“Preble Street’s Rapid Re-Housing team made it possible for me to move with my two young children. I had already secured housing and made the decision to leave a long history of abuse behind — but I had no car, no support, and no way to get our U-Box shipped. That final step was out of reach.
Molly (Preble Street caseworker) was the one who listened and moved quickly to make it happen. I’m raising a newborn and a five-year-old with extremely high needs. I was doing everything I could to start over somewhere safer, where I could access better services and give my kids a real shot, but the logistics nearly broke me.
Preble Street stepped in when I had nothing left to pull from. That support didn’t just help me move. It helped me survive. Molly and the team didn’t just hear me, they acted. And I will never forget that.”
As this story from a client of the Preble Street Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) program shows, RRH works by alleviating the burden of a household’s immediate crisis and focuses specifically on removing barriers. The goal is to help people return to housing as quickly as possible.
While Preble Street commemorates it’s 50th anniversary this year, our Rapid Re-Housing Program is celebrating 5 years of connecting Mainers to housing! Beginning in Cumberland County in 2020 and expanding to Androscoggin County in 2024, this program has housed 206 individuals and saved Maine’s emergency services system millions of dollars. Combined with the Housing Stability Services, they have provided support to 428 people.
The problem
Most individuals and families that enter homelessness do so because of a financial or other crisis. The median price of housing in Maine has increased more than 152% since 2010, making home ownership out of reach for many people, even in the state’s more rural areas. With the cuts to SNAP and Medicaid passed in the Harmful Budget Bill, over the next several years many more of our neighbors will be just one emergency or paycheck away from becoming unhoused.
Meanwhile, increased rental rates, the housing voucher freeze, complicated barriers to obtaining essential documents, and critical resource gaps mean that once people are homeless, it takes longer and longer to get them into housing.
An evidence-based solution
Rapid Re-Housing is a proven pathway out of homelessness. This short-term, intensive, housing-focused intervention has three components:
- housing identification
- move-in support
- and rent assistance
Through casework and financial assistance, Preble Street caseworkers can help individuals and families experiencing homelessness return to housing quickly and not become homeless again.
One big roadblock is the amount of available housing and the stigma that some people have about renting to people who have been homeless. Landlords are a key part of this solution.
“Preble Street provides case management for the tenant and offers financial incentives and support for landlords,” says Preble Street Director of Rapid Re-Housing Leanne Pomeroy. “We have developed great relationships with landlords and Property Management companies over the last five years because we strive for ongoing collaboration. We are looking forward to building further partnerships so we can move more people from homelessness into housing.”
Landlords interested in learning more about the program can contact RRHhousingsurge@preblestreet.org.
Saving the community money
Along with helping households get their lives back on track, Rapid Re-Housing programs save the community money. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, a person experiencing chronic homelessness costs taxpayers an average of $35,578 per year. In its first two years, the Preble Street RRH program had already saved the emergency services system in Maine over $1,000,000. Based on the cost of the program and the number of chronically homeless individuals served, it has saved at least twice that today.
Partnering to meet the needs of our fellow human beings
Preble Street’s work is never done in isolation. We are continuously making connections with other social service providers and nonprofits to better serve clients and the needs of the community. This month, we are highlighting a key partner that supports people in all of our programs: Maine Needs NOTE: There is an urgent need for
Celebrating increased support for homeless youth!
We’re celebrating some good news this Youth Homelessness Awareness Month! Preble Street Teen Services was recently awarded a grant from the Family and Youth Service Bureau to fund a Maternity Group Home and Street Outreach Program. This 3-year grant allows us to expand our housing options to specifically serve pregnant and parenting youth and fulfills
Federal government decimates funding to housing programs
As we shared earlier this month, there will soon be more tents and encampments popping up throughout Maine. In a continuation of massive cuts to programs helping people living in poverty, the current Administration has announced a huge change to how it will fund housing and homeless services. This new approach will decimate permanent supportive