Homeless Voices for Justice is a state-wide social change movement, organized and led by people who have struggled with homelessness.  It is a grassroots effort based on the belief that true change occurs only when those affected by an unjust system are directly involved in addressing the injustices and in which disenfranchised people become empowered and gain leadership skills to organize and advocate for institutional change.

Our Social Change Activities

Working with chapters in Alfred, Augusta, Brunswick, and Portland, Homeless Voices for Justice holds membership meetings at shelters and soup kitchens to strengthen communications between people experiencing homelessness.  Our social change activities range from representation in planning bodies, to policy advocacy, to voter registration and community education, to direct action.

People experiencing homelessness have always faced the challenge of simultaneously dealing with the harsh realities of surviving homelessness and wishing to direct their energies to combating the injustices of homelessness.  But knowing that you have to be at the soup kitchen at a particular time or you won’t eat can get in the way of actively participating in the change process. 

Our efforts to register new voters move and inspire us and remind us of the common ties that bind us in our democracy and our humanity so, rich and poor alike, we can together improve our country for all.

Advocate Leaders

Homeless Voices for Justice Advocate Leaders act as organizers, seeking input and speaking on behalf of those who are unable to be actively involved.  All Advocate Leaders have experienced homelessness and live on poverty-level incomes, and most cope with disabilities. 

Accomplishments

Among the many accomplishments in our work on legal rights, housing and healthcare, representation on policy-making bodies, and coalition building Homeless Voices for Justice has:

• Organized and advocated for the "Don't Freeze Out the Homeless" campaign, aimed at restoring HUD funding to Portland and changing HUD's nationwide application review policy. 
• Participated as the only representatives of the homeless community on Portland's Emergency Shelter Assessment Committee, which serves as the key decision-making body in assessing the city's shelter situation and developing policies to address the needs of homeless people.
• Advocated for an increased supply of affordable housing and improvements to the city's shelter system.
• Conducted ongoing You Don't Need a Home to Vote voter registration campaigns, which have registered over 1,200 homeless and low-income people.
• Organized candidates' forums and other educational efforts during elections.
• Initiated a campaign to address hate violence targeting homeless people that led the Maine legislature to include homelessness as a protected category under a law that allows a crime victim's group identity to be considered in sentencing.  Signed by the Governor at the Preble Street Soup Kitchen, the law received national attention; and we have seen a decrease in attacks on homeless people.
• Representing consumers on Maine's Homelessness Councils

In addition to the social change benefits resulting from this organizing work, Homeless Voices for Justice has had perhaps an even more profound affect on our leaders and participants, including increased self-esteem, community respect, and an understanding of the collective nature of personally experienced injustices and the power of collective action.  The empowerment and sense of dignity produced by "finding our voice" and participating with peers in making change cannot be overstated. 

As one advocate said, "It's helped me to see how huge poverty really is.  I'm not alone.  I have a greater understanding of oppression and exploitation now."