NEWS & UPDATES
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
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
1,200 Mainers at risk of reentering homelessness
CALL TO ACTION Call and email Senators Collins and King, and Representatives Golden and Pingree as often as you can — every day — and implore them to demand that the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) revise their disastrous changes to federal homelessness and housing policy. If they do not, more than 1,200
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
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
A bold step forward in the fight against hunger
“This place is just amazing. And thank goodness it’s ready for business. The timing for the opening of this Food Security Hub could not be better. With federal cuts to emergency food assistance and healthcare chipping away at the safety nets that help many people in our community stay fed, healthy, and housed, we collectively need
Compassionate end-of-life care for unhoused individuals
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 special partner of several of our programs, Hospice of Southern Maine. Hospice of Southern Maine (HSM) works to ensure
Preble Street celebrates grand opening of Food Security Hub at a critical time for food insecurity in the U.S
Hunger in Maine has grown substantially since the pandemic. In 2021, Preble Street responded by launching its vision for the Food Security Hub as a way to meet the increased demand for emergency food services. Today, the result of that vision — the newly renovated Preble Street Food Security Hub — a sustainable, comprehensive, and
Staff highlight: JB – “I can’t think of anything I’d rather have done.”
Preble Street staff are #CompassionInAction, and we want you to get to know them! This month we’re introducing you to JB Carson, Veterans Housing Services Program Assistant Name, title, and program: JB, Program Assistant, Veterans Housing Services (VHS) How long have you worked at Preble Street? I’ve been here for 12 years. What is a
Federal attacks on people in poverty
Instead of providing solutions to hunger, homelessness, and poverty, an onslaught of recent federal actions and policies are attacking the people suffering from these challenges. The massive cuts to food assistance (SNAP), Medicaid, and homeless prevention and housing programs are harming thousands of Mainers, including older adults, people with disabilities, Veterans, families, homeless youth and