NEWS & UPDATES
Affordable Housing Advocates Rally In Augusta
AUGUSTA — It is coming down to that time of year when the legislature must make some hard choices in order to balance the budget. That’s why advocates for low income housing and the homeless took their message to the statehouse Tuesday. They held a rally to protest proposed cuts to the state’s “home fund.”
Homeless Voices For Justice host candidate's forum
Preble Street’s Homeless Voices for Justice program hosted Congressional candidate Chellie Pingree at a forum for voters earlier this morning. The forum took place in Preble Street’s dining room just after breakfast and was an opportunity for the agency’s consumers to ask questions and engage in dialogue with the candidate. The candidates’ forum is a key component
Rally cry: 'We need housing'
PORTLAND – The city has lost more than 100 affordable rental units over the past five years and needs to clarify an ordinance meant to protect its housing stock, advocates for the homeless said at a rally today in Congress Square. Crafted during a housing crunch nearly 10 years ago, Portland’s housing replacement ordinance requires
Maine Voices: Florence House gives the homeless hope along with shelter
PORTLAND – Will I ever find a home? Is there any way to end homelessness? This month marked the first anniversary of an event that answered those questions with a resounding "Yes!" It was the anniversary of the day Preble Street welcomed homeless women home for good to Florence House, the comprehensive woman’s center on
Rally and march to stop violence against women
Take Back The Night 30th Anniversary On November 1st 1980, a young woman of 35, stepped to the front of a tentative crowd at Portland, Maine’s first Take Back the Night March. She was nervous but filled with the fire of feminism. And to those assembled she began what amounted to a call and response
Myths about the homeless
There are many myths and stereotypes about the "homeless". Myths and stereotypes come about due to misconceptions born of ignorance, overgeneralizations from a single experience, and poor access to the real facts. Since the homeless population is often called "the invisible population," it is understandable why these myths and stereotypes develop and why they persist.
Prepared Remarks for Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan at the Florence House Grand Opening
Thank you, Governor Baldacci — for that introduction and for the leadership that you provide, particularly to Maine’s most vulnerable families. This is a special day for this community — and I want to thank everyone in this room who made it possible. We all recognize the remarkable strides our country has made in tackling
LePage visit clears up contested budget item
Worried that the proposed state budget would drastically limit access to General Assistance funds for some of Maine’s neediest residents, one state representative invited Gov. Lepage to Portland’s epicenter of social services and cleared up a major "drafting error." Upon hearing that the governor’s budget proposal called for limiting General Assistance help to once per
LePage doesn't intend to limit general assistance to once a year
PORTLAND – Gov. Paul LePage does not intend to limit Mainers to receiving 30 days of general assistance a year, according to spokesman Dan Demeritt. Demeritt made that clarification after LePage met with clients and service providers of Preble Street. The stop was one of several on the governor’s Capitol for a Day program Friday.
Americorps VISTAs help fight hunger
PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Two Americorps VISTA volunteers are working with the Preble Street Resource Center to help spread a nationwide campaign to end hunger. Shoshona Smith and Abby Farnahm will be working for the next year with the organization. They’ll be helping with fundraising efforts, and applying for grants. One of the key
Different women, same heartfelt compassion
Inspired by those in need Donna Yellen Age: 50 Residence: Portland Occupation: Director of the Maine Hunger Initiative and Advocacy at Preble Street in Portland A friend and an advocate: The homeless, the hungry, the poor and the hurting need both. Donna Yellen of Portland is one of many such volunteers who every day not
Finding the homeless on Portland's streets
PORTLAND – At the far end of the city’s industrial waterfront, over a 7-foot-tall snowbank, across the railroad tracks and behind a patch of trees and frozen brush, Susie Whittington and Sandy Brown saw footprints heading along the riverbank. "Hello!" Whittington called out as she trudged through knee-deep snow. "Homeless outreach. Anyone out here?" About
