For the second time this month, protestors gathered at state offices in downtown Portland to voice their opposition to the LePage administration’s plans to move DHHS offices to a site in South Portland.

A couple of dozen advocates braved near-zero temperatures to make their point. Thomas Ptacek is with Homeless Voices for Justice, which organized the rally.

"The message really here is to keep the services provided by DHHS local, and therefore accessible," he says. "The ability to access these services is paramount for those who do have to access them."

The new DHHS offices would be about 40 minutes away – which Ptacek says would impose a hardship on the many Portland-based MaineCare clients who regularly visit the site.