NEWS & UPDATES
Study: Majority of food pantry users in Maine have jobs but can’t cover bills
PORTLAND, Maine — Portland social workers, with the help of a university professor, are crunching the numbers on what they say may be the first in-depth study of food pantry users in Maine. Among the more striking early conclusions, said Donna Yellen, who is spearheading the effort, is the number of working people who still
Homeless shelter for teens given green light to move and expand
PORTLAND, Maine — The planning board on Tuesday gave approval for the relocation of a shelter for homeless teenagers and runaways from a breaking-down apartment building at 65 Elm St. to a former office building a few blocks away at 38 Preble St. The wide-ranging homeless advocacy group Preble Street — which runs a soup
Helping Families and Children Fight Hunger in Maine (podcast)
Panel discusses how Maine families and children struggle with hunger and how we can take advantage of the existing infrastructure and available federal funding to help reduce hunger, including the federal Summer Food Service Program, subject of a forthcoming MECEP report. Host: Connie Zhu, MECEP Policy Analyst Guest(s): Ned McCann, Vice President, Maine Children’s Alliance;
Survey: More Maine Working Families Relying on Food Pantries
A soon-to-be-released study indicates that a significant number of working families in Maine are reliant on soup kitchens and food pantries to meet their nutritional needs. The study of hundreds of families using food pantries in Cumberland County was undertaken by the Portland-based non-profit Preble Street. “Forty-two percent of the households we surveyed were working
Shelter by next summer?
PORTLAND – It’s become a nearly daily ritual for the homeless youths in Maine’s largest city — a lottery to see who gets a bed and who doesn’t. "Four out of five nights, we’re turning young people away," said Mark Swann, executive director of Preble Street, a non-profit agency that runs the city’s only shelter
Deal allows Milestone shelter to open again
PORTLAND – The Milestone Foundation emergency shelter will reopen tonight as the result of an agreement that was reached Thursday by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services and the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services U.S. Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins made the announcement late Thursday night. The agreement means
Preble Street seeks new home for Lighthouse teen shelter
PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Preble Street is hoping to move its homeless shelter for teens. But first, it needs approval from Portland’s planning board. A workshop was held on the proposed move of the Lighthouse Shelter Tuesday afternoon. Preble Street says the current shelter is in a building with a crumbling foundation and it
State of Homelessness in Portland
Mark Swann, Executive Director of Preble Street, discussed teen homelessness, plans to move the Lighthouse Teen Shelter to a larger, safer facility, and the challenges that have arisen due to the recent closure of the Milestone shelter with NewsCenters’ Cindy Williams.
Maine Voices: Myths serve as tool to scapegoat homeless, poor people
PORTLAND — Not a single day goes by without someone asking me about, or complaining to me about "people from away." There is a solidly entrenched, pervasive myth that poor and homeless people from all over America are flocking to Portland because we’re "too generous." This perception has been the subject of discussions among business
Portland shelters in 'crisis' mode amid new federal guidelines
Portland’s social service providers are scrambling to meet new federal guidelines due to be take effect Monday, saying an already serious situation with homeless shelters in the city is about to get worse. Beginning Nov. 1, changes to federal reimbursement claims for certain facilities that provide refuge for the city’s homeless will force two local
Portland shelter for addicts turns dozens away
Portland shelter for addicts turns dozens away A Portland facility that has long served as an emergency shelter for addicts is now forced to turn dozens away because of federal changes. The Milestone Foundation on India Street had 18 medical beds for clients seeking detox services, as well as 41 emergency shelter beds. But within
Milestone Foundation faces midnight deadline to downsize
PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — As of midnight Tuesday, the Milestone Foundation must downsize its shelter for people with substance abuse issues. That means Monday night it will not be accepting many of it’s shelter regulars. Milestone and other programs were told they would lose federal Medicaid funding if they didn’t cut their beds to
