Sitting at a table at the Recuperative Care Program (RCP), Brian lays out pages of his art. “I’m working on making a children’s coloring book,” he says. Most of the pieces he has laid out are of captivating coastal scenes featuring birds, boats, and buoys. The longer you look at each page, the more you’ll … Read more
Pictured: Most of the Preble Street ATS team, in front of a portrait of dee Clarke, a trafficking survivor who became an inspirational advocate As of October 1, Preble Street Anti-Trafficking Services (ATS) and many other anti-trafficking program providers across the country will be left without a large part of their funding. Since launching in … Read more
Preble Street Veterans Housing Services (VHS), in partnership with other Veterans services agencies* across the state have come together to dramatically reduce Veteran homelessness in Maine. Earlier this month, VHS and partners launched a housing surge to get as many homeless Veterans as possible into housing in the 100 days leading up to Veterans’ Day. … Read more
“Preble Street’s Rapid Re-Housing team made it possible for me to move with my two young children. I had already secured housing and made the decision to leave a long history of abuse behind — but I had no car, no support, and no way to get our U-Box shipped. That final step was out … Read more
When someone is focused on day-to-day survival, there is little time to attend to long-term goals. Accessing the limited available resources requires sorting through a convoluted web of systems and can be impossible to navigate alone. Every day for the past 5 years, the small but mighty Street Outreach Collaborative (SOC) at Preble Street works … Read more
50 years ago, Joe Kreisler founded Preble Street as a real-world training ground for his students at the University of Southern Maine and a place for Portland’s most vulnerable residents to receive basic services—meals, clothing, bathrooms, etc.—and to connect to resources for healthcare, mental health treatment, employment, and more. “I am a human being. Part … Read more
Since its start as a small social work agency in Portland, Maine, Preble Street has been guided by its commitment to mission and empowering vulnerable Mainers. Earlier this year, this commitment led Preble Street to assume operations of Hope House, a 56-bed emergency low-barrier shelter in Bangor, after Penobscot Community Health Care (PCHC) announced the shelter … Read more
No one should have to live outside. Everyone regardless of who they are or where they come from needs a safe place to call home. There are hundreds of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Maine this winter, living outside in the cold… in parks, under bridges, beneath overpasses, and in many other places not meant … Read more
People who are homeless experience severe physical and mental health outcomes, facing many barriers to accessing healthcare and treatment. These barriers can include things like the high cost of care, a lack of insurance, distance or transportation, and even prejudice from the medical community. The MaineHealth-Preble Street Learning Collaborative (MH-PSLC) is a low-barrier, walk-in medical clinic in … Read more
“One of the biggest misconceptions, specifically here in Maine, is the mentality that it doesn’t happen here. It absolutely happens here, and that is why our program is in existence.” Hailey Virusso, Preble Street Director of Anti-Trafficking Services There’s no one face of human trafficking… a survivor can be someone who got pesticide poisoning, forced … Read more