1. Dictates that homelessness is treated as a crime and encourages the use of law enforcement and involuntary institutionalization against people living outside.
2. Demands the redirection of funding from life-saving and evidence-based housing and harm-reduction-based solutions
3. Blames individuals, rather than responding to homelessness as a housing and public health crisis.
4. Combined with cuts to SNAP and Medicaid, pushes more people into homelessness and lacks solutions to assist people in exiting homelessness.
5. Raises serious threats to privacy by expanding the collection and sharing of data on marginalized people in our communities
Criminalizing homelessness wastes our tax dollars and disconnects people from the critical services that provide a path out of homelessness, such as jobs, housing, and healthcare. Right now, unhoused people in Washington D.C. — and soon in the rest of our communities — are being pushed further away from this path. Contact your federal, state, and local lawmakers to demand a humane, effective, and affordable housing–centered approach to ending homelessness — one that addresses the root economic challenges affecting all Americans. Read the National Alliance to End Homelessness’s series on this topic.
Preble Street Statement on SNAP
Update: November 10, 2025 We’re thankful to announce that full SNAP benefits have been issued for 97% of Maine recipients! A small percentage of households, mostly those who applied for SNAP benefits after November 2, have received reduced benefit amounts for this month. Many thanks to all who advocated for this, including Maine’s Governor, Attorney
The Preble Street response to the SNAP crisis
Donate here to help Preble Street provide emergency food to people in need in Maine! Volunteer with Preble Street to help produce up to 10,000 meals a day. Less than two weeks ago, on Friday, October 24, 2025, Preble Street hosted the Grand Opening of our new Food Security Hub. We hoped that we would
How you can help during the SNAP crisis
While programs like the Preble Street Food Security Hub and food pantries across the country are here to support people experiencing food insecurity, we cannot come close to replacing the food supply and dollar value that SNAP provides. SNAP is the biggest and most efficient tool to fight hunger. For every meal that food banks