islands will welcome additional partnerships and funding that build on the knowledge, leadership and momentum already within island communities — places long dependent on year-round residents’ cooperation, creativity and resilience.  

That’s the spirit driving this work. The challenge is real, and so is more progress, with the best paths forward charted island by island.