Success Stories

In April of 2014, Paul Jacobs started Quoddy Builders in Oakland, Maine. Paul approached Maine PTAC in December of 2018 and transitioned to Four Directions Development Corporation, seeking assistance with doing business with Federal Government Contracts.

The Sakoya family has closed this year on our first USDA 502 Direct packaged loan.  They now have a beautiful home in the Houlton area.   Sakoya, a member of the Maliseet tribe, began working with Four Directions in 2018 when she inquired about a home loan. Sakoya, her boyfriend Michael, and their 2 kids were renting a home on reservation, and really wanted something they could call their own.

Lisa is a hardworking Passamaquoddy Native American woman entrepreneur with big dreams of growing her property management business, Downeast Property Management Services, located on the Passamaquoddy Indian Township reservation.

Destinee & Sam closed on their new construction loan in October of 2021. Construction has finished, but the additions continue as they are adding a new member to their family! Congratulations to Destinee & Sam Dunbar on the newest addition to your home.

A member of the Penobscot Tribe, Kevin reached out to Four Directions to purchase a home on Indian Island. Kevin wrote to Four Directions and had the following to say:

“I prefer home ownership because it gives a sense of financial security and stability…

John, a member of the Mi’kmaq Tribe, started working with a Financial Capabilities Counselor at Four Directions in 2020. He had minimal credit, minimal savings, and big goals of owning his own truck and RV. John learned a lot about practices to reach his optimal credit score and started getting to work. He obtained a secured credit card, that he used on a regular basis and paid off, which helped to create some positive payment history on his credit report. “Securing the card was a steppingstone towards making my credit slowly transition upwards. It helped so much on times when I needed it as well.” It took some time for the secured card to boost his score, but he stayed committed and even got his initial deposit returned to him for ‘perfect payment history.’

John started direct depositing a small amount of money into his savings on a weekly basis and began to see his savings grow. “Making small adjustments to my savings by…

Kayla stopped at a Circuit Rider event in Houlton in April of 2019 with the goal of getting a loan to purchase a home. Being raised in a challenging home environment herself, Kayla wanted to be sure that her two young boys were raised in a stable home instead of bouncing around from apartment to apartment. As a single mom, she was determined to do what was needed to raise her children in a safe environment.

“Owning a home is what I believe to be a lot of peoples long time goals, especially mine.  Not only would I be the first person to own a home in my family but may encourage them to want to actually own something!” 

Having little credit, Kayla became aware of the impact it was making on her ability to secure a home…

Troy Devoe, from the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Pleasant Point, and Nikki Pooler operate a screen print shop from their home in Hermon. The business was started by Troy 10 years ago as a hobby…

Janelle Sapiel is a member of the Passamaquoddy Tribe in Pleasant Point. She began working with Four Directions in March of 2019 with the goals of building her credit, increasing her savings, and becoming a homeowner. That’s just what she did!

Becoming a homeowner was so important to Janelle because of the lack of homes and apartments on the Pleasant Point Reservation. Janelle knew that as someone without children, she wouldn’t qualify for a housing unit and would either have to rent a home off-reservation, or continue to live with her parents. Neither of these options were a good fit for Janelle, as she wanted to grow her independence while remaining close to home…

In early spring, Four Directions was awarded a $100,000 grant from Our Katahdin to establish community gardens in each tribal community in Maine. The funds were evenly dispersed among each Wabanaki tribe…