OUR MISSION
The mission of Preble Street is to provide accessible barrier-free services to empower people experiencing problems with homelessness, housing, hunger, and poverty, and to advocate for solutions to these problems.
Our Programs
From a nutritious meal to crisis intervention, from clean clothes to healthcare, from shelters to a permanent home, Preble Street programs not only meet urgent needs but also create solutions to homelessness and hunger.
Who We Serve
The people we meet come from every background. Some were born into abject poverty and abuse. Others were born into a loving and stable family, but life’s circumstances dictated a wildly unanticipated course.
OUR ANNUAL IMPACT
Preble Street is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that depends on the generosity of friends who lend their time and their resources. Every gift you make, every hour you spend, helps those most in need.
LATEST NEWS
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Preble Street! Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Please join us to honor and celebrate the 50th anniversary of Preble Street! GATHER with supporters, former and current staff, volunteers, partner organizations, and community members to CELEBRATE all that we have accomplished in the last 50 years to find solutions for homelessness and hunger in Maine. This event is free to attend. Advance registration is requested. EVERYONE
TAKE ACTION TO KEEP ALL PORTLAND SHELTERS OPEN
Updated – May 1, 2025, at 4:06pm Preble Street is asking Portland residents to reach out to the City Council and urge them to support the City Manager’s recommended FY26 budget which calls for no cuts to municipal services through ‘the use of $8.8M in Fund Balance.’ And, we also ask the Council to reject
Feeding Maine sustainably
Climate change affects everyone, but people living in poverty — especially people living outside — are most vulnerable to rising temperatures, natural disasters, and global threats to food security. Sustainability is built in at the Preble Street Food Security Hub (FSH), where we address urgent food security needs. The Food Security Hub is currently undergoing
Betty: A volunteer’s story
Betty Haymon has been volunteering at Preble Street every month for 25 years. In the summer of 2000, she signed up to do the breakfast shift at the Resource Center Soup Kitchen on the first Saturday of each month. Shortly after, she was given a tour of the Teen Center and told that their kitchen
Medicaid: a lifeline for Mainers
For more than 400,000 Mainers, Medicaid (also known as MaineCare) is a vital support that helps people stay healthy, housed, and fed. Whether it’s someone managing a chronic illness, a parent struggling to make ends meet, or an individual experiencing homelessness, Medicaid helps keep people from slipping further into crisis. But proposed cuts and new
Preble Street Volunteers are #CompassionInAction
For 50 years, volunteers have been a key part of Preble Street, helping ensure that the agency is able to meet the basic human rights of Mainers. In fact, the agency was staffed solely by student interns and volunteers for its first 10 years! Today, over 1,500 volunteers contribute 20,000 hours of service each year.
FEATURED STORIES
Brian’s story
Brian Hester is a proud Marine Corps Veteran. If you ask, he’ll tell you he “loved every minute” of his two-and-a-half years of service with the Marines. But, like many Veterans in Maine and all over the U.S., Brian cycled in and out
Peter’s Story
Peter was homeless for eight months, sleeping on the street and in different shelters in Augusta and Lewiston. He’s an Air Force Veteran, originally from Madawaska, Maine, who lost housing when his landlord increased his rent with only a month’s notice. “I had
Ron’s Story
“I’ll say it 1000 times over, the VA saved my life,” shares Ron. Ron is a former U.S. Marine. He currently lives at a residential facility in Lewiston, Maine, operated by Veteran’s Inc., a nonprofit that provides support services to Veterans and Veteran families
HOW YOU CAN HELP
Every week 350 community volunteers lend a hand at Preble Street and almost 100% of the food and clothing we distribute is donated. We welcome — we depend on — your time, financial support, and in-kind donations. Volunteering at one meal a year, once in a while, or every week; donating work boots for someone trying to turn their life around, or organizing a fundraiser — every gift you give helps those most in need.
