Press Release

Portland, ME [June 4, 2009] Governor John Baldacci will host a bill signing ceremony in his office on Wednesday, June 10 at 2:00pm to mark passage of LD 1127, "An Act To Define Services for Maine Runaway and Homeless Youth."

LD 1127 establishes Maine's first comprehensive program for homeless youth and runaways and addresses the need for programs designed to provide a safety net for underserved Maine youth. The bill defines three program models-Emergency Shelters for Youth, Street Outreach Programs, and Transitional Living Programs-and creates statewide definitions of who will be served by these programs.

According to Senator Justin Alfond (D-Cumberland County), sponsor of the bill, "This legislation will provide a statewide system of care to get youth off the streets and onto the path toward productive adulthood. The statewide system that it creates will also increase planning, streamline funding decisions, and generate administrative efficiencies."

The bill had the support of a broad coalition of service providers throughout Maine and, more importantly, its passage was championed by the young people who will be most affected by it. From Portland to Bangor, young people living in homeless shelters and transitional living programs made the trip to Augusta to testify to the importance of programs that empower them to move beyond homelessness.

As a group of youth from Shaw House in Bangor said, these programs not only give them "a place to live" but also help them "work towards family reunification, apply for jobs, graduate from high school, save money, get my life on track, accept responsibilities."

Confirming the challenges of being young and homeless and the importance of LD 1127, one young person from Preble Street Lighthouse Shelter in Portland said, "Before I came to Portland, I was homeless for a year, mostly sleeping outside because there were no shelters for kids where I was. If I could change my life right now, I would get a safe place to call home and a job to pay for it. The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act will make sure that kids aren't sleeping on the streets like I did, and it makes sure that caseworkers are really helping homeless kids, like mine is helping me find a job."

The people trying to help kids turn their lives around agree. "The Homeless Youth Act is very important," said Bob Rowe, executive director of New Beginnings in Lewiston, because it "formally recognizes homeless youth as a distinct population in need of services that are based on best practices in the field . . . using the most current and up to date interventions. It's a new start."

One young woman celebrated the success of their efforts to see the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act passed so that every young person has a chance for a new start, too, to "make sure that the right services are being provided and 14 year old kids aren't homeless like I was."