In 1978, a group of concerned citizens from Mount Desert Island and the Cranberry Isles decided to do something about the increase in alcohol and other drug-related problems in their communities. They formed the MDI Alcohol and Drug Abuse Group, which became an extension of the MDI Hospital's Chemical Dependency Unit and funded educational programs in the hospital and our local schools.

In 1988, Acadia Family Center (AFC) opened as the Group's treatment branch in Southwest Harbor. In 2006, AFC absorbed the Group's mission and moved to our current location at One Fernald Point Road. AFC provided long-term recovery services for individuals and families suffering from alcohol, substance use, and/or mental health disorders until November 2021. AFC closed its doors to reexamine its business model, which, due to a variety of circumstances, became unsustainable.

In April 2023, AFC hired its current executive director, Rota Knott and is in the process of developing new programs with the goal of reopening in the fall of 2023.

In 2021, Maine experienced the 12th highest percentage increase in overdose deaths among all states. An estimated 621 people died of overdoses in Maine that year, an increase of nearly 27 percent. According to a statewide study in 2021, about 19% of Maine students seriously considered attempting suicide in the previous 12 months — an increase from 16% in 2019.

In Mount Desert Island schools, teachers report an increasing number of students in emotional distress while lamenting a lack of services for them. In nearby Ellsworth, new dedicated space for people in recovery has quickly filled, yet no similar services are offered on the island. Stigma creates a barrier to better understanding the depth and breadth of substance use disorder and mental health challenges in Mount Desert Island communities, further hindering the development of appropriate strategies to address them. And no organization on the island is focused solely on tackling this complex and intertwined web of issues.

Acadia Family Center will reopen its doors in 2023 with a renewed mission to fill this gap. AFC will improve children’s mental health and reduce substance use on Mount Desert Island by providing space and programming for prevention and recovery. AFC will welcome, convene, and empower island communities to identify local challenges and help to develop, implement, and continually improve solutions.

Acadia Family Center brings a unique combination of strengths to bear on the complex problems of mental health and substance use disorders:  a board of directors comprised of well-connected, influential community members; a conveniently located, large facility designed to convene community members in large or small groups or one-on-one; and 35 years of experience providing services to address mental health issues and substance use disorder.