Bitter cold creates busy homeless shelters

PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — A week of bitter cold has led to busy homeless shelters, as staff in shelters across Portland open overflow spaces and break records for occupancy and meals served. Staff at both Preble Street and the Oxford Street Shelter said they will not be turning anyone away, but they do need … Read more

Decision to give, or not, can be deeply personal

As panhandlers become an increasingly common sight outside of downtown Portland, more Mainers are left with the sometimes difficult decision of what to do as they walk or drive by. Do you pass a dollar and hope it really helps? Decide instead to make a donation to a social services agency? Or maybe turn your … Read more

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From Winter Break Springs Opportunities to Serve Common Good

Despite having had exposure to poor people in her home country of Nepal, Apekshya Prasai ’16 said she was stunned when she arrived at Bowdoin and witnessed the suffering of some of Maine’s homeless. Last fall, Prasai volunteered to do community service on her first-year orientation trip, and then she signed up to participate in … Read more

Maine social service agencies plead for blankets, clothing

PORTLAND – The weather turned dangerously cold Thursday, so cold that the Salvation Army opened a shelter, the governor declared a limited emergency to allow heating oil companies to make more deliveries, and Portland officials asked the public to donate blankets and clothing for the homeless. The city hit a low of 4 degrees below … Read more

Causes unite longtime OOB band

ORCHARD BEACH – An Old Orchard Beach-based band is celebrating its 20th anniversary together by raising money for a good cause. Members of Beyond Reason will perform at One Longfellow Square on Saturday, Jan. 19 in Portland, with proceeds being donated to the Preble Street Resource Center. This is far from the first time the … Read more

Bowdoin Alumni Help Create New Homeless Shelter for Teens

In the tradition of the common good so important to Bowdoin College, alumni from six decades gathered to celebrate the opening of the new Preble Street Joe Kreisler Teen Shelter on December 11, 2012. Preble Street is a nonprofit in Portland that offers services to the homeless, including drop-in centers, soup kitchens, a food pantry, … Read more

Baby boomers with no place to call home

Charles Jones sleeps every night in the Oxford Street Shelter’s "medical dorm," so called because the room is reserved for up to 16 men in poor health. He’s 55 years old, the average age of the men in the room. They’re allowed inside the shelter a half-hour early, so they can avoid the long lines … Read more

89-year-old appreciates shelter, but longs for own home

Viola Silver, who turns 90 in May, spent two weeks in December at Maine Medical Center being treated for pneumonia and a lung infection. When the hospital discharged her, she says, it paid a cab to take her home – to the Oxford Street Shelter. "You have to thank God you have a place to … Read more

Is Portland ‘too attractive’ to homeless people?

PORTLAND, Maine – The homeless population in Portland is swelling, with nearly 25 percent more people seeking shelter this fall than even the historically high numbers seen a year ago. That increase and the expectation by Portland Department of Health and Human Services leaders that the numbers will continue to climb well into 2013 are … Read more