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 a longtime goal of the agency. We are excited to begin building this new program and to expand our capacity to meet the needs of more young people in our community. Volunteers have been helping us prepare the home with furniture and supplies over the last month.
Volunteers moving furniture into the new maternity program
In addition to providing housing and support for young families, this grant also includes funding that will enable us to continue street outreach to youth. Though standalone funding for youth outreach programs was eliminated by the federal government earlier this year, this new grant ensures the continuation of our vital Teen Outreach services which help us prevent and rapidly respond to youth homelessness, abuse, and trafficking. Our youth street outreach program serves young people who are experiencing unsheltered homelessness, couch surfing, or are otherwise difficult to find or engage. Outreach workers meet youth where they are — camping on the periphery of towns and cities, sleeping on the beach during the tourist season, or sleeping in their car in a Walmart parking lot. They build trust to connect them to safety and services. Outreach is one important part of the system of care that has been developed to support young people experiencing difficult, unsafe, or unstable situations.
Along with the start on construction of Joe’s Place, which will bring the Preble Street Teen Center and overnight shelter under one roof, we are beyond thankful to celebrate good news for these critical programs. Consisting of the Teen Shelter and Center, Teen Outreach, and Teen Housing programs, Preble Street Teen Services supported 248 Maine youth last year. This year, just between July 1 and September 30, the programs have provided services to 124 youth, including 27 minors and 97 individuals aged 18-24.
Images from the 2025 Friendsgiving celebration and this summer’s kayaking trip.
Preble Street Teen Services provides low-barrier access to shelter, food, basic needs, casework, mental health supports, education and employment services, and a variety of housing options for youth experiencing homelessness between the ages of 12-24 in Maine. Teen Services staff also strive to create positive opportunities for community building and fun for youth in our programs, like a day of sea kayaking this summer, or the yearly Friendsgiving meal program staff and clients create and enjoy together.
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
Staff highlight: Jacob Speakman – Creativity and confidence in the kitchen
Preble Street staff are #CompassionInAction, and we want you to get to know them! This month we’re introducing you to Jacob Speakman, Sous Chef at Preble Street Hope House Name, title, and program: Jacob Speakman, Sous Chef, Preble Street Hope House How long have you worked in your program? I started working in the Hope House Kitchen in
Expanding hope in Bangor
Exciting news: Renovations have begun at the Preble Street Hope House shelter in Bangor! Preble Street assumed operations of Hope House in February, keeping one of Maine’s largest shelters open and ensuring that 56 people continued to have a warm, safe place to sleep and access to meals, clothing, laundry, and support to help them